I recently re-discovered my abandoned StoryGraph account, which has been dormant for about two and a half years. Out of curiosity, I went through the 84 books that I had on my "to-read" list in January of 2021 to see how many I ended up reading since then. Of the 120 books I have read in the last 30 months, 21 were on that list. And that feels about right, for every 4 books that I make note of thinking "hey, I might enjoy reading that" I read one of them. For every 6 books that I actually pick up to read, one of them is something that I've thought about reading before. Most of my reads end up being me grabbing something off a shelf at the library or bookstore that catches my eye in the moment.
Speaking of bookstores, I bought two novels this month at our local bookshop (it was my wife's birthday, so she got a gift card, and that meant that we both ended up in the bookstore and one thing led to another ... and then it turned out that her card only worked for online purchases, so we had to come back later to pick up her book and one thing led to another again ...)
- Either/Or by Elif Batuman - I really liked The Idiot, so I'm hoping this is also good.
- It Lasts Forever, and Then It's Over by Anne de Marcken - I saw this book somewhere and it seemed like it was made for me.
I also read three books that had previously been languishing unread on the bookshelves of my house. I say "on the bookshelves" but most of my recent book purchases are stacked very neatly on our dresser in the bedroom, only books already read get the privilege of being shelved. Anyway, all told, I came out of the month with a net of one less book in my house that I haven't read. At this rate, I'll have read everything in the house in just a couple of decades or so.
What are you reading?
