Thoughts on reading...

I have never been good at keeping lists of books that I have read. I mean to do this every year and it never works out for me. Reading has always been a very important part of my life, but for some reason, not so much in the past few years. Maybe I have gotten lazy, or maybe the computer or tv has taken its place, or maybe the library never has the new stuff...whatever it is, is. So many of the books I have read I have forgotten, remembering bits here and there about a novel maybe, but not remembering the plot, the author, the feeling of the book. This upsets me because books used to be my refuge and escape and I prided myself on reading so much. When I was little, my mother had to make me turn off the light at night to get me to stop reading and even then, I stayed up way too late and was always late in getting up in the morning.

I have become an impatient reader. If something doesn't tug me in and keep me there, I will give up on the book. And if it seems too pop or has too much gratuitous sex or violence or whatever is the popular theme for the day, I will skim through to the end and call it a day. I wonder what is wrong with me if I don't like the current best seller or if the current popular book club selection turns out to be something that doesn't thrill me. It doesn't really matter, it's just that once in awhile, a friend will say how much she liked a book and I will find it hard to respond, because that was a book that I put down.

Well, enough with the pondering. I just thought that I would create a book list in my sidebar that lists all the books that I remember well and that had some kind of effect on me. I'll keep adding to this list as I recall books or as I read new ones that I like. I don't think I'll include books that I don't like.

Happy reading everyone!