The 2018 Unread
As much of a load off my mind and the shelves as it was to read most of the volumes in the "Neglected" section of my personal library, it's still an incomplete job. Right now, there are 27 books remaining Unread. Might be a mountain to most, but to me it looks like Thursday.
Truth is, I'm not sure whether to...bother. That is, a lot of those books are on my list, but by the end of last year, I couldn't conceal the idea that I was sort of getting down to the dregs. Oh, there were plenty of diamonds in the sand, but it felt as if I was handing out more and more three-star ratings as the year wore on. And some of the Unread were a bit more...recent. I bought books last year that I knew I wouldn't open until this year, essentially guaranteeing that most new books bought in 2017 would be Unread in 2018.
I was also super-focused on those 119 books and no others. I emerged from this seclusion realizing that there are several partially-read books in the pile that weren't really Unread enough to want to add to an already intimidating heap. Anthologies, mostly, but "Les Miserables" is only about half-read, and I never got through that John Carter book. There's still a lot of material in my library that I've never laid eyes on.
And focusing on the Unread has left me longing for a lot of books I miss. I haven't re-read a Harry Potter book in years. I always wanted to finish A Series of Unfortunate Events. I'd love to read Lord of the Rings again, or the Hitchhiker's Guide. But I had 119 books to get through, and it was going to take a hell of a long time, so everything I wanted to read had to wait.
This year's reading goal is another 100 books, which may sound a bit extreme coming from someone who literally didn't stop complaining about last year's deadline, but I'm anticipating an easier ride. Only 27 books are Unread, there will be new additions to the library this year, and I intend to save space to read through many books I've wanted to re-read all through 2017. (Harry Potter books might be humongous, but they're not exactly Turn of the Screw.) The priority should be those 27.
Hopefully this year will leave a little more room for impulse.
Truth is, I'm not sure whether to...bother. That is, a lot of those books are on my list, but by the end of last year, I couldn't conceal the idea that I was sort of getting down to the dregs. Oh, there were plenty of diamonds in the sand, but it felt as if I was handing out more and more three-star ratings as the year wore on. And some of the Unread were a bit more...recent. I bought books last year that I knew I wouldn't open until this year, essentially guaranteeing that most new books bought in 2017 would be Unread in 2018.
I was also super-focused on those 119 books and no others. I emerged from this seclusion realizing that there are several partially-read books in the pile that weren't really Unread enough to want to add to an already intimidating heap. Anthologies, mostly, but "Les Miserables" is only about half-read, and I never got through that John Carter book. There's still a lot of material in my library that I've never laid eyes on.
And focusing on the Unread has left me longing for a lot of books I miss. I haven't re-read a Harry Potter book in years. I always wanted to finish A Series of Unfortunate Events. I'd love to read Lord of the Rings again, or the Hitchhiker's Guide. But I had 119 books to get through, and it was going to take a hell of a long time, so everything I wanted to read had to wait.
This year's reading goal is another 100 books, which may sound a bit extreme coming from someone who literally didn't stop complaining about last year's deadline, but I'm anticipating an easier ride. Only 27 books are Unread, there will be new additions to the library this year, and I intend to save space to read through many books I've wanted to re-read all through 2017. (Harry Potter books might be humongous, but they're not exactly Turn of the Screw.) The priority should be those 27.
Hopefully this year will leave a little more room for impulse.
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