3.06.2007

New TBR: American Bloomsbury by Susan Cheever

Oh, dearest God in heaven, another book for the TBR pile:

Susan Cheever's latest work, however, brings new life to the well-known literary personages who produced such cherished works as "The Scarlet Letter, Moby-Dick, Walden," and "Little Women." Rendering in full color the tumultuous, often scandalous lives of these volatile and vulnerable geniuses, Cheever's dynamic narrative reminds us that, while these literary heroes now seem secure of their spots in the canon, they were once considered avant-garde, bohemian types, at odds with the establishment.

I have no willpower, I must have it!

You know, I figured out why I've been so compulsive about book buying the past few months (and I mean a true bookaholic, like when you get into debt from book buying binges or get a hangover from too much reading over the weekends): I am avoiding writing.

Yes, just when you thought all forms of writer's block have been discovered and cataloged, yours truly comes up with another, potentially lethal (at least in the bank account) form.

In other news, if you live in the Bay Area, by all means see the Berkeley Repertory Theater's production of To the Lighthouse. It's a top-notch production and amazingly true to Woolf's novel.

Upon seeing it, I immediately rushed home to reread my copy. And I've started Julia Briggs' Virginia Woolf: An Inner Life (amazing) and found in a used bookstore a text called Virginia Woolf and the Real World.

I think I need to start a 12-step program just for bookaholics. Step one: Admit you are powerless over the power of the written word!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello, my name is Stefanie and I am a bookaholic :)

And that Cheever book looks like a must have for me. My birthday's in a month, I think I must everyone know about it!

Rebecca H. said...

That Julia Briggs book looks great, and I've got a copy on my shelves -- I'd like to read more of Woolf's novels before I tackle the bio, though, so I'll know better what Briggs is talking about.

I just mooched a book I absolutely don't need -- I sympathize with your book buying problem!

Anonymous said...

I'm waiting, what's step two for the bookaholics? :)

LK said...

I will come up with a whole 12-step bookaholic post at some point!

For all of us who need it...

Anonymous said...

Hah, I was just going to say in the above comments that someone should start a support group for folks like us - and here you already have had that brainchild!