Maybe next time...

[sixsmith]

Over the past few years i have acquired many, many books and it is sometimes a mini ordeal choosing what to read next. Of course, some books will remain on the shelf for a good while but I can't help but notice that certain books have been passed over again and again (and again) - in other words, i'm avoiding them. In some cases, its a length/complexity thing. In others, i really can't say what it is.

Among the unlucky:

Gravity's Rainbow - Pynchon
Love in the time of Cholera - Marquez
Middlemarch - George Eliot
A Farewell to Arms -Hemingway
The New York Trilogy - Paul Auster
If this is a man - Primo Levi

The above have been neglected for a good 5 years.

Similar experiences???

[The Comedian]

Ha! I have a very similar experience. My big problem, though, is with books that people tell me I should read. I get book recommendations from people all the time, and I truly want to read them. But I have this list of "to read" book of my own that's a mile long and I don't like other people's book getting in the way of that. It's totally selfish.

So, my list of "unlucky ones" consists mostly of books that people have lent me but I keep putting them off and off and off and off . . . . because I'm too chicken to say to them: "I know your heart was in the right place. But I'm just not going to read this."

[Emil Miller]

Over the past few years i have acquired many, many books and it is sometimes a mini ordeal choosing what to read next. Of course, some books will remain on the shelf for a good while but I can't help but notice that certain books have been passed over again and again (and again) - in other words, i'm avoiding them. In some cases, its a length/complexity thing. In others, i really can't say what it is.

Among the unlucky:

Gravity's Rainbow - Pynchon
Love in the time of Cholera - Marquez
Middlemarch - George Eliot
A Farewell to Arms -Hemingway
The New York Trilogy - Paul Auster
If this is a man - Primo Levi

The above have been neglected for a good 5 years.

Similar experiences???

You appear to be one of that band of readers who accumulate books for the sake of accumulation. There are a number of them who are members of these forums and, whilst there is nothing wrong in it, I'm puzzled why it is done at all. I buy books in ones and twos and read them before repeating the process; that way I don't build up a pile of unread books and am always ahead of the game. I generally know what I will be buying next as I don't read at random and if a bookstore hasn't got what I want, I order it.
One of the better things about living in London is the multiplicity of bookshops. If I lived in a small place or had a long journey to a reasonable bookshop I could see the sense in buying a large quantity of books while I was there; otherwise I don't see the point.

[The Comedian]

You appear to be one of that band of readers who accumulate books for the sake of accumulation.

I don't know that just because some people have a couple of unread books laying around the house means that they buy books "for the sake of accumulation."

Heck, I've bought books, been distracted by something else: work, family, a new issue of Smithsonian magazine, a new video game, or a book that someone recommends to me . . . . and just never got around to reading the book I originally had in mind. And, some books are best read under certain moods or times in one's daily routines. I tend to read shorter books when school is going, longer ones when school is out. Sometimes a book just gets out of this cycle and has a hard time finding its way back in.

Any reader is bound to collect a few books in the "I meant to read that but never have" pile.

[Bancini]

I found a great used book store that has a 10 cent book section, have found quite a few worth reading, so I'm years behind and still buying

Books make great decorations too...

[Emil Miller]

I don't know that just because some people have a couple of unread books laying around the house means that they buy books "for the sake of accumulation."

Heck, I've bought books, been distracted by something else: work, family, a new issue of Smithsonian magazine, a new video game, or a book that someone recommends to me . . . . and just never got around to reading the book I originally had in mind. And, some books are best read under certain moods or times in one's daily routines. I tend to read shorter books when school is going, longer ones when school is out. Sometimes a book just gets out of this cycle and has a hard time finding its way back in.

Any reader is bound to collect a few books in the "I meant to read that but never have" pile.

If you read Sixsmith's original post you will see that he makes mention of "...many many books...". There is one forum member who recently said that he had over 90 books waiting to be read, so it's not a question of " a couple of books laying around the house." As I have said, I don't have a pile of books waiting to be read, because I only buy books that I actually read.

[Emil Miller]

I found a great used book store that has a 10 cent book section, have found quite a few worth reading, so I'm years behind and still buying

Books make great decorations too...

You are lucky in having a bookstore with a 10 cent book section but surely, if you are years behind and still buying, there must come a time when you will have more books than you can ever read.

Books do make great decorations, at this very moment I am sitting next to a large bookcase full of books and there are two more bookcases of similar size downstairs in the living room but, apart from those that are used for reference, the others have all been read.

[Emil Miller]

I don't know that just because some people have a couple of unread books laying around the house means that they buy books "for the sake of accumulation."

Heck, I've bought books, been distracted by something else: work, family, a new issue of Smithsonian magazine, a new video game, or a book that someone recommends to me . . . . and just never got around to reading the book I originally had in mind. And, some books are best read under certain moods or times in one's daily routines. I tend to read shorter books when school is going, longer ones when school is out. Sometimes a book just gets out of this cycle and has a hard time finding its way back in.

Any reader is bound to collect a few books in the "I meant to read that but never have" pile.
If you read Sixsmith's original post you will see that he makes mention of "...many many books...". There is one forum member who recently said that he had over 90 books waiting to be read, so it's not a question of " a couple of books laying around the house." As I have said, I don't have a pile of books waiting to be read, because I only buy books that I actually read.

[subterranean]

Among the unlucky:


Ever thought that the unlucky one is actually you? :)


]You appear to be one of that band of readers who accumulate books for the sake of accumulation.


Found a quote by Paxton Hood:
The books we read should be chosen with great care, that they may be, as an Egyptian king wrote over his library, "The medicines of the soul."


I have some unread books, but most of them are the ones given to me as gifts without first asking me. It's not that I don't appriciate gifts but when it comes to books, I prefer to prioritize those which I personally pick!

[The Comedian]

If you read Sixsmith's original post you will see that he makes mention of "...many many books...". There is one forum member who recently said that he had over 90 books waiting to be read, so it's not a question of " a couple of books laying around the house." As I have said, I don't have a pile of books waiting to be read, because I only buy books that I actually read.

I don't want to turn this into a close reading contest, but Sixsmith's original posts says that he's acquired "many many books" as you note, but that there "some" of these that he just never gets around to reading. Maybe I'm just reading the post wrong, but I didn't think that those "many many" were all unread, just some of them.

[phoenix151]

I hate having books on my shelf that I don't read. Once I read them I can look at them, but until that point, it's as if they are looking at me saying, "read me, read me!" Sometimes I wonder if they think I am crazy. Perhaps they even know the whereabouts of my marbles.

Seriously though - unread books after 1 year gotta go, otherwise they take on the likeness of a pile of dirty dishes that are exponentially being avoided.

[Emil Miller]

I don't want to turn this into a close reading contest, but Sixsmith's original posts says that he's acquired "many many books" as you note, but that there "some" of these that he just never gets around to reading. Maybe I'm just reading the post wrong, but I didn't think that those "many many" were all unread, just some of them.

Well, he lists six books as being among those he hasn't read for five years, which begs the question as to how many others he has also left unread.

[sixsmith]

You appear to be one of that band of readers who accumulate books for the sake of accumulation. There are a number of them who are members of these forums and, whilst there is nothing wrong in it, I'm puzzled why it is done at all. I buy books in ones and twos and read them before repeating the process; that way I don't build up a pile of unread books and am always ahead of the game. I generally know what I will be buying next as I don't read at random and if a bookstore hasn't got what I want, I order it.
One of the better things about living in London is the multiplicity of bookshops. If I lived in a small place or had a long journey to a reasonable bookshop I could see the sense in buying a large quantity of books while I was there; otherwise I don't see the point.

Yes i am an accumulator largely because there is a dearth of quality bookshops in my area and one has to make the most of good finds. My experience is probably similar to The Comedian in that books do seem to get out of the cycle for whatever reason.

[PoeticPassions]

Over the past few years i have acquired many, many books and it is sometimes a mini ordeal choosing what to read next. Of course, some books will remain on the shelf for a good while but I can't help but notice that certain books have been passed over again and again (and again) - in other words, i'm avoiding them. In some cases, its a length/complexity thing. In others, i really can't say what it is.

Among the unlucky:

Gravity's Rainbow - Pynchon
Love in the time of Cholera - Marquez
Middlemarch - George Eliot
A Farewell to Arms -Hemingway
The New York Trilogy - Paul Auster
If this is a man - Primo Levi

The above have been neglected for a good 5 years.

Similar experiences???

I have a couple that I started reading, and then I kind of just never finished... one of them is ULYSSES (perhaps due to the complexity of that book) and another is ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE... though I have read LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA, and I absolutely loved it... sometimes it might just have to do with the mood you are in. Don't be discouraged, you'll get around to them. And if you don't, you can always give them to someone else. I love receiving books, and I love giving them (though I am very particular about which books I gift)

[oopsycandy]

I tend to impulse buy when it comes to books so I too have several that have not been read including a really nice hard back of Rebecca that looks nice on the shelf and a full set of Dickens that I've only read three of so far:)

Ulysses!! Ive got it, started it, and am keeping it lol in the hope that one day I will be intelligent enough to read it and understand it, but that could take a while.

Generally speaking though if its not a reference book, poetry anthology, short story collection or a favourite book then it never makes it onto a book case.

I'm lucky because there are lots of second hand book shops and market stalls locally that do money off purchases when you bring other second hand books back so I never feel guilty about wasting money.

I had a big clean out a couple of years ago and gave away 200 books that I thought I would'nt read again or ever get round to starting lol and I know I gave one away written by a woman about a love affair that her sister had, but it turned out to really be about her, and the man involved was writing or making up a story about aliens. For the life of me I can't remember what it was called and I would love to read it again! So I am more cautious now about what I choose to keep 'just in case'

[mortalterror]

I got a copy of Les Miserables from a library book sale when I was 13, read half, and finished it nearly 12 years later. When I was 16, I read the first half of Death of a Salesman for a class. Ten years later and I just finished it. I like to read capriciously, selecting a book for whatever mood I'm in, and so that usually means that I need a wide range of books available to choose from. Typically, I read books about a dozen at a time. They litter my house, lean in doorways, and lie in piles around my bed. Some I finish in a sitting and others I discard half read, when the mood passes. I think in another five years or so I'll have finished the last of my college reading. Like Les Mis and Death they weigh on my mind at times; but I know I'll get to them some day, when the mood returns.

[kasie]

I bulk buy books because I have no quality bookshop near by, so I can't just pop in when passing and pick up a tempting little something. I buy when I see, as the chances are I'll never see that book again. Classics, run of the mill latest publications, glossy p/bs I can get easily but I just couldn't walk away from Your Brain on Music or Dry Store Room No 1 - The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum or The Sale of the Late King's Goods or.... now could I? I could get organised and make a bulk order from Amazon, I suppose, but why break the (disorganised) habit of a life-time? And, exciting as the arrival of a parcel is, it doesn't beat that surge of adrenalin when you spot exactly the book you've been looking for - only you didn't know it - in a real book shop.

I like having piles of yet-to-be read books around the house: it means I have hours of pleasure to which to look forward with anticipation. I think the miser looking at his hoard or the thrifty housewife inspecting her well-stocked cupboards must have the same feeling of satisfaction at securing oneself against a future dearth.

As for the OP's dilemma, my solution would be - close your eyes, put out your hand, take a book and read it. Do not be disappointed it's not the one you thought you wanted (you've given up your chance to choose), stick with the one Fate has decreed for you. This method works in libraries too, btw, when you are faced with an embarrassment of choice. If you are faced with a College reading list then, of course, be practical - which one are you going to have to prepare for a lecture/seminar/essay first?

Love that quotation about books being the medicine of the soul, subterranean, thank you.

[Pecksie]

So, my list of "unlucky ones" consists mostly of books that people have lent me but I keep putting them off and off and off and off . . . . because I'm too chicken to say to them: "I know your heart was in the right place. But I'm just not going to read this."

Same thing here! And most of the borrowed books come from my mother-in-law's book club :) It's a bit embarrassing to have to confess I haven't read them when the time comes for her to return them and she asks my opinion...

[Pecksie]

You appear to be one of that band of readers who accumulate books for the sake of accumulation. There are a number of them who are members of these forums and, whilst there is nothing wrong in it, I'm puzzled why it is done at all.

Well, I for one have lots of unread books lying about and, like Comedian, don't consider myself a mere 'accumulator'. I will buy any cheap + promising book I find in Amazon or in a bookstore, regardless of whether I'm likely to read it in the near future or not... After all, my tastes haven't varied so much in the last, say, ten years. My principle? I can afford those books today. Tomorrow --- who knows? It's not nice to be book-starved. I have seen enough financial up-and-downs (in my family and elsewhere) to know that, if you can buy something today, you shouldn't wait until tomorrow. Maybe this is something that comes with living in the Third World, but that is how I feel, and I think it's perfectly valid.

[LauraS]

Does my desire to own a library mean I am an "accumulator"? Nothing brings me greater joy that my walls of books, my old chair, and my cat.

[Emil Miller]

Does my desire to own a library mean I am an "accumulator"? Nothing brings me greater joy that my walls of books, my old chair, and my cat.

Not in in the slightest, but surely, the main purpose in buying a book is to read it. Secondary considerations such as, one likes the look of its cover, are obviously of little account to the author. Books are written to be read, any other consideration is of importance only to the owner of the book but is of little significance to the average reader, unless the book concerned is of historical value, in which case, an antiquarian bookseller may purchase the volume, a book is just an encumbreance in someone's househould; making allowances for the decorative effect that books can give to a home.
I agree that the walls of books one has around one, are a great joy, and a faithful armchair and a cat to share one's company are a joy; I have exactly the same environment, but, surely, moderation in all things should be the ideal.

[JBI]

I generally finish a book when I pick it up, though of course, not long novels. It is when I pick them up though, that is the question. My stock of books I bought at the beginning of the year has hardly budged (that is, my non-school selection) which is a shame, but that is life. I would have liked for it to have slimmed a bit more though, but I guess 30 novels is too many - I have only gotten through 10 so far, but I'll probably end up finishing before next-years shipment comes in anyway.

[The Comedian]

Here are some of my unread volumes:

1. The Frontiersmen by Allan Eckert -- my dad gave me this book a long while back, and I just haven't allotted time for it. But I plan to, sometime.

2. Howards End -- to be honest, I endured the first 15 pages, and asked myself: "do I have to continue?" To which I said back to myself, "Of course not. Life is too short for reading books that, well, suck."

3. The Confidence-Man by Melville -- I got this for a couple of bucks at a used book store when I was on a Melville kick (I got through Moby Dick, White Jacket, & Typee), but the kick died out before I could read it. I'll get to it sometime.

4. The Dispossessed by LeGuin -- a freebe from the local library which was clearing out its old stock. I like sci-fi when I'm in the mood for it, and I like a lot of LeGuin's other stuff.

So there's some of the "unlucky ones" from my shelves. In time, I'll probably get to them all, except Howards End, which I'll probably give to someone with more sophisticated literary taste than my own.

[kelby_lake]

I got a copy of Les Miserables from a library book sale when I was 13, read half, and finished it nearly 12 years later. When I was 16, I read the first half of Death of a Salesman for a class. Ten years later and I just finished it. I like to read capriciously, selecting a book for whatever mood I'm in, and so that usually means that I need a wide range of books available to choose from. Typically, I read books about a dozen at a time. They litter my house, lean in doorways, and lie in piles around my bed. Some I finish in a sitting and others I discard half read, when the mood passes.

Same here! I don't have the patience to read long books anymore, really. Still haven't finished:
Catch-22, A farewell to Arms, The Old man and the Sea, Moby Dick...

[beth01081]

I would love to have a copy of Howards End. i watched the movie and liked it a lot. It sounds like just the thing I need to add to my pile of "to read" books. Among which are The scarlett letter and A passage to india. Sorry, you found me :) I'm a collecter. Im just doing something else these days. But give me a couple weeks and I'll begin again. Whoever said this was right. there is a cycle.

[Mariamosis]

I think everyone has this problem, however part of my problem is where I live.
We have 3 bookstores; one of which only seems to have current fiction, another is more
of a coffee shop hangout, and the 3rd is a Books-A-Million (but one of those crappy ones they stick in some dying mall that is about a 20th of the size it should be)

I have gone into the latter with a list 2 pages long filled with authors names. The majority of which they don't carry, and the others I have already read. Therefore I have to order online, and wait for days for them to be delivered (the last delivery took 2 weeks due to weather). Very frustrating!

The books I keep avoiding seem to be:
Hard Times - Charles Dickens (and you would think if I had no problem finishing David Copperfield this should be easy)
The Underground City - Jules Verne
Notes From Underground - Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Time Machine - HG Wells

On another note, buying in bulk is also frustrating. If I have a pile of books to read I will find that there won't be one in the pile I will want to pick up. Therefore I buy two at a time, depending on how I feel at the moment, and if I have to wait on delivery... so be it.