Saturday, December 11, 2010

Magazine Aspirations

Thursday I found a book in the mystery section at the library which was recommended to me.  Usually if a book is recommendable, it is also checked out and I have to wait in line for it.   It was sitting on the shelf waiting for me to pick it up, and check it out.

I recently read the top 100 books the BBC thinks are the best loved books.  I have read 65 of them, which to me, seem a lot!  I have read hundreds of books in my life, simply for the joy of a good story.  The book I picked up, however, I am not sure if I can read.  The book is An Instance of the Fingerpost.

As I was checking the book out, I told the librarian, that lately I've had magazine aspirations in regards to reading.  This book might be 80 magazines long!  With the hustle of life, kids to raise, parties to go to, cards to send out, gifts to buy, trips to plan, cookies to bring, socks to match, and detail upon detail to tend to, a 685 page book might not be in my near future.  If I renew the book, I can only have it 6 weeks!  That is NEXT year.

There was a time when I could read without interruption, for years.  Now I can not.  I am having to let my love of reading sit up on the shelf for a while.  Someday my kids will move away, and I won't have so much to do,  and I'll read all the long books I didn't get to read in my 30's, and miss my skinny, soft-faced, school aged children.

I'm going to try to read the book anyway, it has got to be better than a magazine, or even 80 of them.  All I have to do it stop blogging and heft the book into my lap, easy, right?

4 comments:

  1. I have read like one book in the last 10 years but I compensated by previously reading more than most people read in their life. I hope to tip the balance in a few years but I wouldn't bet on children leaving being the deciding factor.

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  2. Maybe I shouldn't judge myself for not reading much during busy times. Maybe I'll call it Book Karma.

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  3. I have been half way through the 6th Harry Potter book for the last 2 years. My problem is that I get too engrossed in fiction and then my parenting choices are based on what gets me the most reading time. And even when I'm not reading, my head is in the story. I had to put the book away for a while. I'm going to have to stick to light nonfiction (magazines) until the children are old enough to cook for themselves.

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  4. Sarah, HP is so good I neglected mom-ing for about 3 weeks per book (or at least the thicker ones, I'm dislexically slow), and it was totally worth it! My kids are awesomer than I am, despite my negligence.

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