What I'm Doing Here

I have a lot of books--sixteen bookcases full of books.  Well, all of them aren't full. Some of them are full, and some of them pressed down, shaken together, and running over. And then, in the bedroom there are books stacked on the floor, and in the living room there are bookends full of books. I know that some people probably have a lot more, but I have enough. I used to have close to 1,500; now I'm down to about 1,000, not counting ebooks, but that is another story.

I think--I'm pretty sure--that I've read at least half of them. I have always justified the others, of course, by telling myself that one day I would read them. Now, I am at least temporarily retired, and I can't put it off any longer. So I have a plan.

Well, 25 days ago when I wrote the above paragraphs, I had a plan, and some rules.

1.  I will chose one fiction, and one non-fiction book and read from each         one at least 30 minutes a day. 

2. I have to read at least 50 pages from each book. If after reading the          50 pages I decide that I don't want to finish the book, I will give it away.

3. When I finish the book, I can only keep it if I think I will probably read it      again, or that I will need it as a reference.

 That was the plan, and in some respects it has been working, but some things--not so well.

I chose my two books: Dynamics of World History by Christopher Dawson (Why I chose to begin with a 600+ page book, I can't imagine.), and From the Top: Brief Transmissions from Tent Show Radio by Michael Perry. It began well. I was reading at least half an hour a day from each of the books, and having reached my 50 page line of demarcation, I decided to finish them both.

From the Top, being much shorter and considerably easier to read, I finished fairly soon, so I went to select my next fiction book, and had a bit of an epiphany. I realized that about 95% or more of the books I haven't read are non-fiction, and also, From the Top is not fiction.

Time to change the plan a bit.

I think that from now on, I will just read one book at a time without worrying about classification. Unfortunately, I am currently reading both Dynamics and another large tome, PrairyErth, by William Least Heat Moon. After I finish these, I will stick to one at a time, not counting several other books that weren't on my shelves to begin with that I'm reading for different discussion groups that I'm in.

I also plan to write about the books I am reading. Hopefully, that part of the plan will work out.

AMDG