As a result, I used to feel badly, almost a little guilty, about not reading right up to the very end. It was almost as though I'd made a deal with a book when I purchased it and was falling down on the job. And then, it occurred to me, some books are like some relationships, they aren't meant to last until the final chapter. It took me a long time to make peace with this, but I think I may have, at last.
Not that this is an earth-shaking revelation or anything, but it helps me reconcile myself to the fact that I've got several sitting on the shelf in various stages of completion. I'll run across them while dusting or looking for something else and remind myself to come back someday and "someday" never comes. Interests change, tastes alter, and what was intriguing once, is no longer.
It really is like dating. I've looked over annuals from graduate school, for example, and wondered, what did I ever see in her? Well, I must have seen something to make it worth a couple of movies, dinner, and an afternoon of miniature golf. But if I were in the same position today, I'd pass -- so would she, probably. At the time, however, it was a good idea and no regrets.
It's the same way with books. Some become old friends that you visit again and again, others are simply placeholders, there to keep the shelf from looking bare until you can bear to part with them. I tell myself they're good resources to hand along to patients or friends, but most of them never get beyond good intentions. So, on the shelf they sit, reminding me of the person I used to be.
Mm, put that way, it doesn't sound so bad at all.
Tomorrow, no matter what, I'm going to dispose of the books on the top two shelves in my home office. Some may go to Half Price Books, some may be boxed and stored, but I haven't looked at them in years. And there are still so many current books to read. "So many books, so little time" - there's a song by that name.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, I did that when moving from Boston to Colorado and then wished I'd kept some of them! Not many, just about half a dozen that are now difficult to find. I could have kept them, assumed they'd be readily available, and was mistaken. But that's only happened once, that I can recall, and most of the time when I've dumped books like that, it's been looong overdue. :-)
ReplyDeleteLast Christmas I bought a book called "The Best Short Stories of 2009." I read each story, in the order it was presented. I lent the book to a friend, so that he could read the book and we could discuss it. Before he was finished reading the book we discussed some of the stories. Mid discussion, I said, "Well, if you have reached that story, you must have read such-and-such story..." assuming that he also read them in order. Not so. He read them at random- a thing that would never occur to (the methodical) me to do. We laughed that there were different style of reading.
ReplyDeleteYour friend and I would approach the book similarly -- I'd ask myself which titles were most appealing and go there first. After I'd run out of those, I'd go to the others, and then realize I'd mistaken title for content and probably enjoyed the later ones the best. :-)
ReplyDelete