My brain at work – apparently I have one, and it is STRESSED

I’ve been STRESSED. I am very busy and should be terribly important, but being busy, trying to manage a trillion details for projects major and minor is turning my insides out.

My business coach has prescribed Your Brain At Work by David Rock, and it is a revelation. It is helping me to survive in an overwhelming work environment, nay, succeed in it (sort of)—and still feel energised and accomplished at the end of the day (sort of).

Literary Letters

I love Christmas, I love Christmas books (of which I have a small collection), and I love JRR Tolkein. Spotted in one of my favourite websites was a  note on Tolkein's collection of Letters From Father Christmas, handwritten letters that Tolkein wrote over 20 years to his sons. They are enchanting and I love his whimsical illustrations and imaginative penmanship.

Read all about Vomit-Eating Flies, according to David Sedaris

David Sedaris is one of the funniest memoirists I have read. Hearing Sedaris read from his journal at the Sydney Opera House several years ago is one of the highlights of any live performance I have seen (up there with Billy Connolly, at the same venue as it happens. Sadly, not the same night).

Shelf Awareness -- looking for a good book review or 25?

One of the disadvantages of reading ebooks (at the moment) is the amount of time invested in reading endless book-related webites, scrolling through categories from online retailers. Not that I don't enjoy doing this -- but I am a bit hard pressed for time.

One of my favourite sites for the book trade, Shelf Awareness in the US, has started a newsletter for regular readers, and I love it.

Why YA?

"...few genres have experienced as much growth and innovation as young adult literature in the last thirty-plus years. If you haven't read a children's novel since, well, you were a child, you have missed one of the great renaissances in modern books."
-- Nathan Bransford in a recent blog

One glance at my recent reading trends and exploding Amazon Wishlist screams YOUNG ADULT is clearly the genre I am devouring right now.

Madame Depardieu and the Beautiful Strangers by Antonia Quirke

Antonia and her tome

My current enthusiasm to spread the word about my recent read about pooch Maf and screen goddess Marilyn led to another book recommendation to two film lovers I work with: Madame Depardieu and the Beautiful Strangers by Antonia Quirke.

The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog and of his Friend Marilyn Monroe

It was on my must read list for 2011 as a high priority read, and I can happily say that this is one of the most delightful books I have ever read. Fun, witty -- all good. Thank you Andrew O'Hagan, I look forward to reading your next book!

Maf was indeed Marilyn Monroe's canine companion in the latter few years of her life, and a gift to her from Frank Sinatra. Maf's happy and wise philosophical perspective about art and Marilyn constantly amuses and enlightens.

The smell of books

I have to admit, as much as I am a convert to reading on my iPhone (even more so than my iPad), I do miss the sensory response I have to books when I am in a bookstore, browsing through the pages of a newly discovered novel. Could this be the way to relive that experience?

This news published in The Independent: According to the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), Lagerfeld - who is known for his love of books and says he stocks more than 300,000 of them in his famous personal library - is already working on the fragrance with his publisher of choice, Steidl, which distributes most of the designer's photography books.

Writing book reviews

I know, I know. This is a book blog. Part of my responsibility as a blogger is to REVIEW BOOKS. And I admit I am a bit half-arsed about it, linking to someone more qualified's review and merely noting whether I liked the book, a whinge on whatever is my current thorn in my side, and a few hopefully useful comments.

Perhaps I should make more effort in my reviewing habits, as outlined in this really useful article in The Guardian on how to write a book review? It goes back to basics (it's for kids). I will try to apply myself more in the future. Maybe.

The People of the Book

Next I am on to reading (for my book club) The People of the Book by Pulitzer Prize-winning Australian author Geraldine Brooks.

So far The People of the Book is an excellent read, beautifully written using simple but evocative writing style. If I continue to enjoy it as I am now (and I am sure I will), then I will be very keen to go and read her other work.

Inattentional deafness

I knew it! I hope my mother now realises that all those times when I ignored her because I was steeped in an amazing story was not because I was being rude, as I was accused, but because my absorption in the book had resulted in "inattentional deafness".

According to  the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London: Becoming engrossed in a good book or a crossword really can block the ability to hear, a study has found. Scientists demonstrated that when someone focuses their full attention on something, they can become deaf to normally audible sounds.

So there!

Christmas catalogue period

I love this time of year!! Junk mail, especially book-related junk mail. Comprehensive catalogues -- or cattle dogs as they are often described by those who sweat over their compilation and distribution, the dedicated marketing and sales staff of leading independent booksellers in Australia like Readings, Mary Ryan, Abbeys, Leading Edge, Pages & Pages, and more.

Nathan Bransford

I have been a big fan of Nathan Bransford's daily blogs for some time. As an agent with Curtis Brown in the US, and an author in his own right, his entries are entertaining, insightful and really useful for all those budding writers out there. And his Friday wrap-up of the world of publishing's weekly events is my favourite.

So I was, along with everyone else, pretty surprised when Nathan announced a career change.

Dear Library-of-my-dreams,

I have been collecting books for years with the intention to one day have floor-to-ceiling bookshelves in my dream library. It is a common dream for voracious readers and bookbuyers, and even among those who don't read so much but like the status or feel of a library.

Until that far-off day, I struggle to squish my collection onto the shelves I do have, regularly culling books, storing them in boxes and selecting which ones can stay another day on the shelf in prime position. Or which ones get hidden in stacks at the back where shameful books on self-help, astrology and pulp romances lurk.

Reconstructing My 2010 Reading List (to date)

Neglect of BookFuzz has resulted in an incomplete record of my 2010 reading list (to date). I started the year, knowing there were lots of life hurdles ahead, with the unusual resolution to read less. I was giving myself the year off from reading for the first time in my life while I focused on other things, like new jobs and new cities to settle into.

Move to reading ebooks

Now that I am not swamped with advance proofs and an obligation to prioritise the books published by my old employer, I'm having a lovely time reading whatever I want (largely YA it turns out), whenever I want, and in whatever format I want.

Now that I have returned to public transport for my daily trek to work, I'm finding the Kindle app on my iPhone is the most convenient way to read a novel as I struggle with staying upright on a crowded bus as it tears around the corner.

READING PARALYSIS

It is 11.37pm at night, a time when I usually am happily ensconced in bed with a good book, and instead I am starting a blog entry, fuelled by guilt at not having written one in some time and using the same late-night inspiration that got me through school and university (just). My guilt would be overridden easily by my interest in the plot of a good book, but lately I find myself unable to pinpoint exactly what type of book I want to read next.

US Literary Escorts

New York Times, 16 July 2009: In Praise of Literary Escorts
This is a really fascinating essay by author Joe Queenan on the US phenomenon of the Escort, the person who meets authors at the airport and takes care of them for the day. They basically do the role of the publicist -- the tour guide side of the job, that is. I've heard plenty of stories from authors about their US book tour adventures and the characters who are their companion for the day. I think this sounds like a cool job!

The BOOK I MOST WANT today is by Sophie Dahl

Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights, available August. I love it already. I want it immediately. I will have to wait like everyone else.

I love this sort of publishing -- delish food, elegant advice, sophisticated style, and impossible cool people. I call it Chic Publishing. Another book of this type I heard about today and will also be snapping up when it's out in October: Women, Work & the Art of Savoir Faire, by Mireille Guiliano, she of French Women Don't Get Fat fame.

Homer & Langley

Ah, Homer & Langley by the magnificent EL Doctorow. He has this fluid writing and story-telling style that is utterly timeless, which I first enjoyed when I read The March.

Inspired by the real-life Collyer brothers, the eponymous Homer and Langley, Doctorow weaves a stunning 20th Century tale of New York through two brothers, one blind but with great insight (Homer, the narrator), the other a war-scarred genius.