I love reading... I read A LOT. Several books a week, almost every week. It started when I was a child, reading well before kindergarten. I read everything. Cereal boxes, lists of ingredients, and yes, the proverbial telephone book when nothing else interested me. I ate meals with books in front of my nose., read in bed under the covers with a flashlight, and in the car on long family journeys. I LOVE books. Even as an expat moving every few years I have managed to slug my library whereever we go. My reading list is long and varied, from crime novels (though not my favourite) to biographies.
But sometimes a book just isn't worth the effort.
I tried and tried to be interested in my latest book- The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana by Umberto Eco. I really tried. It has such a fabulous title- how could I resist? Well I should have followed my instinct which warned me that I just wouldn't like it. I loved Eco's movie, The Name of the Rose- dark, powerful, and vibrating with life, but when I tried reading the novel, I didn't get very far before I gave up. So I really should have thought twice before buying another book by him. But the reviews were great and I succumbed.
I read about half the book before telling myself to put it back on the shelf. So there it sits, waiting for a future day when I might (but probably won't) pick it up and give it another try. Instead of wasting my week forcing myself to slog through it I read a couple of other much more fascinating books, Transgressions by Sarah Dunnant, and A House on Gazzah Street by Hilary Mantell. Really compelling stories, and so enjoyable.
What have you been reading lately?
PS. BIG CONGRATULATIONS to my fabulous daughter who landed herself my dream job this week at Chapters Indigo, Canada's largest bookstore. Well done darling, and I am SO jealous!
8 comments:
I had the same problem with Herman Hesse' 'The Glassbead Game' ... maybe one day.
I loved Eco's 'Foucault's Pendulum' though ... it all becomes clear at the end, if that helps :)
Books are a luxury (a necessary one at that!) that I don't get to indulge in much. Only because I hate schlepping them around with me. So I've tried to download books through e-reader or something of that sort but, I don't know, it just doesn't seem right to be reading a book on a pc although I can read blogs and news on the internet! I make up for the lack of books by heading over to the local library whenever I get back home and borrowing everything in sight.
BTW, when I saw your comment at the blog, I thought, "Hi Gorgeous?!" Then I looked closer and saw the how instead of the hi. I think it's time for a pair of glasses!
I think I'd be more interested in reading books here if they weren't so expensive. But then again, maybe I need to go check out the local library. I used to love reading in France/Switz because I could find books for 1CHF each!
I might have to go back and get some just for that!
And that is a cool job!
The book I WISH I were reading right now is The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls. I read a
review of it yesterday and was totally stunned by it. I plan to get it ASAP once we get back to Atlanta. As a Gemini, it's easy to start a book and not finish it if it drags, so I have many unfinished books that I'll probably never go back to finish. Sigh.
ww... I may just give Eco one more try!
rowena... I have quite a few books on my Ipod and they are fun in that format, especially on planes.
et... I guess I've just never thought of books as being too expensive. Really they are my only vice!
Ginnie.. I LOVED The Glass Castle and I know you would as well... READ IT ASAP!
Congrats to your daughter on landing what I would also describe as a Dream Job! That is so awesome!
I am so backed up on books right now it's pathetic. I'm so wrapped up in knitting that I just aren't taking the time to read.
I think I'm going to go on a self imposed knitting break after the holidays and catch up.
I can't read Eco either...and I read a lot.
My new favorite is Jodi Picoult. Her novels are hard to put down and revolve around such interesting premises.
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