Introduction from BeMor - We B Books!

This blog is about what I'm reading and why. 

I read a lot. I've read a lot for a long time.  Since I was 6 like most of us. Actually, I'm reading less than I used to - that's why I have some time and desire to write about it. I used to average about 100 books a year; probably been double that when I was speed reading in bookstores for low-cost amusement.  So maybe not so many as some folks you might know or be if you're reading this, but plenty for your average bear. [oops I'm editing - see below]

I'm relatively ecumenical, relatively eclectic - certainly compared to folks who don't read at all, or only read science fiction, or nonfiction, or romance.  I have my favorites I like to reread. 

I'd like to get thoughts in my head out to the wider world.  Maybe you'll enjoy them too. My aim is not to edit too much - that's a good reason why I haven't written much for all this reading I've done in the past. 

My bookshelf, - well I'll post some pictures eventually.  I used to pride myself on having read everything on my bookshelf, but that was when I only had a couple of them. Now I share shelves with my husband which has led to a various bins and stacks that I haven't read.  The bookshelves are currently fiction (roughly 20 boardfeet, mostly favorites from the past 40 years' some mysteries and thrillers); 20 feet of history - medieval, ancient, anthropology, archaeology, urban, economic, transportation, and geography;  10 feet of urban planning, global development, architecture, and contemporary commentaries (global this and that) and subspecialties like ethnic history/women's history/etc. 10 boardfeet of geography, walking, bicycling guidebooks and maps - (my husband's); 3 boardfeet of graphic novels, cartoon anthologies; 10 feet of SF/fantasy (weighing heavily on Pratchet, Dick, and Stephenson); 10 board feet on group process, communications, and living in cooperative culture, plus another 10 feet of manuals for community development and real estate, project management, etc.  6 feet of mysticism, Quakerism, and other religious/spiritual/neural/psychiatry/animal psychology; a smattering of self-help - it's never worked and only depresses me so I got rid of that category a while back, but I'm really fond of Rob Brezny's Pronoia.  8 board feet of community biographies, communal studies, group process research and guides,  another 6 feet of training manuals for group process arts, nonprofit management, and housing/cohousing/real estate development and finance. Are we up to 100 board feet yet?  

Then there are my husband's bins - climate change science; green living; nuclear and peak oil holocaust; green building, elder care and such.  

These I dip into and add to occasionally.  

Yes, I do go to the library, but I'm more likely to read in bookstores, where I've perfected the art of rapid perusal (yeah, I've got speed reading down) over the  years.  A lot of customers have taken me for a bookstore worker over the years - always surprising because those folks don't usually have the time to be reading in the back. 

Ok, next I'll get to what I'm actually reading, or was last night.