In my renewed vigor towards completing my resolution of reading 50 books in 2012, I’ve read a few books not knowing anything except two things about them, the titles and that they’re popular. I tend to read up on a book before investing time but lately haven’t bothered with my ritual. I also agree with Nick Hornby. He states in one of his reading columns that if he doesn’t enjoy reading something, he doesn’t bother finishing it. It’s wasted time! However, with my playing catch up on my reading goal, I’ve been less inclined to give up on books. This adds an exciting and adventurous element to reading which I already find exciting! Where the stories will take me, I really have no idea!
For instance, Night Circus, I thought was just about a circus that opened at night. That’s all I knew. Turns out it’s a magical circus! And yes a circus that opens during nightfall. I enjoyed reading it overall but had I done my research or read a bit about the plot, I wouldn’t have read it all! I instinctively avoid fantasy books and find magic hard to stomach. I cannot see myself ever reading Harry Potter for this reason.
I’m currently in the middle of Art of Fielding. I had no idea what this book was about either. I went with it and now I find myself in the middle of a coming of age story of a few baseball players in a small college. Again, if you told me that line, I’d shrug and stay clear but yet here I am, more than halfway through and I’m enjoying it.
Lastly, I am also reading Sisterhood Everlasting. I knew this was part of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series and figured this could be my light read. I’m completely wrong! Three reading sessions in and I’ve cried during two of them! Trust me, this is not a light read.
The IT guy at work and I take lunch around the same time. We sit next to each other and read. I forget the title of his book but he told me it is about a squid that gets stolen by a religious cult. Again, now that I know this, I don’t even want to bother with retaining the title of the book in my memory. I’m not interested in a novel about a squid that’s been stolen. Yet today, as I’m reading my baseball coming of age story, I hear him chuckling under his breath while reading his squid story. I couldn’t help but wonder…