BOOKS, WONDERFUL BOOKS!

I have such a tough time turning my back on books. I have always loved to read. Even as a small kid I always had a stack of books waiting for me. But as an adult with 4 kids and a full-time job, there were just some periods in my life when I couldn’t read as much as I wanted to.

I always assumed I’d have more time to read when I retired. And I must honestly say I do, but there also seem to be a lot more books I want to read. I subscribe to the NY Times weekly book review online, and many of the books they review are of interest to me. I also subscribe to the Riverside Library’s Newsletters for Fiction and for Non-Fiction.

Here’s how I keep things straight. I have a “TO READ” list on the computer. Book titles and authors get put on that list. I put books on hold at the library from this list. Then as I read them I transfer the title to my “BOOKS READ” spreadsheet, which I consult fairly often, since I have been known to forget that I’ve read a book and check it out again. So these two lists help me keep straight whether I am coming or going on a book!

At this exact moment, I have 56 books on my “TO READ” list. Can you believe that? Here’s a few of them:

Some are by familiar writers:

Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
Little Bird of Heaven by Joyce Carol Oates
That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
Labor Day by Joyce Maynard

Some by authors I haven’t read yet:

Making an Elephant: Writing from Within by Graham Swift
A Paradise Built in Hell by Rebecca Solnit
This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
The Amateurs by Marcus Sakey
American Chinatown: A People's History of Five Neighborhoods by Bonnie Tsui
There are some biographies or autobiographies:

Moon River and Me: A Memoir by Andy Williams
The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe by J. Randy Taraborrelli
Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Son by Michael Chabon

Some just plain non-fiction:

Hos, Hookers, Call Girls, And Rent Boys: Professionals Writing on Life, Love, Money, and Sex
The State of Jones: The Small Southern County That Seceded from the Confederacy by Sally Jenkins

What I read and the order in which I read them depends entirely upon how fast the library can get them to me. I am truly a reading fool. I usually have two books going at once; occasionally I can do three, but it evens out to about one book a week. But even at that you can tell that I am getting behinder and behinder.

The only way I can make any headway is if I stop doing genealogy, stay up later and/or get up earlier, never knit or do cross-stitch again, or cut out my social life. Since I’m not about to do any of these things, I suppose I will have to settle for just continuing to slog along as usual and hope I live many more years!

A long time ago I had a t-shirt given to me by my son and his wife who are probably more avid readers than I am. On the front it said, in both Latin and English, “So many books, so little time.” I wore that T-shirt so much it finally looked like it should be a dust rag, and when it used up that second life it was tossed in the dumpster. Today I have ordered myself a new T-shirt, which is what precipitated this blog. The saying will be in English only. I’m anxious for it to arrive. Wearing those words on my chest will keep me from having to verbally complain to one and all about all the books I don’t have time to read. That will be very satisfying!