I have piles of books everywhere. Books that are screaming (or whimpering) at me to be read. My piles seem to grow larger every year rather than diminishing. For every book I read at least another three are added to my stockpile. If I act rather unhappy or ungrateful when I receive a book as a gift, or a book I suggest we read for book club isn't selected, it is only because I am either picturing that book on a pile or because I know that I won't be able to take a book off the mountain of books accumulating next to my bed.In the above photo you see me pondering over which book I should read next from one of the three mounds of books I have at home alone. But since I am a librarian I am surrounded by heaps and heaps of books all day long with hundreds of them calling out to me. The books that are upright are the books I am currently reading. I always have three or four books going at a time, sometimes even more. The books in the shortest stack are all books I have started but never found the time to finish. The books in the other two stacks were gifts or purchased by me and I really do want to read them...but when?
"Anne, pick me. Pick me. Read me next." Did you hear that? The books are calling out to me. Here's what they are saying...
Helene Cooper's The House at Sugar Beach is set in Liberia. "You lived in Liberia. Your whole family has read it. Must finish."
Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver. "You know you love everything written by Kingsolver."
Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. "Everyone talks about this book. You are half way done. Come on, finish it!"
Emma by Jane Austen. "You purport to love Austen so much yet you can't even remember the last time you read Emma."
Stones into Schools by Greg Mortensen. "You were completely inspired by Mortensen's first book, Three Cups of Tea."
Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman by Jon Krakauer. "Krakauer. Need I say more? Did you notice, by the way, that you have two copies of this book in your piles? That has got to be a sign."
How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas Foster. "You know you want to... read lit like an English teacher, that is."
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson. "Argh. Why is this book in the pile? You didn't even like the first book in the series?"
John Barnes' Tales from a Madman Underground. "Printz Honor book for 2009."
Rosewater and Soda Bread by Marsha Mehran. "Ha-ha. I know you will read me next because I am a book club selection and you are leading the discussion. Gotcha!"
So many books. So little time.
What books are in your piles or are screaming your name to be read? Please add a comment to this blog. Let me know I am not the only one who has books talk (or talk back) to me. If you've never entered a comment before, it it easy. Just use your gmail account to enter. If you don't have a gmail account, it is super easy to create one and they are free. You can post a comment as anonymous or use your first name. Don't worry if the comment doesn't show up right away because I have to "approve" them first. I look forward to hearing from you. I sure hope some of my teen readers join in the discussion. I'd love to know what books are in your piles.
I tried, but it ate my comment. Here's sort of what I said--when I have serious, heavy books to read, lighter novels call out my name and promise me relaxation and no deep thought. That's very tempting at times! I did love the second Larsson book although, like you, I wasn't crazy about the first one. Also library books with due dates coming up soon, especially the ones I can't renew, REALLY scream my name. P.S. Dan Brown--yuck.
ReplyDeleteThe pile of books on my side of the bed is much shorter than yours. One of those copies of the Pat Tillman story in your picture is mine. I want it back! I've been trying to finish John Feinstein's The Last Amateurs before this year's NCAA basketball tournament begins. I also have The Gettysburg Gospel signed by author Gabor Boritt that I picked up in Gettysburg last summer. At the rate I read, I'll be working on these through this summer. I love your blog!
ReplyDeleteReading brings me nothing but pain these days. I suffer greatly as I read about Bastesian mimicry and coevolution in my 1266 page textbook, Insights in Biology book and National Science Ed Standards book. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. One of my students loaned me his copy of Brian Greene's The Fabric of the Cosmos, dogeared and colorcoded tagged of course. He wants to have a meaningful discussion about the contents. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. I am excited to read "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder" by Richard Louv. Love your lists!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree, Margaret, that library books do scream loudly when they are approaching their due dates. I think I will just tap the Dan Brown book and say to myself, "I'm sorry but I am not going to finish you", and take the book off my list. Thanks for giving me permission to do that. Tanya, I am really going to miss you at book club. It sounds like you have some heavy reading ahead. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a physical pile, but rather a mental pile of books I still want to read. I finally checked the Lord of the Rings trilogy off my list last summer. I'm in the middle of Pride and Prejudice and can't seem to get into it enough to want to finish it. I'd also like to read the other Jane Austin books, starting with Sense and Sensibility. I still have the Davinci Code and Angels and Demons on my list, and now I have to add children's literature to my pile, starting with Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and the Diary of a Wimpy kid, they are all the craze with kids these days. Oy, how will I ever keep up?!
ReplyDeleteI, too, have mental piles. Percy Jackson and Olympians-the Lightning Thief is on my list. I also want to read the third book in the Great and Terrible Beauty Trilogy by Libba Bray, Sweet Far Thing. I started a reading promotion this year called Nifty Fifty and I put some books on that list that I haven't read, so I definitely need to read them---Graceling by Cashore, Runner by Deuker, City of Bones by Clare, the biography Gantos. This is all YA lit.
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