Stuck-in-a-Book's Weekend Miscellany

It's all rather damp and miserable chez Stuck-in-a-Book at the moment.  Damp house, damp streets, even a book gone mouldy because I foolishly left it on the window sill (sorry, The Haunted Woman by David Lindsay, mea culpa.)  But by next weekend I'll be back home - with family, cat, log fire, and such.  So, my final damp weekend miscellany of 2012, and possibly my final weekend miscellany of 2012, damp or otherwise.

1.) The book - stuck for something to give a bibliophile under the Christmas tree?  I was recently sent 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die by Octopus Publishing.  I'm sure a lot of us love these sorts of lists, and this book is far more than just lists, of course.  Lots of info by well-informed people (including my supervisor, I noticed!) as well as lovely pictures etc.  Since I've only read 80 or 90 of 'em, I've got plenty to go before I die.  More info here.  It's a really nicely produced book, and I think it would make for great discussion on Boxing Day.

2.) The link - will go over (or perhaps under) the heads of most, but I think some of you in your 20s will appreciate this... I was obsessed with R.L. Stine's Goosebumps books when I was about 10.  I'm sure OV and OVW can attest to my need to read them ALL, and they generously identified (and encouraged) the love of reading rather than my deplorable lack of taste.  For those not in the know, Goosebumps are 'horror' books for young children, with cliffhangers every few pages, utterly unconvincing characters, and always a huge, often nonsensical, twist at the end.  I loved 'em.  Well, some brave soul has re-read them all as an adult, and written hilarious reviews at Blogger Beware.  I've spent hours there.  Enjoy!

3.) The blog post - while quite a few bloggers do the TBR Challenge in the early months of the year, where they only read unread books from their shelves, Ali is spearheading A Month of Re-reading in January.  More info here, but the gist is pretty obvious - a month of re-reading books!  Lots of us who have 1001 books we want to read before we die (or before book group next Wednesday, as it may be) may feel like we never have time to re-read, so it's nice to set aside time to do it.  It wouldn't really work with my Reading Presently project, so I shan't be joining in this year, but it's something I'll definitely keep in mind for the future.

By the way, out of interest, are there many of you using the subscribe-by-email option?