Re: Inquiry - Unread Books Guilt

[Guest guest]

Jeff .. it bothers me to have unread books.. also.

I got a bunch at the library and im returning them

unread. It bugged me so much i couldnt get into

sidney poitiers autobiography i started reading

paragraphs here and there..

Plus i have books stacked up to read.. that i havent

gotten into yet.

Im not working and im home alone and still i dont get

the stuff read.. its like the day flies by..

do you blame your daughter and wife???

i have no excuse.. but i relate

Now my kids are adult i regret not reading to them more

when i had the chance.

roslyn

> >

> > I'm not good at structuring this stuff yet, but I figured I'd start

> > with something small.

> >

> >

> > (thoughts while trying to enjoy reading a book tonight)

> >

> > " This is just the first of a whole pile of books I need to read. "

> > " My spare time is so finite, I'm just trading minutes for pages. Even

> > my so-called downtime becomes a series of mini to-do's. "

> > " I don't have enough time . . . to truly enjoy anything. "

> > " I don't have enough time . . . to do everything I want to do. "

> > " I need to finish every book I buy. "

> >

> > Earlier, staring at a Madeleine L'Engle boxed set at the bookstore, I

> > realized that what I wished I could buy was not just the boxed set,

> > but the time (the quality/relaxed time, like being on vacation) to

> > enjoy reading it without being aware of the minutes ticking by. To

> > lose myself in something like I used to do so easily as a kid. I have

> > a wife and a fifteen-month-old daughter and another baby on the way in

> > April. Having become the sole provider for my family, it feels

> > sometimes like I'm on a treadmill, although I love my family.

> >

> > Hmm, I don't know how to phrase all these thoughts properly for the

> > Work. I think there might be layers and layers. Maybe I'll pick the

> > easiest one on the list and start with it. Back to books.

> >

> > " I should finish every book I begin reading. (A book unfinished just

> > represents a minor failure, and wasted time and money.) "

> >

> > Is it true? It feels true. Isn't persistence / stick-to-itiveness a

> > good thing? Plus, I only have a finite amount of yearly reading time.

> >

> > Can I know that it's true? (grudging) No. Maybe I'd get more

> > enjoyment out of a book I haven't bought yet than one I started a

> > month ago and am stuck on.

> >

> > Who would I be? Definitely a less self-critical, go-with-the-flow

> > person, less tied to books that I impulse-bought three weeks before.

> >

> > Turnaround: I should _not_ finish every book I buy and start reading.

> > The 80/20 rule applies - sometimes you get 80% of the value of the

> > book from reading the first 20%, especially with nonfiction. Also,

> > the money aspect doesn't matter: books are important enough to me that

> > I'd be happy to spend five times the amount I spend on them in a year,

> > and money is just a means to an end, a fuel for your life that ought

> > to proportionately reflect your values.

> >

> > OK. Sort of a trivial one to start with, but I did realize tonight

> > that this thought (even though I know it's silly and superficial) was

> > causing me to berate myself.

> >

> > Jeff

> >

> > (It seems like half the art of this is in properly identifying the

> > true root thought - and articulating it well enough to really shine a

> > light on it.)

> >

>