By now even the most casual reader of this blog knows of my unalloyed reading evangelism. But even for this bibliophile, today was one for ... the books.
As breakfast unfolded, my wife and I had a conversation about three books. The first was an esoteric non-fiction book I just finished that she'd recommended (Entangled Life - Merlin Sheldrake), the second was the novel a reading soulmate and I are discussing later this month (Apeirogon - Colum McCann). We then briefly discussed an offbeat treatise that is the subject of a book club meeting we'd be hosting later tonight (What We See When We Read - Peter Mendelsund.) (See below.)
I'd already decided yesterday that David Mitchell's latest act of sorcery (Utopia Avenue) would be how I spent my morning. That is precisely what occurred next. (Look for a near-future post on this literary marvel.)
Although not planned, after reluctantly putting down Mitchell's gem, I decided it was time to "catch up" on my reading journal by making entries for several books recently finished, before any one of them faded too much in my memory. First, I completed an entry - started some time back - on Apeirogon (see above), then wrote two others (for Franny and Zooey & Oh What a Paradise It Seems, J.D. Salinger & John Cheever, respectively), pausing my entry on Entangled Life (see above, redux) as my hand began cramping. I also belatedly realized I'd skipped lunch.
Late lunch/snack, some time with the guitar, off to WAWA for coffee - with a side trip to the library (honest!) to pick up some books ordered for me from the county. Uh-oh. Forgot I needed to prepare a bit for tonight's discussion of Mendelsund's book (see above, hat trick.) Quickly perused it - first read several years back - Googled the author, prepared questions. While on the laptop, figured I'd update my Goodreads page and publish a few book reviews. Just before 6:30, I realized it was time to prepare some dinner while logging onto ZOOM to moderate the discussion of What We See When We Read.
Ever have a day when one of your passions highjacked you from the time you got out of bed until you were ready to get back in that same bed? That bed is exactly where I'm headed after pressing "publish" on this post. Before you ask, I have no plans to read myself to sleep. Enough is enough.
You are truly a lucky man!
ReplyDeleteI'm grateful every day for that.
DeleteAmazing. You must be a very fast reader!
ReplyDeleteInes; Didn't intend to brag here when I said all the books mentioned here (except for "Utopia Avenue") were finished "recently". I've known many people who read a great deal faster than I. Most recently, had a comment from someone describing his daughter finishing 8 books in 3 1/2 days! And one of my heroes - Nina Sankovitch - describes a one year reading odyssey when she finished one book every day for a full year. She then turned that odyssey into a terrific memoir called "Tolstoy and the Purple Chair". So, I personally would not describe my reading speed as "amazing". I was making the point in this post about how this past Tuesday was an all day reading (and reading-related) affair. Anyway, thanks for the comment.
DeleteI'm re-reading Franny and Zooey right now! Quite possibly my favorite book of all time. And I just got my dad a copy of Catcher in the Rye--I found out he'd never read it after we watched A Rainy Day in New York, which is very loosely based off the story. I'll find you on GoodReads!
ReplyDeleteBriana; So good to see a comment from you here again. And it so happens I saw your Goodreads friend request BEFORE I notice this comment. I wrote a brief note to you there to tell you of a couple wild coincidences between you & I including the fact that you are reading Franny & Zooey just a few weeks after I completed it for the second time, 50 years later. It didn't pack quite the same wallop for me this time but how crazy is it that we we read a book written over 60 years ago weeks apart from one another? So nice to re-connect with you even if it is in cyber-space. Hope you are well. Be sure to read my note to you on Goodreads for the other crazy coincidence between you & I.
Delete