Plankje Ongeregeld

Reader Lying Down

Edgar DEGAS (1834-1917)

Private collection

Cover Candy......omdat covers op zich ook wonderschoon kunnen zijn

Conspicuous Consumption
Thorstein Veblen
Penguin Books, 2005

Bloggers Read & Tell (5) - Minerva

In today's interview we'll learn more about the reading habits of Minerva, author of the recently and beautifully revamped blog Mama Without Borders. She'll be premiering two now series very soon: 'Creative Moms' and 'Kids' reading nooks', which I'm particularly excited about. So watch that space people! Minerva, a lifelong reader herself, writes warmly about sharing her book love with her children and documents their bookish adventures on the blog. I'd love to find out if the little ones take after their mom and are getting their reading material wet too!-)

Do you like to eat while reading? What's your snack of choice?
Yes, I do enjoy the occasional snack while reading, preferably something I can easily eat, like pastries or cookies. Sometimes, I will actually eat a whole meal if I'm trying to multi-task while reading but I find that eating can often be distracting and just try to hurry up and eat so I can focus on my book. I'm not as die-hard of a reader as I was when I was a child. Back then, I was known to read while doing almost anything, including walking to school and taking a shower (!!!).

What conditions do you find most conducive to reading? Describe your ideal reading moment.

Well, I have two young kids (ages 1 and 3) now, so there are few ideal reading moments in my life, but I find the time to read everyday at least a little bit. Maybe I'll wake up a little earlier, or stay up way too late if a book is particularly engrossing. Sometimes, I will sneak in a quick read while my kids are busy with something like watching the trash truck on our street. But the ideal conditions would be me on my comfy couch in the family room, with a blanket and at least two hours to read with no interruptions.

Do you have a guilty literary pleasure (a book, writer or even genre you love but are just a tad embarrassed about)?

This is not quite literary, but I read too many magazines and blogs. They are guilty pleasures only because they steal time away from literary reading.

Is there a book you feel you really ought to have read by now but just can't seem to bring yourself to start reading/a book you really don't want to read, ever? And why is that? 

Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel García Márquez. I actually debated with myself over whether I should watch the movie without having read the book. In the end I decided to watch it because it will be a long time before I try reading the book again. I did try to read it years ago in Spanish, which was a total mistake. I am a fluent Spanish speaker, but what is considered "fluent Spanish" is just not the same thing as García Márquez's Spanish. I had a dictionary for the first one or two chapters and used it so much that reading the book began to feel like a dreaded assignment.

Books are full of words (simply put that is), is there a word in the English language you're particularly fond of?

Wow, great question. I profess to love words but don't think I have one favorite word. I'll have to think about that.

Have you ever run into a fictional character that annoyed or enraged you to the point you wanted to scream 'snap out of it already!' or made you want to throw the book away in disgust? Who and why? 

Jessica in Now You See It, by Allison Lynn. She leaves her husband without a word, one day while he is away on a work trip. Though their marriage wasn't as close emotionally as it should've been, I just couldn't see how she could be so cowardly to walk away from something without dealing with it first.

How do you mark your page? 

I may put a bookmark in it or whatever stray paper I have lying around, but often nothing at all. I will remember from the place where the book falls open.

Is there an image of someone reading a book that you have never forgotten (painting, picture, movie scene, book passage, real life...) 

Strangely, it is a painting of me done by one of my best friends in high school. She had taken a photo of me reading a book, then decided it would make a good portrait painting for her art class. I've hoped since then she would give it to me or even sell it to me, but I think she keeps it as a memento of her painting days. (ed: picture of the painting is shown above)

You're in a bookstore and can buy just one book for just one person. What book would you buy and for whom? 

Ooh, this is tough. I always find it hard to limit myself in a bookstore. I guess it would be Rainer Maria Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet and I would give it to my kids. They would have to share. Even if they didn't become writers, the advice is good for any young person just starting out.

Finish the sentence: 'Reading is...' 

more necessary to me than a bed." I once said this as I had found a new job 1,000 miles away from my current home. My new employers had offered to pay to move 1,000 pounds of my things to my new home. I told my mom I would happily give up my bed to make sure all my boxes of books went with me. Thankfully, it didn't come to that but I was willing to do it.

Bonus question: What are you reading right now?

Antigua and My Life Before by Marcela Serrano, Hungry Woman in Paris by Josefina López and The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women: A Portable Mentor by Gail McMeekin.

Thanks very much Minerva!

(Illustration: Minerva & Sherri Cho)