bookstores

[silverflight8]

Can I say, I don't really enjoy bookstores? Oh, I quite like nosing in and looking at what's on display and seeing all the shiny, new, unbent and perfectly formed books and all. They are so perfect! Most of my reading is library so they've often been well-cracked, or modified with plastic and such to make them last a little longer. Plus bookstores always have interesting knick-knacks and general atmosphere - but all it makes me feel is that I should go home and read the books piling up there. I feel, guiltily, that I have so many books on hold at the library and as well as on the to-read-later list on the library website. That I have the real TBR list (on paper), the vague TBR list I keep in my head (which consists of things like "eventually, read all of Shakespeare's plays, Milton, the four Chinese classics, etc" - you know, very ambitious projects).

And what do I do when I get home?! REREAD SOMETHING I LOVE. I am making so little headway!

I'm presently about 30% through A Tale of Two Cities. I've read a lot of British literature and decided (completely ignoring all of the TBR lists previously mentioned) abruptly a few weeks ago I was going to stop avoiding Dickens.

flist, what are you reading?

Comments

[bridgetmkennitt]

Heh. I just recently went into a bookstore to ooh and aah over everything there, and then went home to read the books I already had. XD There were plenty of books I took note of to potentially purchase later, but I couldn't justify purchasing them now, not when I had other things to read first.

[silverflight8]

That's what I do! And put a list together (or take a picture, I'm lazy) as "check out later".

[bridgetmkennitt]

Hehe, I always take a picture of things I need to purchase/check out later. It's so easy!

[silverflight8]

I do that and then forget to look back at my pictures, because I have the attention span of a gnat!!

[ambyr]

Hah! I empathize with your guilt. My standard goal is to read 52 books a year from the accumulated stacks around my house and office; I have at this point this year read, uh, 31, and between Yuletide canon review and book club assignments I doubt I'm getting much higher.

[silverflight8]

Well, you made over halfway! Do you have a lot of canon review? You didn't sign up to write like an old school fantasy series of doorstoppers did you? (Hopefully not because goodbye Nov and Dec haha).

[brigdh]

Ha, I also feel guilty about all my books piling up at home, but simultaneously love bookstores. It's a problem.

How are you liking A Tale of Two Cities? I had to read it in high school and hated it, but I might like it better now, since I've enjoyed the Dickens I read more recently.

[silverflight8]

I knowww I love going into them and poking about but I rarely buy anything. For one, it would be really expensive. I used to read over a hundred books a year. Even at like, $5, that's a lot! And most books are not priced at $5 at bookstores.

LOL that's a lot of reading to be assigned at school. Assigning books just starts everyone on a "I hate this book" foot, even people who like reading. I'm OK so far - I'm about 1/3rd of the way through, and it's not really grabbing me much. I find Dickens kinda hard to follow in terms of who he is referring to - like his conversations start losing me (who is saying this to who?) He tends to go off on expository descriptions without actually specifying, or maybe I should stop reading during lunch break where I'm liable to get interrupted every few minutes. I dunno. I have an overall feeling of the sensation of poverty - the grinding, bitter cold kind, which I think is valuable. And I am quite grateful for paved roads and well-sprung cars. Having to whip horses up hills, getting stuck in the mud, poorly sprung carriages, journeys taking days, highwaymen...aghhh.

[azurelunatic]

I am working on The Obelisk Gate as an ebook from the library.

I switched to using my TBR as inspiration, not obligation, a while ago. There are still some things that I know I intend to read sometime, but I'm finding it much less stressful.

[silverflight8]

I love getting ebooks from the library. It's also nice to read while lying sideways, which is hard to do with a paperback.

I'm not so stressed out as wishing I could have more time to read everything - and the emotional/mental capacity; the good stuff is often harder to digest and takes longer. I think the issue is that I want to know references to things. So you gotta read Milton because so many people quote from him! (Also I want to see if I enjoy it or not. I do like poetry!) I like first-hand evidence and I discover lots of great stuff that way. However, I am also really easily distracted by emotionally-satsifying books so it's a struggle between the two.

[tani]

I love to buy books, but I am similarly afflicted with guilt over all the books I own and haven't read. I try to focus and catch up, but I always seem to end up acquiring more books, making my progress a net zero. XD

I've just finished reading Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's So Hard To Think Straight About Animals by Hal Herzog. Lots of interesting information, but no clear conclusions, as suits a book about such a complex topic. Definitely food for thought. Now I'm going to work on focusing The Blood Mirror by Brent Weeks. It's the fourth book in one of my husband's favorite series, and while enjoyable, I've been a bit unfocused with it, so time to buckle down.

[silverflight8]

It is a familiar rat-race!

Oh, the animals one an interesting book. I agree, we have really complicated feelings about the things we share the planet with, and it's also of course culturally influenced, so that complicates it more.

[pipisafoat]

Proxima by Stephen Baxter
Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van der Kolk (well, seriously contemplating starting the reread, but I think I'm getting a new therapy homework book next week so maybe not)
Audio Made Easy by Ira White

[silverflight8]

Oh I saw The Body Keeps the Score at the bookstore this weekend. With a modern art painting of a man and stars, I think. Lots of nonfiction in your list!

[pipisafoat]

I mean, I'm also reading lots of fanfiction! But I'm learning audio, so I'm reading about it, book loaned by my "boss" to read. And I'm trying to improve my mental health, so I've been keeping a book on rotation for that, too. And I always have a dog training book at hand, as well, but this one I'm reading now swear to god I am reading it out of SPITE. It's not very good. There has been legal advice that has been glaringly wrong, for example. So I'm not sharing that title because it's so horrible, but I am reading it. Out of spite. I keep thinking it'll get better! And it's had some good ideas (honestly nothing I haven't used with past dogs), but it keeps saying horribly wrong things.

Also it subscribes to pack theory, which ... no. And purely positive, which literally isn't possible and I don't understand how these purely positive trainers don't see their own hypocrisy. Also, it keeps mentioning Cesar Milan, which is not the best thing to me.

So. Yes. The more long-winded answer.

[silverflight8]

I do the spite read, spite review thing >_> it makes me feel better!

Yeah, if it's not purely bad it can keep you going. Which is true for a lot of things, unfortunately.

[superbadgirl]

Just go to a used bookstore. ;)

Sadly, haven't had the brainspace to read much of anything lately, but I did just walk by the library, remember I had a card and hope to pop myself in there some Saturday. Soon.

[silverflight8]

I mean, there's also the corresponding problem of "where to put books" and especially "oh god, I have to MOVE all these books". Eventually, when I settle somewhere for awhile, I'll probably slowly accumulate a physical library. AND try my hand at bonsai. I just can't do it now.

You know you wanna go inside the library! ;)

Since you asked ^_^

[frith]

I'm reading Anthropology by JasonTheHuman, slowly, during lunch and afternoon breaks. It gives me something to look forward to during my workday.

Re: Since you asked ^_^

[silverflight8]

haha oh god I've been reading an anthropology (with biological slant) book for a few months and it made me think this was an actual scientific book. Then I was like...jasonthehuman?

Glad it's brightening up your workday! :D

Re: Since you asked ^_^

[frith]

Who better than JasonTheHuman to explore human origins and culture? ;^)

The Equestrian Stories anthology I ordered is still getting put together, I should order some more books in the mean time. I'm tempted to bring Anthropology home, but then I'll run out printed pony literature.

Re: Since you asked ^_^

[silverflight8]

It's pretty impressive for fannish works to be printed so I can see why you'd want to conserve what you have!