Reading Wish List:Week of 22 June

My reading fast ended on 31 March, for what little good that has done me. I have been so busy writing--articles,blogs,zines,serials and a novel--that reading has been demoted to the role of second-class citizen. Suddenly, something that has been deeply integral to my identity since, it seems, the moment of my advent, has dwindled to the occasional, nostalgic pastime of a too-busy woman. From a creative stand-point, this is ultimately a very good thing.

I am in an exceptionally ripe stage of creativity: a manic fire of artistry was lit some months ago, and continues to blaze unabated. To spend too much of my precious time reading would be to invite stasis to return. As a writer, I simply cannot take that chance. This means that I have been taking time to really savour everything that I read, instead of rushing through 5 books at once in order to make way for the next one in the queue.I have not been reading a dozen books a month, as is my custom. My input of others' words is currently about a third of that; the output of my own writing has been phenomenally increased.

This means, of course, that my reading wish-list is growing at a rate far too fast for me to catch at present. When the muse has mellowed a bit, I hope to sit down and kick back with some of the following volumes!

1. Dictionary of Modern English Usage by H.W. Fowler (WORDSWORTH) and Oxford American Writers' Thesaurus David Auburn, Michael Dirda, et al., eds. (OXFORD) The contents of these 2 tomes are self-explanatory, as is my obsession with words. I am a reference-book geek of the highest order. I could easily get lost in either of these volumes for hours.


2. Randall Jarrell on W.H. Auden by Randall Jarrell, Stephen Burt, ed. Adam Gopnik, foreword (COLUMBIA UNIV. PRESS) Wystan Hugh Auden has long been one of my favourite poets, although I have never been able to fully embrace his work. That is, I realize, a peculiar state of affairs, yet it is the truth. I remain magnetized, humbled, awed and occasionally annoyed with his poetry and his person.


3. ABUNDANCE: A Novel of Marie Antoinette by Sena Jeter Naslund (HARPER) Historical fiction can be compelling or appalling, depending on the ratio of accuracy to imagination: the author needs to be heedful of that important balance. Although I am not as enamored of French Court life as of its English counterpart, this appears to be a truly fascinating read. I am unsure whether it is entirely possible to humanize Marie Antoinette, but I am intrigued enough to find out.


4. A View from Vermont Everyday Life in America by Helen Husher (GLOBE PEQUOT)Vermont is one of my favourite states--I thoroughly enjoyed a stay there 5 years ago. It is very far removed from my own existence--perhaps that is part of my appeal. This book is made up of a series of essays. By its description, it almost seems to be a 21st-Century "Country of the Pointed Firs", with a Vermont setting.


5. Secret Agent AKA Danger Man: Sets 1-6 Starring Patrick McGoohan This is a DVD set of the 1960's television series. I am half in-love with the recently deceased, ridiculously suave Patrick McGoohan. This series preceded The Prisoner, a cult-classic that took me 6 months and multiple viewings to warm up to (I admit to still finding it, on occasion, insufferably silly).I can think of many things far worse than sitting through a marathon of Patrick McGoohan at the pinnacle of his appeal.


6. The Art of Conversation A Guided Tour of a Neglected Pleasure by Catherine Blythe (GOTHAM BOOKS)I became an actor so that I could pretend to be other people. I am a writer so that I can invent other people, and control situations to perfection. This means that conversation is not always my strong suit: I much prefer hiding behind a set of pre-determined words. I envy anyone with the skill, the means, and the magic to weave impromptu conversations.


7. The Human Story Our History, From the Stone Age to Today by James C. Davis (HARPERCOLLINS) What awesome ambition must be required to try to encompass the great sweep of the entire course of history in 466 pages. If nothing else, it must be a fascinating attempt.


8. The Victorian Celebration of Death by James Stevens Curl (SUTTON)19th-Century society had a much healthier grip on how to handle death and mourning. They did not hide it away like we do but accepted and celebrated it for what it is: one stage in the many that all humans must pass through.


9. Firewalk The Psychology of Physical Immunity by Jonathan Sternfield (BERKSHIRE HOUSE) Firewalking absolutely enthralls me. Though I would never jump from an airplane or bungee jump, I would leap at the opportunity to walk across hot coals!


10. To Go Signing Through the World The Childhood of Pablo Neruda by Deborah Kogan Ray (FSG) This is a kid's book. If I am ever pregnant, I will surely read the poems of Neruda to my child while he or she is still in the womb.This looks like a great way to directly introduce a child to the life of the man with the magical voice.