I did a quick calculation the other day. If I read one book a week from one of my bookcases that houses unread books, it will take me about 75 weeks to finish. That's over a year. And only one bookcase. And that assumes that I won't buy any new books.
The thought of all these books to read sort of makes me feel like Sysyphus. Except there are no rocks or hills involved. Just books. Still, that may be why I'm not reading much. Too overwhelming.
I did finish Whatever Makes You Happy by Lisa Grunwald. The Oprah Magazine recommended it but People did too so I thought it might be safe. It was touch and go at the 50 page mark. I stuck with it because of the real and fictional research on happiness and it's theme, the meaning of happiness. In the end, it was thought provoking but I didn't really like or care about the main character, Sally.
I was also a little disappointed with Julia Quinn's related books, The Lost Duke of Wyndham and Mr. Cavendish, I Presume. The books follow the same events from the perspective of two couples, Grace and Jack, who ends up being the real duke, and Amelia and Thomas, who loses his dukedom when Jack proves to be the real heir.
I didn't mind knowing what was going to happen or the writing repeats like some reviewers. I liked following the same scenes and conversations from the points of view of the different characters. What bugged me was that the real stuff - how both men dealt with their radical changes in situation - was glossed over.
If you're keeping score, that's one book from the shelves, one from the library, and one from the store. I'm toying with the idea of doing a year without book shopping but that's just crazy talk.
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