Sunday, March 4, 2012

So much to read, so little time

I have a serious problem. There are too many books to read. At present, I am in the middle of 5 books, not counting the one I started over a year ago about English history (no, I am not making balanced progress on all of them, but they are all on my list and I am past page one and I started them within the last 3 months), and my to read list is over 50 books long. True, it probably needs to be culled. But still...there are WAY too many books to read.
My dilemma is not helped by having access to a very good library, or by being part of book clubs and a family that reads a lot and a very literature oriented circle of friends, or by limited time (which, yes, should be spent reading, but not of the leisure kind. Reading of the scholastic kind, which is also great), or by the amazon era, in which recommender systems compound the problem by finding even more books to add to the list. Honestly, how am I ever supposed to keep up? I think I need some tougher standards for what makes my to read list.
A few weeks ago, I was seriously considering buying a Kindle, so I could put my class readings on it and read on the bus and while walking around campus (yes, I can read and walk, and have never injured myself doing so. Other than taking a year or two off my life here and there when I almost run into a tree or something). It was a really tough decision because, yes, it would be handy, but it's not really a necessity. I just need to be smarter about using my time. But the argument that clinched it for me was this: If I were to buy a Kindle, I would feel obligated to read homework assignments on the bus, instead of feeling justified in doing some nice leisure reading. And I sometimes spend 45 minutes doing bus rides. Now, why on earth would I want to take away my one justifiable reason to read for fun?
I did not buy a Kindle.

What's on your to-read list?

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