Are there any readers out there?

[Chris]

I consider myself a pretty big reader. Last year I think I read around 60 books. This year if I keep it up, I think I'll break around 80 or more. So I'm wondering, what is everyone reading?

Here are the last three books I've read.

Hear the Wind Sing by Haruki Murakami
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (2nd time reading)
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

[ajlec2000]

Nanda Devi: The Tragic Expedition by John Roskelley

Drawing People: How to portray the clothed figure by Barbara Bradley

Essential Defenders Vol 1 by a host of creators from the 1970s Marvel Comics.

As you can see I always have more then one book going at a time.

ps: I have F. Scott Fitzgerald Short Stories on tape in the cassette player in the studio.

[Russ]

I hope this counts. For the past year or so I've been "reading" a lot via audio books. There's nothing like a good story told well. Whenever I have to spend stretches of time doing non verbal work such as taking photos for internet auctions, I listen to audio books of old classics. My favorites are the Sherlock Holmes stories, and I've also gone through Treasure Island, Tom Sawyer, King Solomon's Mines, Around the World in Eighty Days, the Lord of the Rings trilogy plus the Hobbit, and others from a past era. In the evenings when I wash the dishes, I listen to the Bible in audio book form. I like the idea of doing two things at once, and my imagination supplies the visual scenes in ways a movie never could. Very satisfying.

Of course, most recent books are not in audio form. So when I want to enjoy a quiet evening of reading I still turn to paper versions. Usually it will be one of the art books on my shelf. I also have many Sherlock Holmes pastiches waiting to be read when I'm in the mood for one.

Oh yeah, I also enjoy reading Junie B. Jones to my kids who are still in grade school.

[Guest]

Russ, audio books definitely count! I think audio can be just as powerful as seeing the words, it depends on the person. I also listened to The Lord of the Rings in audio form, I was unable to get through the paper version.

I'm curious Russ, do you read books in Japanese or English?

[Guest]

Wow, I'm not sure what my problem is, but I keep forgetting to log in when I post. The above post is mine.

[Chris]

I'm not sure why, but when I post to the non-sketch talk the forum doesn't always accept my log in. I think it will work this time. So I posted the above two. And if this one doesn't work, this is Chris.

[Russ]

I was surprised you could even post a message as a guest. Apparently some permissions configurations had mysteriously changed (only registered members who log in are supposed to be allowed to post messages) so I put them back the way they were. I find I also have to log every time I visit, and usually more than once a time. I have no idea why. I'll ask the support people about this. Glad you were able to log in finally.

As for which language I read, English is still definitely the path of least resistance, but I often have to read books in Japanese if there is no English version. That's usually the case with Japanese books on art and books on Hokusai (about half of my library in in Japanese). I usually need a dictionary to help with unknown words, and it does slow me down considerably.

[BeginAgin]

Hi, Chris. This is a late entry but I just joined the Forum. Hear The Wind Sing-- that title sings, doesn't it?
I have been a dedicated bookworm all my life. I usually read a cluster back and forth. That doesn't help my memory about what I read, of course. And I re-read a lot. I love travel books.
Agatha Christie's account of life on the Iraq digs with her archaelogist husband, Max Mallowa, Come Tell Me How You Live, is great fun.
Susan Allen Toth's England As You Like It, one of her three travel books around England, walking along canal tow paths, and following the Cornwall coastal paths.
Cache Lake Country by John Rowlands about life in the North Woods with great b x w illustrations by Henry B. Kane.

I read those every year or so, or just browse through them more often.

And art books. Got one from Oriental Art Supply called Drawing Trees and some of the pictures are gorgeous in color.
Just got The Mustard Seed Gardening Manual of Painting, also from OAS.
Instruction books by Zoltan Szabo, Judith Campbell-Reed, Diana Kan, and am expecting that book about TV sketching that Russ spoke about, and two books about composition/design.
Years ago I read an interview with Rudolph Arnheim, the Psycholgy of Art guy, and was enchanted, so I got his books. What I can understand is enchanting, but his The Power of The Center, about visual composition, can be a little heavy going for me in a lot of places.
I would love Audio Tapes if I weren't so deaf. The old Radio plays of the 30's, 40's and 50's (yes, I am an old ancient ) were wonderful fun. You had actors with such voices ! Mercedes McCambridge could turn her voice into anybody at all.

[Christie]

This sounded interesting... I love reading books, but often listen to audiobooks as well.

I have recently discovered Danny Gregory's books and have been enjoying those. Any art book is fair game if it is about an area I am currently interested in. I also read mysteries and science fiction.

[carlos_dfc]

This sounded interesting... I love reading books, but often listen to audiobooks as well.

I also use audiobooks - usually when out walking my dog.
I do find though, that the narrator makes a HUGE difference to the enjoyment (or not)
For instance, I listened to 'Day of the Triffids' recently, read by Robert Powell, the actor, and was hooked.
After that, I tried 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' - a book which I have read and enjoyed e few times - but the narrator had a terrible monotonous drone, which put me off completely.
Currently about halfway through Douglas Adams' 'Starship Titanic'. narrated by the author himself - It's excellent

[Christie]

Oh yes! I have a few that I am trying very hard to get through, but I keep falling asleep!

[artistwithadhd]

Nanda Devi: The Tragic Expedition by John Roskelley

Drawing People: How to portray the clothed figure by Barbara Bradley

Essential Defenders Vol 1 by a host of creators from the 1970s Marvel Comics.

As you can see I always have more then one book going at a time.

ps: I have F. Scott Fitzgerald Short Stories on tape in the cassette player in the studio.

Drawing People is a great book. Barbara Bradley was amazing. I never got to meet her. She passed away before I was at the Academy of Art. We still use her book as the standard text for our clothed figure drawing classes.