Longtime readers will know that I have always enjoyed a good book.
In previous columns I’ve talked about how my love of stories led to a love of literature and later a career in writing. Books will forever be my passion until such time I’m senile or buried six feet underground.
At times I’ll admit my eyes are a little big for my mouth, so to speak. Last month I counted and between my digital Kindle library and physical library beside my bed, I currently have around 40 books I have never read. They’re just sitting there, taunting me with fascinating new worlds.
Yet despite this wealth of reading, I keep buying MORE books. I’ll see something that looks vaguely interesting and snap it up, adding it to an already cluttered backlog.
Amazon.ca is especially dangerous for me. I’ll go on to check if one of my favourite authors or franchises has anything new out and before I know it I’ve bought another $60 worth of books. At least digitally they don’t crowd my poor bookshelf anymore, right?
It’s a silly problem to have, I know, but one I am doing my best to rectify. I’m determined that at some point I will have a manageable backlog of only 10 books, 15 at most, to get through at any one time.
This weekend I made some progress on cutting down my backlog. Granted both the books I finished were ones I had gotten the week before, but still, progress is progress. Working full time I can’t spend entire weeks reading like I did as a kid but I still try my best.
Right now I have a few different books on the go.
The Savage Legion by Matt Wallace has proven an engaging tale so far. Set in a fantasy world where nobility has been overthrown by a people’s revolution, it is an interesting study on the nature of truth and how those in power will use the poorest to their own ends.
Also on my reading list is Conan, a collection of Robert E. Howard’s stories about the titular barbarian. Even almost 100 years since they were first penned these classic sword and sorcery tales still resonate with me. This anthology contains most, if not all, of the old short stories and penny novels so this one book is really 20 in one.
With summer on the horizon, I look forward to reading outside, on the beach and even on the plane. It’s not like I’m going to run out of books to read, right?
… maybe one more trip to the book shop couldn’t hurt.
patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net
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