MembroFenicefu

I seriously got into buying books in college, going through the reading lists of other classes and buying what looked interesting from them. I also started branching out by following citations from other books I had read. I think most of what I had left over from student loans was spent on those, so I have quite a collection, and even though it's a pain to move them all the time, I have never considered selling them. Every once in a long while I'll take something to Goodwill if it's really a useless book, but I don't as a rule ever buy useless books.
Money has been tighter since I've gotten married, so I have tended towards using my local public libraries instead of buying books. It's not a bad solution(especially with interlibrary loan) but my overdue fines do sometimes tend to pile up. I have become pickier about what I actually buy versus what I check out instead. I have no qualms about buying used, I prefer it especially if the used book has interesting notes left in the margins by the previous owner. Oh yes, I am a book marker too so I don't concentrate on keeping my books pristine, they aren't collector's items for me, they are meant to be used and a conversation is meant to be carried on with them, and for me that means writing notes (though NOT in library books...well I did it once in VERY light pencil and it was to correct an egregious mistake that I can't remember now...). I don't hi-light unless it's a textbook for a class, since it's the absolute best way I remember and learn the reading. I would probably never buy one of those electronic book readers, the tactile feel of the paper pages is just too necessary to me. I am now looking forward to moving house one more time, getting actually settled for more than three years, and unpacking my books which are now mostly in boxes. Then, thanks to the scanner I got for Christmas with my lifetime membership, I can put most of my library on here.

I'm 37, a reader (but never enough) and my current interests are neuroscience (particularly consciousness, materialism, the qualia issue etc.) tea (I drink more of it that I read about it), the intelligence gathering and processing departments of the US government and how they have evolved (NSA, CIA, etc. and how they relate to civil liberties) and Indian fashion (especially saris and their development over time, in design and in draping) I wish I could find a book on the development of the sari style of the 20th century complete with pictures, any leads would be appreciated or if anyone wants to discuss it I'd be open to that too.

I'm a dog person more than a cat person though I love cats too. Mostly I'm a bird person. I like fountain pens. I like arts such as ceramics, textiles, metalwork and beadwork, etc. I am a musician (percussion and vocal). I am also active in Buddhism and in doing some work around death and dying (not formal work, just what my life path has led me to). Right now I am living with the tensions between my intuitive "spiritual" side and my scientific physical proof side. As was said by one more worthy that I, "Do I contradict myself? Very well then, I contradict myself. (I am large, I contain multitudes)"
Some of my favorite books that I have read: Their EYes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston (long before Oprah had it on her list..read it in college), The Master of the Senate series about LBJ by Robert A. Caro, A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth (very funny) Handling Sin by Michael Malone (really really hilarious, probably the funniest book I've ever read), Proust (I haven't finished it but A La Recherche du Temps Perdu is less a work to get through than it is a work to savor as I'm reading it. Who cares if I actually finish it), Bitter Lemons by Lawrence Durrell, Couscous and other Good Food from Morocco by Paula Wolfert (a classic with actual authentic techniques instead of all Western make-dos...her preserved lemons method by itself is worth the book. She makes me want to haunt the beach in hopes of coming upon a lump of ambergris for my kitchen.) and The Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon.