Bookworm Wednesday - v17

Bookworm Wednesday is a weekly book nerdy post featuring the reading habits of wonderful ladies from all over the blogosphere. Interested in participating? Shoot me an email [grimmricksen AT hotmail.com]. 

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Blog/Website
I blog at The Militant Baker, take photos at Body Images, and am organizing the Tucson Body Love Conference! 

Have you always been a bookworm? 
ALWAYS. When I was young, I was home schooled and so a love of books was the norm. You could check out 24 books at the library, and I would max the library card each time. I would read them all in a day and then return for more. No exaggerations here. I was fanatical.

What are you reading right now?
I go through themes when I read. Right now, I'm smack in the middle of a body positive movement... so that's what I'm immersed in. This very second, I'm reading the FIRST FAT STUDIES TEXTBOOK ever. And it's fucking phenomenal. Nowadays I tend read only what I'm passionate about, which means that they're mostly nonfiction. Which probably sounds kinda dull.

What will you read next?
A kick ass friend of mine is hosting a "Curvy Maven Radical Reading Circle" at her plus size boutique. We're having a mixer this month where we all get to know each other over cocktails and decide what body positive book to read first. That's gonna be the next book I finish.

List 3 books that you always wanted to read but haven’t gotten around to: 
Someday I'll read Perfume, Pale Fire, and Slaughterhouse-Five. Notice they all require a commitment to fiction...

Do you collect any particular author?
I love Sandra Cisneros. Her book of poetry "Loose Woman" changed my life, and her other books are wonderful as well. 

Have you ever disliked a book so much that you couldn't finish it?
Twilight. Does everyone say that? I worked at a bookstore when it first came out and was disgusted for multiple reasons, the main being some well and thriving book snobbery. A couple years later I decided to see what the hype was about... and couldn't make it past the second chapter. I just don't get it. I just don't.

I also stopped Fat Chicks Rule half way through because the author insisted on insulting skinny women. Which kinda negated her whole "I'm body positive" schtick she had goin' on. Lame.

Where do you usually get your books?
I order from Amazon a lot, but I also make a point to shop at local bookstores like our progressive LGTBQ and feminist shop Antigones or our the giant trade-in store Bookmans. Barnes and Noble? I just like the coffee.

Where do you do most of your reading?
As I'm falling asleep. My boyfriend made me a kick ass headlamp so I can keep reading even after we turn out the lights. Basically, it's pure awesome attached to elastic.

Do you read books more than once? Which ones and why?
Though there is one book I've read several times in the past few months... which doesn't usually happen. Its "Lessons from the Fat-o-sphere" and it's worth reading every week. Yes, every week.

Do you have any "guilty pleasure" books -- Something you're almost embarrassed to admit enjoying?
At the time, I was embarrassed to buy it but now I proudly proclaim that I LOVE The Hunger Games. LOVE. It was a welcomed break from my non-fiction streak... and lets be real; the message is amazing.

What was your favorite book when you were a child?
I was a Nancy Drew girl. All the way, and always will be.

What is your favorite passage from a book?
I have quite a few, but the most recent is from Beth Ditto's memoir (which I didn't wholly care for but loved this part) where she ends the book saying: 

"Voices in your head, echoes of people trying to hold you down- tell them to fuck off. You’re perfect the way you are. You don’t need to change anything but the world, so get to it."

That last line inspired me to start writing a presentation called "Change your world, not your body". I adore her.

What do you do with books when you finish with them? 
I trade them into Bookmans and get more! 

Do you loan out your books to friends/family/coworkers?
Only with the expectation of never seeing them again.

Top 5 Favorite books
I don't know if these are my favorites, but I really like these:
Cunt by Inga Muscio
Hot and Heavy edited by Virgie Tovar
The Beauty Myth By Naomi Wolf
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Germs, Guns, and Steel by Jared Diamond

And kids books! I love kids books! These three are my absolute fav:
Pamela's First Musical by Wendy Wasserstein 
Eloise by Kay Thompson
and
Heartbeat by Sharon Creech

What ONE book should we all read? 
Lessons from the Fat-o-sphere. I just bought it for several friends. My copy is covered in notes. It's really that good.