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All book lovers have some feelings of guilt about the “to be read” stacks or shelves in their home. They are the result of the literary equivalent of one’s eyes being bigger than their stomach. Now two columnists on opposite sides of the Atlantic have added mortality to the implications of the TBR.
I first came across the idea in the Nov. 30 NYT Book Review. Laura Miller’s essay “The Well-Tended Bookshelf” contained the following quote: “As the actuarial tables advance, the number of books you’ve got time to read diminishes.” What a day brightener! At least Miller took a glass half full approach. She says she now views her bookshelves as “a charm against mortality. As long as I have a few unread books beckoning to me from across the room, I tell myself I can always find a little more time.”
On Monday, the Guardian books blog also noted the mortality aspect of the TBR stacks. In “The Tyranny of the To-Read Pile,” Sam Jordison takes a more glass half empty approach.
The to-read pile is more than just a physical stack of books: it’s a tower of ambitions failed, hopes unrealised, good intentions unfulfilled. Worse still, it’s a cold hard reminder of mortality. Already, I have intentions to read more books than I can hope to manage in a normal lifetime. How will this pile of books taunt me when I’m 64?
Great. In addition to the various physical aches and pains that accompany growing older, the TBR stacks are more ominous than ever. They are psychological reproach. They are friends who pop up in various places in the house and ask, “Gonna visit me before you die?” They are reminders that the latter half of the adage “so many books, so little time” becomes more true every day.
Still, my guess is that even 40 years ago I intended to read more books than I could in this lifetime. So, I guess I won’t worry about how much or little is in the glass. After all, I figure that if there is a heaven, the bookstore and library undoubtedly are on either side of theater in which Springsteen is playing.
The annoying thing about reading is that you can never get the job done.
Nick Hornby, Shakespeare Wrote for Money
How long do you wait after finishing a book before you pick/start another one? How many books do you have planned ahead or do you pick up random books from your tbr pile (if you have one)? Do you review right away or keep reading and come back to it later?
It really depends on the day (weekday/weekend) and time of day I finish the book. If a finish a book during the day on the weekend, I likely will start a new one later that day. If I finish a book at night, I may wait until the next day. In either event, it would be extremely rare for more than 24 hours to pass before I start another book.
Generally, the only advance planning I do is if I have a book I am obligated to review. They tend to be read in the order received and/or tied to the release date, if appropriate. Other than that, it tends to be which book piques my interest when I’m ready to start a new one.
For those I review, it may be anywhere from a couple hours to a couple days before I start drafting the review. It depends on time availability, mood and whether I need to let the book “percolate” in my subconscious some more.
Books may well be the only true magic.
Alice Hoffman, New York Times, March 14, 1994
Random Observations
Wish I’d Said It (although I may have in other words): “If you accept — and I do — that freedom of speech is important, then you are going to have to defend the indefensible. That means you are going to be defending the right of people to read, or to write, or to say, what you don’t say or like or want said.”
Wish I’d Said It II: “The celebrity culture is infantilizing us. We are being trained not to think. …. It is about the death of an intelligent and curious, readership, interested in significant things and able to think critically. It is about the failure of our educational system. It is not about dumbing-down. It is about snuffing out.”
Bookish Linkage
three percent has announced its longlist for the Best Translated Book of 2008. Of the 25 books, I’ve read two, am reading another, have one in the “to be read” stack and yet another has been on my Amazon wish list for a couple months.
The NYT picked its 10 Best Books of 2008 out of its list of 100 notables. For both the fiction and nonfiction list, I’ve read one and am reading another. Galleycat notes that seven (and arguably eight or nine) of the books are from one publisher.
This appears to have been around for a long time but I just came across the most concise and effective refutation of books like The Bible Code that I’ve seen.
Nonbookish Linkage
Even though it appears to consider at least some bloggers as journalists, I find this stunning: “more Internet journalists are jailed worldwide today than journalists working in any other medium.”
It’s far from jail but a hockey fan turned blogger learns the Canadian Hockey League believes “they own the entire universe essentially.”
Are we really at war?
The ABA Journal has come up with its Blawg 100 for 2008. Only half were on last year’s list. (For the unaware, a “blawg” is a legal-related blog.)
Though we rush ahead to save our time
We are only what we feel
“On the Way Home,” Neil Young,
Sugar Mountain-Live At Canterbury House 1968
This week’s BTT is a series of 5 questions, listed below with my answers:
1. Do you have a favorite author?
Not to be too flip, but that’s kind of like asking a parent if they have a favorite child. Each child (author) is unique and while one might excel at one thing (genre A) another excels at something else (genre B). I certainly have favorite authors within genres but I can’t say I have only one child. Thus, I’ll cop out and do it by the numbers: Philip K. Dick, Kurt Vonnegut, Arthur C. Clarke. I
2. Have you read everything he or she has written?
If we’re talking books only, then I have for Vonnegut. I have yet to read all of the books and/or short story compilations of Dick and Clarke.
3. Did you LIKE everything?
No for all three. I thought Vonnegut’s last few novels were weak, but that might be impacted by the impact of his earlier novels on me. Dick’s last novels also leave something to be desired, in part due to his mental health issues. Clarke’s work also occasionally suffered when he succumbed to invitations to extend ideas beyond their useful life, such as 3001: The Final Odyssey.
4. How about a least favorite author?
This is probably blasphemy to many but I can’t stand Shakespeare. To move from blasphemy to genre-based prejudice, just pick the name of any author of harlequin romance.
5. An author you wanted to like, but didn’t?
Tom Wolfe.
Shakespeare “was a savage … who had some imagination.”
Voltaire, Dec. 4, 1765, letter
Thanks to kottke.org, I’ve spent too much free time playing with StateStats, a site that shows how popular a Google search query is in each U.S. state. Using information from 2004 to the present, it not only compares the rankings (first place scoring 100) but shows how the query correlates with state rankings in other areas, such as age, income and who people voted for.
There isn’t data for every possible search (“jay-z” but no “springsteen” or “zappa”). And the site explicitly warns against drawing conclusions, saying “the fact that “walmart” shows a moderate correlation with “Obesity” does not imply that people who search for “walmart” are obese!” Still, it’s fun to play around.
Some results are just as you might expect:
- Likely due to our last two elections, South Dakota is tops for “abortion,” for which the highest correlation is obesity.
- South Dakota is also first for “ethanol,” followed by Iowa (74), Nebraska (62)and North Dakota (55).
- The top two states for “hockey” are Minnesota and North Dakota (85). (South Dakota ranked 15th.) It should also come as no surprise that the latitude of the state is strongly correlated with that search.
- Similarly, “tornado” is popular in Tornado Alley (Kansas is first) and California tops the list for “earthquake.”
Some results are intriguing:
- Vermont is tops for “bob dylan.” I wonder if there’s any correlation with its first place rank for “marijuana“?
- Seventeen states actually scored a 0 for “sex addict,” including the Dakotas, Iowa and Nebraska. California was first, followed by Mississippi.
- It seems inexplicable that Florida is first for “blizzard.” North Dakota (94) and South Dakota (89) were second and third.
- Every state scored at least 69 (Hawaii) for “books” with Tennessee, Utah and Oregon all getting 100. South Dakota came in tied for 44th with 81.
- Pennsylvania has a large lead in the rank for “reading,” as second place Massachusetts scored only a 60 and every other state was below 50.
- Nebraska is first for “libraries” (with South Dakota sixth) while North Dakota and Montana are last with 30 and 28, respectively. If you use “library,” though, Ohio is first, Nebraska falls to 37th and South Dakota next to last.
- South Dakota, though, comes in fourth for “peace” at 87, trailing Vermont (100), South Carolina (92) and the District of Columbia (90). There are moderate correlations with voting for Obama, latitude and age
- South Dakota is 49th and North Dakota 50th for “prius, “art” and “doctor.”
Finally, other results are rather disturbing:
- South Dakota is fourth for “incest” with a 96. Arkansas ranked first and the two highest correlations are energy consumption and voting for Bush, respectively.
- Although ranking 26th for “porn,” South Dakota is first for “boobs.” At first I thought the significance of that could be mitigated by whether the term was used to refer to anatomy or thinking ability. The fact we also came in first for “boobies” seems to undercut that argument. South Dakota ranks far lower in other anatomical slang searches.
- North Dakota and South Dakota ranked first and second for “alcohol” and “drinking,” with 100 and 96, respectively. (The District of Columbia is first, though, if the search term is “booze.”) Does that mean we Dakotans believe imbibing is essential to staying warm in cold weather. The strongest correlations? Latitude and frost. The most negative correlations are illiteracy and violent crime. Is the latter because it’s too cold or that we’re too drunk?
The internet is the trailer park for the soul.
Marilyn Manson
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Disclaimer 
Additionally, some links on this blog go to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. There is no additional cost to you. Contact me You can e-mail me at prairieprogressive at gmaildotcom.
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