So Many Books, So Little Time

Now I've done it. In the bargain-finding mania of books on Amazon, I bought 6 books, all of which I can't wait to read, and so started them. These are in addition to the 2 library books I was reading (Brave New World and Oscar Wilde's biography) before the book-buying frenzy.

Never before have I had 8 books going all at once. My record til now was 4. This is a real memory challenge, though it's hard to scramble Lamb: the gospel of Christ's childhood pal Biff with My Booky Wook, or Triumph of the Moon with Hippopotamus by Stephen Fry. But it has led to some marvelous dreams of late.

It is taxing on the eyes. The normal late-night eyestrain has become all-day bleary eyes. Changing reading glasses helps and I have several pairs to switch around but they aren't prescriptive, just dollar-store magnifiers. Uncle Bert expounded on the benefits of stretching the eyes, which involves looking at things far away, but as I've always been far-sighted it doesn't seem to help much. I need longer arms.

It's also time-consuming. Last night I curled up with a book at about 7 and when I checked the clock it was almost midnight. Not getting a lot done in reading mode.

But oh, the joy of reading. There just isn't enough time in a lifetime to read all I want to read. Which is why when I die, I'm going to Cambridge and Oxford and haunt their libraries eternally.