For some books and authors, I am keen to have a nicely bound edition, but for the most part, what I read are disposable books. Books that are nice to see on the shelf, but ultimately, I am less likely to treasure or read again. Though “reading again” is not necessarily a boundary in terms of books I want in print. Reading once, in a nice edition, is often sufficient. Though I realised last night that if my home were to burn down, I already have too many nice books to grab and save – better to let them burn and start afresh once more I think. Speaking of which, I really must get round to contents insurance one of these days. Touch wood.

With all that said, and my predilection for things bound nicely, I have decided not to get my nicely bound edition of Gaiman’s Neverwhere. I’ve not read it but Gaiman has become one of my favourite writers and I do have some lovely editions of others of his works. As I’m trying to arrest my rate of spending and perhaps save some money for a change I managed to refrain, though at leastt in part because I am hoping to buy the cheaper versions of The Club Dumas and The Martian Chronicles. The latter particularly as it’s going to be a comprehensive gathering of all related tales – including one of my favourite stories from primary school: “Dark They Were And Golden Eyed”. Whereas The Club Dumas, is a book I’ve read, having seen the Polanski movie on which it is based, starring Johnny Depp, The Ninth Gate. Fond of both, I’d sorta like a nice edition of the book…which I will re-read. So too, the same Press, Subterranean Press, is doing a nice hardcover of a favourite Oz Author, Terry Dowling. I have several of his in paperback and not read any of what will be contained in this volume…and it is a reasonable price, rather than an “eep!” price.

In other areas, I have managed to get in to the 2010 Ideas Forum at the National Library. Once again, they have an interesting lineup of speakers, and already I am already aware of several friends and colleagues attending. My boss has been very supportive of my attending such, as it contributes to my own professional development. I’ve gotten better at asking for stuff rather than waiting for stuff to happen. Not only that, the trip coincides with some friends going to Melbourne for the Mueck exhibition, which I mentioned to my boss and as a result I’ll be working in Melbourne for the following week as well. Serendipity.

• Club Dead
• Dead To The World
• Dead As A Doornail
• Definitely Dead
• All Together Dead
• From Dead to Worse
• Dead and Gone

Anticipating the February would be a long, hard month, the first half of which was in Melbourne; I bought the 8 book box of Sookie Stackhouse ie the True Blood series that has recently been turned into a TV show. Having given up on the Anita Blake series, which had gotten too longwinded, I’ve been looking out for something new in a similar genre. This series worked. Each book was around 300 pages, none really got over the top, not too heavy, with a good story in each and a bit of romance to boot. Perfect reading for a hot, exhausting summer. Especially good when I was in conference mode in the first half of February. I bought the 9th book and demolished it quickly, meaning I am now up to date and can relax into reading other books. The short to-be-read pile (as opposed to the big to-be-read bookcase) currently contains Atwood’s Surfacing and Reilly’s Area 7, amongst others.

I’ve been in Melbourne town for a week, having arrived a week ago for the company sales conference. I’ve been careful and taken it slow; pacing myself. Admittedly all such efforts were cast asunder on Saturday and Sunday and Monday, as I caught up with various library folk.

Twitter too, has provided, or facillitated, conversation and connection. I finally got the hang of twitter mid last year, once I moved it from SMS to client-based on my laptop;nevermind the serious smartphone envying I’m currently experiencing. I work in an office mostly by myself, occasionally surrounded by sales reps; no techies to speak of. My twitter community, those who follow and engage, have provided me with a working environment of sorts. Utterly unexpected. I feel disconnected now without that access; disconnected without that community of friends and colleagues.

I am rambling.

VALA started properly yesterday with the OCLC API Mashathon Boot Camp. This was an all day session for coders, or rather, it turned out to be for folk who are code aware, much to the relief of at least half the attendees. It was led by one of my library gods: Roy Tennant. I’d even convinced my boss to send me to LIANZA a few years ago as Roy was giving a keynote. The boot camp didn’t have much time for coding but that was ok. There was plenty of time for ideas, for interaction, for exchange, for communication. For me, it was the first time I’d been in a room where most people were twittering including the presenters

Boot camp was as much about sharing company as sharing data. Meeting new folk and new data streams. If there’s a theme emerging from VALA, it’s likely to be that of data streams. Exposing the data, developing access, and allowing others to re-purpose that data and create new tools, or enhance old ones. Create stuff, put it out there, and let other folk run with it. It’s about contributing to the community rather than keeping it to yourself.

VALA2010, for me, seems to be about creating a sharing, caring environment on so many levels.

Book #2 in the series and once again easy to get into and very, very hard to stop reading. If the quality can be maintained, I suspect I’m going to fly through the series.

A friend recommended this series many years ago, and like so many things (Gaimain’s Sandman being another – halfway on that)  I never quite got round to reading them. Now of course, there’s the TV series True Blood based on these books. I finally picked up the 8 book box set the other day as it means each book costs me just over $10. I’m spending the next two weeks away conferencing: one internal followed by VALA, and need books to read that weren’t too heavy, either physically or mentally.

Having just finished the above title, started yesterday, I am happy to say that my purchase was a good one. It’s an easy read, and sucked me straight in, so to speak [not an intentional pun, bad though it is]. I’ve seen the first 6 episodes of the tv series and the book feels different and progresses in an alternate manner. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem to have any of the excesses of Hamilton’s Anita Blake series which I eventually gave up on.

My last attempt at Auster was somewhat disappointing, though I did like the writing itself. This is my second attempt and was much better. It took a while to get going but somewhere pass the halfway point it grabbed me. The story of a man reconnecting and engaging with the threads of his life from which he has become isolated. The writing feels a little detached but proceeds in an easy paced laidback manner. The coincidental connections were a little forced at times but generally worked with the narrative flow ie it didn’t matter greatly as it wasn’t that sort of book.

Yet another book on making the pilgrimage to Santiago. But this one was really good and pretty much what I was hoping for. Written by two aussie authors, it’s the story of their walk along the 800km of the Camino to Santiago and beyond. At times laconic, and sad, and full of hope, and pain and definitely suffering. The feet really take a beating. But mostly it captures that sense of being in the bubble, where the rest of the world disappears and you are left to face the stuff in your head.

The story is told from the perspective of each author, alternating back and forth between views. I started and just wanted to read and read. The writing was honest and occasionally raw, yet bubbling with good humour. I read a review in the travel section of last week’s SMH over breakfast. I bought it on the way home and have since devoured it over several sittings.

I’ve been thinking recently about what I originally wanted and the changes that having been going on since. A year ago I really wanted Apple to produce a 9 inch version of the Macbook Air. I think that’s still what I want, though a tablet version would be nice too. Plus I want it to weigh under a kilo: 6-700g would be fine; if Sony can get the VAIO down to 700g then it should be doable for Apple.

If it handles e-ink, or is almost as good as e-ink, so much the better. The screen as a tablet is also fine so long as there’s a good keyboard. As for ereaders themselves, I’m still in wait and see mode. Dedicated readers are still far too expensive and I don’t think, for me, that they’ll reach a “must rush out and buy” point until they’re under $100. With that said, I really want one; I particularly want an ereader for trips away, when lugging heavy books around can be painful.

I’m in the mood for a new gadget but it has to be the gadget that suits me.

A detective novel mostly, with a nice twist. Enjoyable. Initially it started with a bit too much jargon but settled down to a good, solid story. Nothing too deep but I liked the twist and the way it was used. It could have been developed further perhaps but it wasn’t wasted.

1. I loved Dr Suess as a child, not just the rhymes but the pictures of odd things and escher like stairways and arches and such. My sister also loved Dr Suess and there are already arguments over who will get which. Though it seems our mother, showing foresight, has put my name in some and my sister’s name in others.
2. As a child I had bad teeth, and required many fillings. The dentist was on the first floor in Burwood, overlooking Burwood Rd; across the road was a bookshop, The Bookworm I think. After each filling, mum would buy me one or two of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five series; a painful filling garnering two books as reward or perhaps compensation. I think I eventually acquired all 21 in this manner.
3. As a child I wanted to own a children’s bookshop, then shut it down so that I could work my way through all the books, selfish bugger was I.
4. I got a merit certificate in 6th class for library participation – simply because I’d borrowed the most books.
5. One of my favourite books as a young lad, was “Palio: The Wildest Horse Race in the World“, about a horse race in Italy with various competing contradas, each named after an animal. When flicking through it a few years ago with my then partner, it opened to a page with the emblem of the Contrada of the Snail. I’d never considered that as a possible inspiration for the nickname I chose. She managed to procure, with much difficulty, a pennant from said contrada (as the book was based on real events), and it now hangs on my wall in the main room – a family crest of sorts.
6. From my late teens, I bought lots of paperback SF, raiding the secondhand bookstores in Sydney, Ashwood’s especially. I read a lot of Asimov, Simak and other Golden Age writers.
7. Growing up, I bought and read lots of series: Enid Blyton (Famous Five, Secret Seven, * of Adventure), The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew (these two series read very similarly and were badly formulaic – written I suspect, by the same consortium of writers under the nom-de-plumes of Franklin W Dixon and Carolyn Keene), Biggles, Trixie Belden (these were 95c each, eventually increasing to $1.25 per book).
8. I like nice books. I have lots of paperbacks many dog eared (often by me), but at some point I decided I liked hardcovers, probably early in the early Pratchett days as I couldn’t wait for the paperback to come out. These days, for books I like, I seek out special editions, or leather bound copies. I’m not necessarily interested in first editions but I do like the feel of a nice book in the hand while reading. All books are for reading, regardless of cost. I buy books I want to read.
9. I like odd books: esoteric, out there, generally unusual; especially if there are interesting pictures. One of my favourites of such is the Codex Seraphinianus. My former partner bought me a lovely copy of The Voynich Transcript and translated the french essay that introduced it. Both items are treasured and lie together in the bookcase beside my bed.
10. In non fiction, I have a continuing interest in the History and Philosophy of Science which was my favourite major at uni. I have been slowly buying up all the books I used to photocopy.
11. I like words and dictionaries. I follow a few linguistic blogs and have a small collection of dictionaries…which seems to be increasing. As a corollary, I also collect reference books. The librarian in me likes having a good ready reference shelf beside the computer.
12. I like reading online too and back in the mid 90s on an old version of my website (annotated collection of links and other bits), I had htmlised Gutenberg’s version of HG Wells’ The Time Machine, along with some poetry.
13. I have managed to cull, or weed, a few hundred books from my collection…which took everyone by surprise. I then replaced them with a few hundred books of dad’s, that I chose out of the 3,000 or so that he left behind. They are intermingled on the shelves with my own.
14. For the first time in over a decade, all my books are in one place and on shelves, all visible. When I moved out of home, I left lots of books behind. Over the years I slowly packed my books and moved them out. For several years, they resided in boxes under my bed…and beside my bed. Even back when I lived in the parental home, to maximise space I would double stack the shelves ie one row in front of another so you had to move books in front to see what was behind. Now all titles are easily viewable.
15. At a rough estimate, I currently have around 2,000 books. I plan to eventually add them all to my LibraryThing account which I hope, will make it easier to keep track of what I have.

I’d better stop there before I get carried away.