Nothing to Read

Yesterday I was frantically trying to find something to read and nothing at all held any appeal. At the library, I scanned at least eight carts of books and found very few I wanted to take home. Of the mountain of books strewn around my house, none quite fit the bill; they were too dense, too big, not quite the right subject, too much about work, requiring note-taking, or the type was too small. I truly do want to read every book (especially the library ones) I have at home, but they all have their time, which clearly is not now.

Similarly, on numerous occasions, I’ve heard patrons say that they have a whole library full of books and yet nothing to read. The thing to do in such circumstances is to find out what kind of mood they’re in and then try to match it. If I were to do this exercise on myself, the result would be:

• Not too big: I just can’t bear another 500-page commitment. Actually, I’m presently reading Irène Némirovsky’s Suite Française, which is about that size, but that’s because it’s on a waiting list and I feel pressured. Give me 200-page books for the next while please.
• Easy to read: I have been gorging on these dense history tomes which, although excellent, are weighty. I don’t want fluff, but the words really have to roll along.
• Audio: This is quite the desperate situation. I just finished Jack Welch’s Winning today while baking muffins, and I have nothing at all for tomorrow. The thing is, the audiobooks are getting increasingly popular in my library, and the nummy stuff is just not on the shelf. That’s one problem; I also have to find one each for my husband and father, both of whom are ripping through them faster than I can replace them (I’m working on it Dad!).

Another of my present reading issues is that I own the books I really want to read the most. Under normal circumstances, this would hardly be construed as a problem, except that I have to get to the library volumes first. And volumes there are. While on vacation, I take only my own books in case I lose those belonging to others. As there is no vacation in sight, that doesn’t work. The result is that scores of books lay untouched, in piles, on my home office floor.

If I had my druthers, I’d be reading classics. I used to only read classics and then got off them when I started working at the library in order to be of the world and find out what people were actually reading. I long for them again.

Some of you may find it nuts that I won’t just read what I want, but it’s impossible. Perverted, ridiculous, annoying – maybe – but it cannot be helped.

Tomorrow I will go to work and browse. Ultimately, I find that to be the best solution to the ‘nothing to read’ disease. That, or having someone you trust pick one out for you.

Comments

[Lon Benattar]

Well I'm unsure how you feel about fiction rather than non-fiction, but I highly suggest Christopher Moore as a general break from weightier tomes :D.

[Miriam]

I know exactly how you feel. I have the first volume of Patrick O'Brian's series on my nightstand, and I know I'll like it, but I DON'T FEEL LIKE READING IT NOW!!