Too Many Books

A friend of mine recently gave me a copy of The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby as a Christmas gift. Its a collection of Nick Hornby's essays for the Believer Magazine. In the essays he writes about the books he has read for that month. He also tells you what books he bought and intended to read but didn't.

In reading the reviews and Nick's often funny and sarcastic insights, I found the Spree to be just what I wanted. Something fun, but still informative but not Business Book / Non-Fiction informative. It was liberating to see that my wife and I aren't the only ones who buy books and then let them sit on the book shelves; Unopened and silently mocking us every time we walk by. The intention is always there to read the books, its just that cleaning lint from the dryer always seems to come first. Well at least Nick has an excuse, he does this for a living and can be forgiven for not reading all the books he buys. We are just busy with laundry.

Of course what the Spree gives in redemption, can also lead to downfall. I've gained two more titles to read (and added to my Amazon Wish list) after reading the reviews. They are Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc. This looks to be just a downer of a book but still moving. The other is How Mumbo-jumbo Conquered The World by Francis Wheen. A look at the lack of reason and enlightenment in today's world. Of course I also signed up for the Believer magazine too, can't wait to add that to the magazine pile in the corner.

Nick also likes Charles Dickens a lot and it made me think about reading the classics. You know other authors like Dickens, such as T.S. Elliott, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf and so on. But there's only so much room on the bookshelf and the damn lint won't clean itself you know.

Anyway, do you remember the last book you read? Who the main characters were and what happened to them?... Yes? Well look at you with the big brain... Nick mentions that he doesn't always remember what he read. I guess excusable for a book reviewer, not so much for someone like me, but I must say not all books are worth remembering. And I'm sure there are more of those 'read and forget' people like me out there. Be proud, we have the benefit of being able to read a good book like it was new again.... and again..... and again..... well hopefully its stuck by the 3rd reading.

Now I must get back to my laundry.

P.S. Did you see the title of the latest Harry Potter book is out?