Thoughts About Reading ... #1

As you might expect, I think a lot about reading. And food. Perhaps they're thoughts we all have. Maybe you think about reading a lot more than I do. Anyway, I've decided to start recording my thoughts about reading, and see whether they change over time.

Often I think about why I'm not reading. It's kind of like wondering why I'm not eating a cookie when I have cookies in the cupboard. I could read more if I didn't get caught up in other, less interesting things, but I do; I'm easily distracted. Or even when doing bookish things such as hunting through bookstores, I could be at home reading the books I have, instead. I should be more disciplined, but I don't want reading to become a chore, something I "have" to do. I always want to have a bit of that reading hunger, if you know what I mean. So I'm fine with a couple days between books, or missing days of reading now and then. Life occurs.

One thing I don't do is worry much about how many books I'm reading. Sure, there's lot of books I want to read, but there's only time for so many and I'll get to them when I can. I can eat only one cookie at a time (unless I stack them up and then shove them ... never mind). Many people read much faster and many more books than I do, and that's fine, too. We each read at our own pace and depth. I can't worry about how many books other people read. My mother used to say, don't look at anyone else's plate, don't worry about what others at the table are eating, you just watch your own plate. Good advice for life. I do have a goal of books I'd like to read this year (ever the optimist!), but if I don't make that number, life will go on -- it's not a problem, first world or otherwise.

What I could I be reading? That's something I do think about a lot. Even while reading. It's like eating a sandwich while thinking about eating a burger. What's with these food similes? For instance, in the last couple weeks I've discovered two new (to me) authors, Qiu Miaojin and Juan Rulfo, and both were brilliant. So I immediately want to read more by them (sadly neither was prolific, Rulfo writing two or three books and Qiu about the same). But I also made a trip to the library and picked up an armful of reads from the New Book shelves. Those darn Russian authors are always nagging me. And I need to complete my reading of Austen and the Brontes. How many hours are there is a day? Is sleep truly necessary?

So those are my reading thoughts for today. Trying to keep on with the reading, not worrying about how many books others read, and pondering all the books I do want to eat ... I mean, read.  🐢