To Read or to E-Read; That is the Question

Seeing as I am an avid reader, there have been numerous opportunities when I have had the option of buying some sort of e-reader. And while I love the designer covers for the Nook, I just haven’t really understood the appeal.

The other night over dinner, one of my sisters was talking about e-readers (we’re a nerdy bunch) and mentioned that while I’m in the Bahamas, I should bring a Kindle because the screens are anti-glare. I could read it on the beach without the grease and glare of a typical touch screen.

But then we both came to the realization that books themselves are anti-glare, too. No grease or grime, no glare and you don’t even have to charge them. I’ve mentioned before that I’m a fan of the vintage feeling of reading hard copy news. When I read it online, I tend to skip over uninteresting parts, or simply read the photo captions.

I’m kind of the same way with books, too. Not only do I love the organic, often moldy smell of books, but I like having them, holding them, owning them. I find libraries difficult because I can’t stand to part with my books. Since I first fell I love with literature, I’ve dreamed of collecting an expansive library.

I want to have and hold physical books, to admire them and be able to reference them at a later date. I want to look at that copy of Eat, Pray, Love and feel inspired. For some reason, looking at a Nook or a Kindle or an iPhone just doesn’t have the same effect.

And then, of course there’s the tiny detail that I scribble all over my books. I like taking notes and underlining interesting or inspiring passages, so that when I go back and read the book again (which I actually do. You notice things differently the second or third or fourth time around), I can feel the same inspiration that I felt the first time.

I should, however, note that I do think that e-readers are generating new fiction fanatics out of techie lovers. People who wouldn't typically read (or at least as much) are more inclined to because its easier, more accessible. More readers is never a bad thing, I must admit. Even if they're reading Twilight on an e-reader.

But personally, I guess I’m just not sold on the digital readers. Despite the minuscule discount on books and the fact that it saves trees, I don’t really see the benefits. Until the e-readers can bring something new and exciting to the reading experience, I don’t think they’re a good investment. Not for a die-hard vintage bibliophile like myself.

Recipe: Spanish Potato Omelet

Happy Sant Jordi!! There are apparently some pretty standard things to eat on Sant Jordi, but they're all way too complicated for me. Plus, I just love love love breakfast, especially when it includes carbs. Unfortunately, I don't have a kitchen. But I might be commandeering someone else's to make this Spanish potato omelet from AllRecipes.com (noms). Then, it only makes sense to curl up with a book and chow down in order of the beloved St. George. Now that, dear friends, is a reason to celebrate.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 pound potatoes, thinly sliced
• salt and pepper to taste (In my world, that's a lot)
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 4 eggs
• 2 tomatoes; peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
• 2 green onions, chopped

Directions:

1. In a large frying pan or skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Sprinkle potatoes lightly with salt and pepper. Cook until golden brown and crisp.
2. Once the potatoes are golden, stir in the onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions soften and begin to brown.
3. Meanwhile, beat eggs together with salt and pepper. Pour eggs into pan and stir gently to combine. Reduce heat to low and cook until eggs begin to brown on the bottom.
4. Loosen bottom of omelet with a spatula, invert a large plate over the pan, and carefully turn the omelet out onto it. Slide the omelet back into the pan with the uncooked side down. Cook until eggs are set. Garnish omelet with tomato and green onion and serve warm.

List: And The Nominees Are...

In honor of the Sant Jordi holiday, I’ve compiled a list of literary Marian awards. My favorites in a variety of genres, broken down and spewed back out in all their Brain Barf glory. And the winners are… 

The Honorable Mention goes to Curtis Sittenfeld’s American Wife, which dramatizes the history and complexity of Laura Bush’s life, including the mysterious death of her high school boyfriend. In a freakish way, it also helps to humanize the George Bush character. Sittenfeld has a way of writing so dryly that it’s almost exhausting to read. I devour her books and then am basically comatose for days. They are emotionally draining probably because they are so realistic. Either way, when I finished this book and belatedly realized that it was based loosely on Laura Bush, I started googling her like a madwoman. Turns out she’s everything I respect in a woman: educated, poised, compassionate. She just ended up with a goof of a husband.

Best Chick Lit goes to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Call me cliché, but this was a hard category. I just don’t read all that much chick lit. But what is more chick-litty that a classic like Pride and Prejudice? It’s got the scandal, the romance, the wit, the comedy. The town beauty and the brainy sister. Everything is there to fulfill the chick lit category, so I’m sticking with it. 

Best Beach Read goes to Janet Fitch’s White Oleander, which for some reason unbeknownst to me is never on the “contemporary classics” table at bookstores. This book is addicting. It’s disgusting and gritty and pulls the reader in from every angle. When I was analyzing it in high school, I noticed Fitch’s numerous references to music when describing people. It would be casual… Like, as she’s describing what someone is wearing, she mentions the song playing in the background. But when I nerdily (not a word. Whatever) looked up the songs, they capture each character’s personality perfectly. I dub it a beach read because the heat of the sun will make the Santa Ana references throughout the book that much more believable. You can stimulate you senses by both feeling the sun and listening to the music, and drown in the story. Bahh it’s amazing. 

Best Self Help goes to Laura Kipnis’ Against Love, which I admittedly never finished—Not because it wasn’t good, but because it takes a while to digest and I have too many books to read right now. But I like the message that Kipnis argues in her polemic: that love doesn’t exist. Not really, at least. Because love wouldn’t compel us to hurt others. I call it a self help because I think it’s liberating. I consider myself a romantic, which can be immobilizing at times. It’s best to be a little removed from the romance, at least to protect myself, no? For now, at least... 

Best Travel Writing goes to Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love (duh). This book is almost too obvious, but I take it with me everywhere so I need to mention it a little. Gilbert’s story captures so perfectly her sense of self. With her stories broken down into short little anecdotes, they are digestible. There’s variety because she travels through three different countries. Liz Gilbert made me want to be a writer. I stole her book from my mom, who got it for a book club. And I’ve hoarded it ever since. My copy (or mine now) is worn and torn and loved. It’s my bible, so to speak. It’s perfect. 

Best Historical Fiction goes to Colum McCann’s Let The Great World Spin, which dictates the story of numerous New Yorkers and their various reactions/involvement in the 1974 tight rope walk between the twin towers. The basis seems relatively simple, but then McCann reveals how each of the seemingly unconnected characters influence one another’s lives. It’s Six Degrees Theory meets the Vietnam War meets some super awesome French acrobat. I bought the book on a whim in the Netherlands and didn’t put it down. Ahh-mayzz-ing.

Best Dystopia goes to Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. I’ve never read any of Atwood’s other books, but I definitely will now. While it takes too long to summarize this baby, suffice to say that Atwood’s feminist rant definitely has an impression on any female reader. The leading lady is name Offred. Meaning “of Fred.” Sad, sick, and twisted. You won’t put it down.

Best Laugh-Out-Loud Comedy goes to Hilary Winston’s My Boyfriend Wrote a Book About Me. Comes out May 3, more info about it later. But I basically peed my pants. It’s made for any woman who has had her heart broken, has ever dated someone who turned out to be gay, anyone with a sense of humor, and especially those of us who own/love cats. Hilarious, hilarious, hilarious. Pre-order it from Amazon stat.

Best Gritty Memoir goes to Margaux Gragoso’s Tiger, Tiger, which I can’t bring myself to put down. It’s like watching a car crash, only instead of witnessing a massive, unfeeling ball of steel mash into another, I’m witnessing a young girl die inside and wither away. It’s both gross and engrossing and probably one of the most mind-numbing (in a good way) books I’ve ever read. It’s sad to see the manipulation of the modern Humbert and the raw emotion of the young Lolita-slash-Margaux. It’s dirty and gritty and sad, but what’s sadder is that the young Margaux truly does love her pedophile, in the simplest, sickest way imaginable. Oof.

Happy (early) Sant Jordi!

Happy Sant Jordi!!

Ever heard of La Diada de Sant Jordi? The holiday takes its name from St. George, the patron of Catalonia and it falls on the anniversary of his death. Every year on April 23rd, lovers in Catalonia, Spain exchange gifts in a celebration similar to Valentine’s Day. Traditionally, boys give girls roses and girls give boys books. Roses have been associated with the holiday since Medieval times, but the incorporation of books is more recent. In 1923, a bookseller began to advertise the holiday as a way to commemorate the deaths of two renowned authors: Spain’s Miguel de Cervantes and Britain’s William Shakespeare. Both men died April 23, 1616.

Catalonians took to the trend and some celebrate by doing 24-hour marathon readings of Cervantes’ Don Quixote. Others flock to Las Ramblas, Barcelona’s main thoroughfare, to take advantage of the numerous makeshift stands selling flowers and books. Throughout the day, some four million roses and 400,000 books are purchased in celebration of love.

Literature and love? Count me in.

Catalan streets are lined with vendors selling roses and books to honor the Sant Jordi holiday.

Today's Obsession: Book Buddy

Locked away in a storage facility in Poway, Calif. is one of my most prized possessions: my books. For a personal finance class, I once had to calculate my net worth and the majority of it was on my bookshelves. I estimated that the dozen-or-so full boxes of books that now reside in the storage unit amounted to some $1800+.

One of those boxes, marked “Personal Classics” contains some of my favorite books of all time. Thinking about them now is like flipping through old scrapbooks. I’m nostalgic for those books, for the thrill of finding another treasure worthy of that box. In it are my worn and torn copies of White Oleander, The Handmaid’s Tale and Brave New World (I have a thing for dystopic novels). Since then, I’ve found a select handful of books that I love as much. Whenever I move, I’m sure to pack my copy of Eat, Pray, Love (for inspiration) and Let the Great World Spin (a recent find).

Anyway, I was looking through Bas Bleu’s site and found this plush little accessory. What with being on co-op, I’ve been reading a lot more lately. And I’ve become re-familiarized with that slight ache in my shoulders from holding up a heavy book. This pillow is both practical and pretty (and probably an easy DIY project). Perfect for a book nerd like myself. Obsessed.

Bas Bleu – Book Buddy: Navy Faux Suede, $34