yes, I am a book nerd

Came across this blog post at Dan Santow’s blog Word Wise, where he talks about how reading can help unlock the meaning of life. I totally agree with him.

I feel that a truly great book makes you think even greater thoughts about life, which is why I like to write down quotes that I find thought-provoking. And I almost always feel sad when a book ends, because while reading I find that I get very attached to the characters.

I also like what he says about trying something new. If you’re always going for fiction, try a little non-fiction and vice versa.

As a former Literature student (although I will always be one at heart), I read a great many literature classics (Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice, John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath). Some were hard to get into, but I always found the effort rewarding at the end, and I found them to be extremely relevant in spite of their publishing dates.

Then I moved on to more humorous books (David Sedaris’ Me Talk Pretty One Day and Dress Your Family in Corduroy & Denim, Marc Acito’s How I Paid My Way Through College, Douglas Adam’s The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) which made many a bus journey that much easier to bear.

In more recent times, I’ve had a wave of tragic fiction books (Ian McEwan’s Atonement, Khaled Hosseini’s Kite Runner, Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time-Traveler’s Wife, Andre Dubus III’s House of Sand and Fog) whose brilliance I think will stand the test of time.

Now I’m moving more towards science-fiction and fantasy (Terry Pratchett’s Sourcery) and am currently reading Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere (and really liking it). Reading these books really shine light on so many issues worth thinking about, which I had never thought about before.

Other new genres that I have yet to try (but will when I have the time):

Marketing books. High on my list are those by Seth Godin, a man with the simplest, yet most profound ideas about marketing and life.

Graphic Novels. I read The Wake (final collection of issues in the The Sandman series) by Neil Gaiman in the library and surprisingly liked it. Up till that point I had avoided graphic novels for the longest time.

Economics books. Steven Levitt & Stephen J Dubner’s Freakonomics (everyone keeps raving about it) and Tim Harford’s The Underground Economist, amongst others.

I really wish I had all the time in the world to read all the books I want to read.

So that’s my book journey. What’s yours? What books are you reading now?

Also, do look out for my post on Bookcheating.

[Image of Morpheus from The Sandman taken from http://distraction.february-rains.net/wps/dreamwp1_1024.jpg]