Post written by Laura Cococcia. You can follow Laura on Twitter.
Books are the furniture in my house. Some are in bookcases, some on the floor, some in kitchen cabinets. For a short period of time, I even stored books in my never-used oven.
Someone once told me that the first time you have a visitor over, they look immediately at your books to find out more about you. I remember a new date coming over about three years ago. He looked at my living room shelf and saw All the Women of the Bible, Market Research at its Best and The Dilbert Business Anthology. He had a strange look on his face.
My first memory of reading was from when I was just three years old. I started reading at an early age, demonstrated in my emphatic proclamation of “Taxes, Taxes, Taxes!” off of the newspaper headline my dad was reading. I stayed a ravenous reader. Every summer, I joined the library’s summer book club and always read more than they asked for.
Nerd.
Last Christmas, I received the mother of all books: 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. I delved into it with unparalleled excitement. How could I not? It was a book about books and someone else already created the list for me. Before I opened it, I was sure I had read at least 30% of them.
I’m embarrassed to tell you the percentage of them of I’ve actually read. The 949-page tome covers book from before the 1700s up to 2005. Fiction, nonfiction, classics I know about but never read and books I’ve never heard of. To its credit, though, 1001 Books provides short excerpts of each so you’re not stuck reading endless pages of book reviews.
Today, looking at the book, I am at a place of both exhaustion and promise. I really want to finish the list – because, what if I die and I only have read 96? Will I have failed as a dedicated reader? But, at the same time, there are books in there I simply do not want to read. And, I have philosophical issues with the fact that some books just shouldn’t be on the list. Period.
And what about the books that actually did not make the list? Like Dante’s Divine Comedy or Milton’s Paradise Lost? Why did I spend all of my time reading those books in school if they weren’t critical to read before I died?
Prefer a more digestible book or book review list? The New York Times “10 Best Books of 2008″ seems a reasonable place to start, whether you read alot or just occasionally. I’ve read three (that’s actually over the 30% I was striving for with 1001 Books).
3 Ways To Read More Books Than You Planned To Before You Die
Now that I’ve come to terms with the fact that I will *not* be reading every book before I die, I make sure to surround myself with resources and people who read like mad. It’s a great filter before I blindly and wildly run to Amazon and helps me focus my reading time so I’m not lost in a labyrinth of lists and decisions.
Here are a few of my tried and true methods:
1. Find your bookworm friends. Josh and Christa give me tons of book food for thought. There are so many bloggers who are sharing their similar love of books. Take some time to find a few that fit your personal reading culture and style.
2. Listen to writers speak. Great way to see if you actually connect with the author and topic, even if you don’t meet them personally. A month ago, I went to see Anita Diamant speak in New York City for the launch of her new book Day After Night. I had the chance to interview her early on in my blogging life so it was wonderful to connect in person. 75% of the way done with the book.
3. Think alternatively. Not long ago, Dani at Positively Present talked about finding opportunities to read everywhere. I’ve since used a number of those ideas and resources, including joining an online book club. Another example of how our reading culture is changing.
4. Rent books. Not all of us like to buy books that we’ll only read once. And, if you’re like me, some of us forget to bring library books back. They are a number of different services that allow you to rent books (just like Netflix). Last week, at London’s Heathrow airport, I even saw a book vending machine; you can return the book once you’re done with it.
Our Reading Culture: Where Will We Be In 10 Years?
All genres of books are snapshots in time. They may reflect lives lived and loves lost, contain innovative ideas or trite storylines. Hardly any other medium captures that type of power.
In what ways has your own personal book reading practice changed? How do you think it will look in 10 years?
(And, of course, share your own book suggestions. We love that.)
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Love this post!! Even though I read all the time, I always feel like I should read more. I make very good use of the New York Public Library – luckily I live only a block away from my local branch so it’s very convenient for picking up books I’ve reserved with them. I’ve got 4 sitting on my table right now!
What online book club did you join?????
-C
Laura, you might remember when I reviewed this book over on WSL. 1001 is a lot, even if you could not get sidetracked and read one book each week. One thing that strikes me about 1001–and there are many things–is that the selection is really, really biased towards certain things. I won’t go into it here. Too much typing today.
For me, the answer is yes, I can read 1001 books before I die. I’ll read another 10,000 if there’s any justice. But it won’t be these 1001. This kind of thing can’t be reduced to a list. But it’s a beautiful book that I really get a kick out of thumbing through.
.-= Josh Hanagarne´s last blog ..What Conan The Destroyer Taught Me About Mental Toughness =-.
Josh, thanks for your note. I do remember when you did the review – and I would agree with you about the list being biased – we are on the same page. Half of the problem here, for me, is that I’m a sucker for lists. When it comes to books, though, I have to be very careful since I want to read absolutely everything. That’s why I take your recommendations :)
.-= Laura Cococcia´s last blog ..5 Ways to Build Your Own Social Action Toolbox =-.
I read a minimum of two books a week, so that’s roughly 100 a year. I’ve been doing that since I was 16 and I’m 47 now…so, even with that conservative of an estimate, that’s 3100 so far. I flipped through the 1001 books and have to agree with you and Josh. The great majority are not books I’m compelled to read. My best source for new book fodder is the staff recommendations at our local indie bookstore, Changing Hands. Obviously, I can’t afford to buy everything I read so it’s a combination of buying new and used, library loans, trading for credit at used book stores, friend loans, paperbackswamp.com, and my Kindle. My bookshelves are more like taxiways – books always landing and then moving on to others’ shelves. I only keep those I know I want to read again.
Thanks for your comment, Victoria – I’m starting to rely on recommendations as well … and love the variety of ways you make your choices. I’m a big believer in lending books – like you, I keep the ones I want to read again. But it’s so hard to let go sometimes! Love the taxiway analogy…
I’m not sure if you’ve read it yet, but I enjoyed The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf. Any plans to start up the book club again?
Hey Lisa! I haven’t yet read it, but just added it to my list since it came from you! Will think about the book club – I really loved doing that. We should chat and see if we can come up with some ideas together. You always have great insights!
I share your great love of books, and, at some point in my book madness- er- quest, I realized that I will read exactly as many books as I read before I die.
As to my reading habits, I always (always) have a book with me wherever I go. My friend always teases me, but you never know when you have time to read. I tend to read a lot of non-fiction, so I can read several books at once and make liberal use of bookmarks.
.-= Roia´s last blog ..12/22/09 Quote- a patient defines music therapy =-.
Hey Roia – I love how you said that (first paragraph). Made me smile. Looks like we have similar reading habits – I, too, have books with me wherever I may be – and while people keep telling me that I’d love the Kindle, I just can’t seem to give up my real, live books.