Ive just realised I have a lot of unfinished books in the pile this year:
Everything is miscellaneous by David Weinberger. I think I have read up to chapter 6 and thoroughly enjoyed it, but for some reason I put it down at that point and haven’t picked it up again.
Ditto with Walt Crawford’s Balanced libraries: Thoughts on continuity and change, which I read all the way until halfway through chapter 3.
I was transfixed by The strange case of the Broad Street pump: John Snow and the mystery of cholera by Sandra Hempel at one point some weeks ago, but I stopped reading it, and now I can’t even remember why I lost my fascination.
Started reading Dogs never lie about love: Reflections on the emotional world of dogs by Jeffrey Masson before Paco joined our household. I was enjoying it, but now I have a dog in my life I suppose I don’t need to read about how dogs relate to humans.
Books I keep looking at or flicking through but haven’t even begun:
The singularity is near: When humans transcend biology by Ray Kurzweil
The weather makers by Tim Flannery
Notebooks of the mind: Explorations of thinking by Vera John-Steiner. (I wonder if M might be interested in this one)
Hmm, these are all non-fiction. I never seem to have any trouble reading fiction (even if I still haven’t read the last Harry Potter). On the other hand, I have read rather more non-fiction books than usual this year (count so far is seven non-fiction books, which is more than what I managed in 2005 and 2006.
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Something you may like, just to add to your pile: The Philosopher’s Dog, by Raimon Gaita. Part meditation on the relationship between humans and animals of all kinds, part stories about animals he has lived with and known. Beautifully written and thought-provoking – have you read it?
I need to go to the library and find some books… I hate not having books to read.
Ooh, I try and read only one book at a time. Otherwise I get confused and start wondering when Mr Micawber is going to get together with Jane Eyre or something.
I’ve never read the book but I know the story about the Broad Street pump – facinating.
I finally gave in to Harry Potter and bought the first and second in the series. Read the first one, no probs, but i stalled a quarter of the way through the second. I can see the appeal, i suppose, but they’re just not for me. Seem to go through phases as well of being non-fiction inclined then going full-on with fiction for a while.
Thanks, Sheena!
Penny I am never without books to read. The very idea makes me feel faint!
Tom, one book at a time would be my ideal, but – too many books, too little time!
jl, i reckon the first was the best of the lot. After that the hype got to the author, imho.