Feeling Bookish

One of the reasons I made the decision not to do NaNoWriMo this year is that every year I’ve done it I’ve been fighting against a huge reading mood – there’s just something about this time of year, when the days are sunny and warm, but at night it’s cool enough for firelight and flannel pajamas, that makes me want to do little else than curl up with a stack of books and a pot of tea.

Those of you who know my affection for, or even my addiction to, frou-frou coffee drinks may question the choice of tea, but let me assure, my taste in dried leaves infused with boiling water is just as snobbish as my taste in roasted beans (I prefer darker, bolder brews in the latter, and my favorite is Tanzania Peaberry, because it has all the flavor of a perfect French roast, with none of the bitter acidity, as well as offering 3.21 times the amount of caffeine per cup than the average pull of espresso), and I was helped along in my fetish for expensive beverages by a good friend who brought me $25 worth of Assam Gold, Lapsang Souchong and Golden Monkey (total, not each) which is a significant amount of tea. I do resort to bags at times, but generally for things like Cinnamon Stick or Gingerbread, or my favorite herbal brew: Celestial Seasonings’ Peppermint (once upon a time they sold spearmint as well).

Tea and books go well together, because they both require reflection. Espresso is a fast paced drink, the very name means “quick,” and it refers to the brewing style of forcing hot water through tightly packed finely ground coffee. Tea, on the other hand, must steep for just the right amount of time: too short, and it is anemic, like drinking colored hot water, too long and the flavor complexity is lost, and all that remains is a bitter after-taste.

While I tend to read at a breakneck pace, books are really meant to be enjoyed at a leisurely pace as well, so you can savor every moment, pick up every nuance of character, and bask in the cadence of well-crafted sentences.

This November, in addition to a stack of YA novels to be read for review, I’ve got a stack of books for personal reading as well. I’m almost done with Dog Years by Mark Doty, which is a lovely memoir about his partner, his pooch, and life in New York in the aftermath of 9/11, but was also not the wisest choice while I’m going through a bad time with one of my own dogs.

(We interrupt this entry for a ZORRO DOG UPDATE: He is still refusing to eat anything tainted by the new heart pill or the antibiotic. For the last week he’s been skipping meals, apparently in protest, and this morning when I tried to hide the nastier meds in his food, he gave me the Slitty-Eyed Chihuahua Look of Doom ™ and then pushed his dish away.

Recognizing that Zorro is, after all, 14, and that the medications he’s on are palliatives at this point, because his heart is enlarged and stage six heart murmurs do not get “better,” we’ve decided that keeping him from becoming completely food-neurotic is more important than making him swallow pills he’s just going to spit out or puke up later. We’re presenting him with his “normal” lasix and enalapril, and so far, he’s taking them (or at least, this has worked for two consecutive days now). If he chooses not to take these drugs as well, we will abide by his wishes. I would far rather have a happy loving dog to the end, rather than one who is starving and stressed out.

His mood has improved, as has is breathing, and he felt well enough to go for walkies this morning, though we limited it to less than a full quarter-mile. He ate his regular food for dinner, and begged unsuccessfully for fries when we ate. As I write this, I’m sitting in bed, and he’s lying next to me in a little ball, with his head resting on the neck pillow my mother made for me for Christmas. His breathing is better when his head is elevated.

We now return you to your regular reading.)

I’m torn between reading the latest Diane Ackerman novel, The Zookeeper’s Wife, or John Baxter’s most recent memoir, Immoveable Feast: a Paris Christmas next. I flipped through the latter a bit today, but it’s just a bit early for Christmas reading. I have the latest in the Merry Gentry series waiting for me to read, but I’m not in the mood for Faerie Porn right now.

I have, however, revived my bookblog, Bibliotica. Watch for reviews and bookish chatter a couple of times a week.

Tags: Books, Coffee, Dogs, Tea, Zorro Dog