INTRODUCING: PROJECT BOOKSHELF

This project has been a long time coming, so I am thrilled to get it rolling.  This section of my website (I still hate calling it a blog) will showcase my thoughts and reviews of another one of my passions- books!  I was a serious reader long before I became serious about analyzing and appreciating film, so this is really long overdue.

My wife and I have four bookcases in our house that are overflowing with books.  I grew up reading and loving many different kinds of books.  For me, reading a book is like projecting a movie in your mind.  You have full control of what you see and how you see it.

At some point in the last two years it occurred to me just how many books we have in our house.  I never read many of my wife’s books and, sadly, I own many books that I have yet to read as well.  I knew that there were several books that we could probably get rid of but how do we pick which ones to hang onto?  I chose the simplest answer- read every single book in our house.

That is the goal here.  I have no idea how long it is going to take to read all of our books, nor do I know that my wife will let me get rid of any of her books that I deem inferior.  I’m going to find out though.  You are welcome to follow me on my half-crazy journey.

This part of the site will fill out over the coming weeks.  The movie reviews will be back soon as well- I have over two dozen reviews stockpiled.  There will, however, be substantial differences between the two:

1) My rating system will be different.   
Yes, just like with movies, I am going to offer a score for evaluating the quality of the books I read.  I am currently refining just how this will work out.  More detailed explanations will follow, but the basic gist is that I will use a letter grade for books rather than the point system I use for rating movies.  A book’s final grade will be an average between its grades for the technical aspects of writing (spelling, grammar, style, structural elements) and intangible qualities (creativity, fulfillment of purpose, its grip on me as a reader).

2) Objectivity is not essential.   
I will do my best to be objective, but I am not approaching book grades with the same level of care as I have done with movie reviews.  I believe that appreciation of the written word is far more subjective than appreciation of film.  Film is more of a science, whereas writing is more of an art.  The existence of “proper” language, mechanics, and structure has been debated for ages and I doubt there will ever be consensus.

Please be aware that my book reviews will be much more subjective than my movie reviews.  I may be able to see what others see in films that aren’t my cup of tea, but reading a book that doesn’t grab you makes for a miserable experience.  I will let you know if I am having such an experience and it will affect the book’s grade.  I will do my best to find fault only with a book, author, or editor, and not pass judgment on fans of books.  Everyone has preferences.  You have a right to your own opinion.  Hopefully you will respect mine (but by all means, feel free to disagree with me!).

3) I will provide updates while reading books.   
My goal is to read constantly, which should result in plenty to post about.  If a book takes longer than a week to read, I will most likely write a brief post about how I feel about the book so far.  I will talk about the characters, the plot, the pace, etc.  Shorter books probably won’t get this treatment unless I feel particularly moved to share a few thoughts about something that stands out to me.

Technically, I won’t be reading EVERY book in our house.  We have a few dictionaries, half a dozen or more bibles, and a few duplicate copies of books between my collection and my wife’s.  In the effort to avoid redundancy, I will select only one copy of these kinds of books to read.  It’s my project, so I reserve the right to do that.  I will provide justification for my choice when I first announce that I am reading one of these books.

That’s it for now.  I have my first few books picked out, the first of which should be announced soon.  I would like to ask for recommendations, but that’s not possible unless you know what books my wife and I own.  Oh heck, throw some titles out there and we’ll see if I have them!