Are books still relevant?

In the internet surf this morning, I encountered these musings about books and our culture:

Amusing Ourselves to Death - a comparison of Brave New World to Orwells 1984

Mrs. Brightside solemly notes the closing of her community's Borders and the place books have in her life - Books.

Don't You Evah Interrupt me while I'm reading a book! H/T Sheese



Don't forget to check out Sassy Banana -- it still has that new blog smell.

Quotable - the writer must believe

"The writer must believe that what he is doing is the most important thing in the world. And he must hold to this illusion even when he knows it is not true."

~ John Steinbeck, born on this date in California.

Film Indie Spirit Awards 2011

On the eve of the Oscars, there's another awards show honoring films with "Independent Spirit." In some ways, I enjoy this more than the Oscars and the Golden Globes. The Indie Spirit Awards will air at 10 pm Saturday on the Independent Film Channel (IFC).

Here are the nominees for the best film and director of 2011:

Best Feature
127 Hours
Black Swan
Greenberg
The Kids Are All Right
Winter’s bone

Best Director
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
Danny Boyle,127 Hours
Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right
Debra Granik, Winter’s Bone
John Cameron Mitchell, Rabbit Hole

Do you make it a point to see independent films?
How would you vote in these two categories?

Quotable - disordered eating

"I didn't decide to become anorexic. It snuck up on me disguised as a healthy diet, a professional attitude....

I finally understood that by being on a perpetual diet, I had practiced a "disordered" form of eating my whole life. I restricted when I was hungry and in need of nutrition and binged when I was so grotesquely full I couldn't be comfortable in any position but laying down. Diets that tell people what to eat or when to eat are the practices in between....Obsessing about what and when to eat is not normal, natural, and orderly. Thinking about food to the point of obsession and ignoring your body's signals is a disorder."

~ Portia de Rossi from her memoir Unbearable Lightness

the hidden life of books

h/t Survival of the Book

false dichotomy

How 'bout some Josh Ritter

Saturday Snapshot: evidence

Kicking back with a book sometime in 1960-61

Here it is, evidence I was born with a love for books. Perhaps it was inevitable that I'd one day own a bookstore even if it was a somewhat crazy venture.

Note: Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce of At Home With Books.

snow on wild mountain

Stormy weather here in the Sierra foothills. The good news is that unlike last year, we have not lost power. That's a big deal.
In other news, it's book club time tonight. Our book is The Girl Who Played with Fire. I'm just about to finish it. These are not my favorite books but I can get through them. Oddly, I always start wanting to go to Ikea. Has this happened to you, assuming you've read at least one these extremely popular novels?

change is good

Hmmm, maybe I'll keep this new blog template a while.

Top Five Fiction 2010

My favorite five fiction books read in 2010:

One Day by David Nicholls

Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by  Muriel Barbery

The Financial Lives of the Poets by Jess Walter

Blame by Michelle Huneven

Other books of distinction:

Best book of short stories 

Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It by Maile Meloy

Best graphic work 

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

in remembrance

My mother in law passed away recently and I made this video from family photos in tribute to her long, full life.