Have you guys heard I Was Made for You by She & Him, Zooey Deschanel's band? Oh, I'm sorry, her "American indie country duo" (thanks, Wikipedia)? Anyway, it's awesome. I heard it in the background of The Sarah Silverman Program and thought it was a '60s girl group song. But no! It's a 2007 American indie country duo song that SOUNDS like a '60s girl group song.
"Stuff and nonsense!" you cry. "Be this a book blog or a recommend-things-at-random blog? A pox on you and your song!"
Well, fine. Have fun depriving yourself of catchy happiness.
How do you guys feel about books? I was reading Amanda from Zenleaf's new blog (Mandaland, for those unaware) and in one post she discusses how when she had a book blog she got more obsessed with books than she felt she truly was. Meaning, as her normal, un-book-blog-owning self, she read sometimes, but it wasn't something in which she invested a lot of time. Which seems to be mainly why she discontinued that blog and started one about her current life interests.
I read a decent number of blogs who talk about books with this kind of obsessive devotion. "The book is the thing"? Anyway, they're very into them. And the people who write that way also tend to read extremely quickly, so they post about new books at a frenetic pace. If I were at all catty, I would also mention that these books tend to be bad.
Here's my deal: yeah, books are swell. I object to people acting as if liking books automatically makes them more intelligent than someone who doesn't necessarily like reading so much. My best friend is brilliant and hilarious, but isn't inclined to spend her scant free time reading. Everyone has to know people like this. So there's that lovely thing. I tend to always travel with a book, but mainly because I dread boredom, not because I must needs be near to my love, The Book. But my mom bought me a book of quotations ABOUT BOOKS. Like, just about the concept of a book. And I was kind of like "Umm....?" Only not in a shitty mean way, 'cause I love my mom. But I don't have an attachment to the concept of "a book." Sure, it's great. But the people who seem to love the idea of A Book are also the people who say "At least the Twilight series has girls reading."
No! No! I would infinitely prefer that those girls watch the fantastic 2004 Battlestar Galactica series than read Twilight. It being a book doesn't mean it's intrinsically good, or better than a quality tv show.
How do you guys think of books? And if you DO think the concept of a book in and of itself is fantastic, don't be cowed by my disavowal of this opinion. I can be a jerk and totally need to be put in my place now and then.
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