Booksmeller Sunday - The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Next month i'll be sniffing Anais Nin's Cities of the Interior OR Asterios Polyp (a graphic novel).

Glad to be booksmelling again! What's the last book you smelled? ;)

Booksmeller Sunday, Invisible Monsters

Invisible Monsters caught me off guard, like any good novel does. It seeps into your pores and taints your thoughts. It stays with you forever.



Palahniuk's plots are strange and twisted, but I don't keep reading because they're "weird" or "gimmicky". The protagonists are usually really compelling. You don't understand why they are the way they are until the end of the novel. So I hop along for the ride to see more.

Invisible Monsters is my favorite so far, even only having read four of his novels. It's more or less about a model whose face gets blown off with a shotgun. There's a lot more fun in her life post-shotgun trauma. Her poor career ruined. But the adventure is just beginning. In the hospital she meets an in-transition transgender named Brandy Alexander, and this is where the fun happens.



Saying i'm a bit of a book nerd would be a bit of an understatement. I took a book arts class to learn how to construct a book, and also how to take advantage of it's format to produce content. When I pick up a book, I don't just take note of the cover design and illustration. (Although these colors are so peachy keen, pop, and monochromatic). I also look at the weight of the paper, the smell, the font chosen, the formatting and pacing of chapters, the size of the book, etc. Above all, I get super happy when I get a hardcover book, rip off that dust jacket, and see that there is a well thought out design there.

Books don't need dust covers, they need fancy designs on the hardcover cloth itself. And perhaps more illustration, like in the Victorian era.

Don't let me forget the whole purpose of these posts, besides to nerd out about the novels themselves. This borrowed novel smells sweet like powdered sugar, but at the same time it's sour like lemons or pickles. On second smelling, there is almost a hint of bacon. Which makes me giggle if i think about the content.

I say you go pick up this novel and read it! And smell it! It's highly entertaining. It amuses me how much people either love his work or hate it. I'm afraid to read his most current works, I hear they aren't as great as his older ones. We'll see...

So anyone else smelling books lately? Have a favorite book in your collection to smell? Do you walk into libraries and used book stores swooning to the smell of old books?

I do.

Booksmeller Sunday, Lullaby

I've only read two of Palahniuk's books and i'm still intrigued by the fucked up mystical world he weaves. I've read Diary, and recently read Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk.

He isn't everyone's cup of tea. He sometimes writes in a strange point of view. Or writes in like 3 or 4 points of view within a few pages (read Diary). He writes on and on and you wonder where he's going with it all. But by the end everything makes sense and your brain won't explode (disclaimer: no promises).



The overall design of the book is really lovely. I adore cursive fonts. The book is black and white with pops of yellow, keeping the design of the book modern. Also, the chapters are usually pretty short, which is nice because I like to read in short bursts.



The illustration of the upside down bird is also a foreshadowing illustration. I find it quite cute, but I have a morbid sense of humor. Dead birds, awww! (I have a small collection of dead bird photographs *whistles innocently*)

Upon first inspection, this particular copy of Lullaby smells like old ladies. It reminds me of mothballs, kitchen spices, farts covered by old lady perfume. Which makes it seem questionable, considering whom the book is borrowed from. You should smell it. Have you smelled your books before? I suggest it. I promise they don't all smell questionable.