Buying books is a pleasure. I do it as often as I can. But that doesn't mean I stop loving all the old ones. Beside my bed at the moment I have:
- A Confederacy Of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. Very hard to explain, but very very funny.
- Uncle by J.P. Martin. A children's book; but, believe me, everything I know about property management I learned from Uncle the millionaire elephant. It's like chemically enhanced Babar.
- South Riding by Winifred Holtby. A story of Yorkshire in the 1930's which I'm rereading before the new TV drama appears this year.
- Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now by Andrew Collins. Student life in the 80's: need I say more?
- Clean and Simple Scrapbooking:the Sequel by Cathy Zielske. A refresher course in great basic design.
Nope, 5 isn't too many ~ that's about the size of the pile next to my bed right now. And, spookily, I have Cathy's book right there, too. I've just finished Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese for my book group ~ I loved it!
ReplyDeleteIt's not possible to have to many books on the go at the same time ... although I think mine at the moment is only 3 - with one being for the book club, called The Friday Night Knitting Club.
ReplyDeleteThat is one great pile of books - I am not a great fiction fan myself but the scrapbooking book very much appeals x
ReplyDeleteNow that's what I call multi-tasking! I'm a one-book-at-a-time girl rather than a bookamist, but that may have something to do with brain capacity rather than any high-faluting principles!
ReplyDeleteQuite a list you have there!
ReplyDeletei'm the same as jimjams, one book at a time kinda girl! But saying that i always have a project book on the go to as well.
Must admit....I only have one fiction book on the go at a time....but with non-fiction....any number is not too many!!!
ReplyDeleteWell there may be five, but they are five totally different ones! I only like to have one fiction book on the go at a time because I like to totally immerse myself in a story but I can easily have a few more non fiction ones on the go.
ReplyDeleteI too can only manage one book at at time and I take ages to read it because I am usually ready for sleep when I get to bed but in the holidays I read loads. My ideal summers day is spent in the garden just reading all day.
ReplyDeleteWhile the variety of 5 at one time works for you; it wouldn't for me. I can only have 2 books going at one time, usually just 1. I used to buy anthologies of short stories and poems too thinking I'd like the variety - but then I never make it past the first few in any one volume.
ReplyDeletehey, you're the first other person i know who knows/has read 'Confederacy of Dunces'. It's on my shelf too but further down the rereading list :-)
ReplyDeletemy nightstand looks like yours! i always read several books at a time. and i love going back and rereading old favorites, like you do. my only problem is lack of time and i don't seem to have any solutions. :-)
ReplyDeleteI think 5 is a perfect number. I get nervous if I don't have a stack of books by my bed - will I have enough to read? Many years back I did a cross stitch sampler that says "Old books are like old friends" - and they are!
ReplyDeleteOf course five is not too many. I only have three going right now which is less than usual. I enjoyed both of Cathy Z's books on design. As a collector of children's books, I do believe I'm going to have to look up those Uncle stories. Our library naturally doesn't carry them, but I did see they were available at Amzazon.
ReplyDeleteLooks interesting reading Sian......I only have one fiction book on the go at a time, I've just finished Pompeii by Robert Harris and started a Lesley Pearse. As for non fiction at the moment I'm perusing a book about making handbags, one about knitting techniques and finally one on a GL diet.
ReplyDeleteI love to reread old favourites - I'm currently working through my entire collection of Agatha Christies for about the 5th time (and I'd read nearly all of them individually at least once before then, too!)
ReplyDeleteI can't manage to keep lots of books on the go at once, though. Maybe one novel, one non-fiction plus my Bible - and I can squeeze a magazine or two in there, too - but that's the most!
Five sounds about right. I have two on my bedside table, two on my end table by my spot on the sofa, and one by my computer. All non-fiction. I'm pretty much with everyone else who can only read one fiction at a time. And then you won't see or hear from me until its done!
ReplyDeleteFive sounds about right because, as old friends, they can be skimmed.
ReplyDeleteRinda
I can manage two...one fiction & one non at any one time. I've tried more but I'm easily confused & end up wondering why the plotlines keep going off at a tangent!! I like the sound of 'Uncle'..will have to check that out!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely not too many! I love having a number of book on the go because they seem to cross-fertilize each other, and spark off new ideas and thoughts and energy. The only problem is making sure they don't all fall off the bedside table ...
ReplyDeleteNah not to many definitely. As someone who wants to get back into scrapbooking but never had any confidence in ANY of my pages and I just want to document stuff ... would you recommend that book then?
ReplyDeleteThat's a good selection of reading material, Sian! Were there not 3 or 4 of the "Ridings" books, by Winifred Holtby - I seem to remember reading a set of them some years ago? And we had an Andrew Collins book - but it wasn't that one - another "looking back at our youth" type of book - about childhood in the '70's perhaps? I can find it if you want to borrow it!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your reading.
No way is 5 too many! I think I've got about 5 on the go too, including the Pass the Book book which I only received yesterday!
ReplyDeleteSome books you read once then consign them to the charity bag. But there are others, which, though you've devoured them more than once, just are too precious to let go....I'm with you on this one, 100%!
ReplyDeleteDefintely not too many. When I was reading "real" books (as opposed to kindle ones that sounded about right. Haven't figured out yet how to read more than one on the kindle at a time.
ReplyDelete