S by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst and Other Mutterings

I've finally begun reading S by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst.

I ordered it a couple of weeks ago and have been saving it. I started it Sunday night and could have read an entire book in the time it took to get through 45-50 pages!  Why?  And why am I still fascinated?  And how long will it take me to finish? 

Brief Description:  "One book. Two readers. A world of mystery, menace and desire
A young woman picks up a book left behind by a stranger. Inside it are his margin notes, which reveal a reader entranced by the story and by its mysterious author. She responds with notes of her own, leaving the book for the stranger, and so begins an unlikely conversation that plunges them both into the unknown."

I'm not certain how I came across the article in The New Yorker, but once I did, there was no point in trying to avoid purchasing it.  And I really don't like to pay for books--I read too many, and between the library and NetGalley, I manage to get most of my books for free.  This book, however, I knew I'd want to own.  

via N.Y.T. article

Not everyone likes marginalia, but my lit crit books are full of them from when I was teaching and wanted to make connections between novels and poems with the same themes, symbols, image, or archetypes.  I've always marked up my non-fiction whether they were about literary criticism, sociology, gardening, history, or yoga.  I don't mark my fiction for some reason, although I have used post-it notes for references-- even that is rare.

So...A conversation between two people studying the same mysterious book intrigued me, but I admit it took me an hour or so to decide how to read it.  Some people say they read the marginalia first, even depending on the color of ink.  First, the blue and black comments, then later, those in purple, red, and gold.  Some read the printed text of the novel first, then the marginalia.  There are all these strands going on:  the novel, the comments about the novel, the personal comments, the footnotes, and all of the inclusions of newspaper articles, postcards, telegrams, and other ephemera.

It's fun, but reading and keeping things straight requires concentration.  

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Snail mail posts continue on my other blog.  I'm behind right now and have several letters to answer.  My plan is to get to them tonight.  

Lately, I've been making fabric postcards.  I did this years ago and participated in a couple of exchanges.  They take a while to make, and I can't just stick them in the mail box--they have to go to the P.O. to be hand cancelled.   The backs are cardstock, and I stitch the little quilt to the postcard back, write my note, add stamps, and then go to the P.O.  They are fun, but maybe a little too time-consuming.

Today, Suzie is coming over, and we will make something.  Don't know what yet, but there will also be wine and tabouli.  She is up from New Orleans and will be here for another few days so we will have time to get all of the updating done, all the discussions about the state of the world, family re-caps, etc.  

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend!