Discussion: books

I just finished Three Cups of Tea, and I'm about to start A Thousand Splendid Suns ... What are you going to read next? I should be sure to ask for it for Christmas.

Well, this one probably doesn't count, but I took A Walk in the Woods off the bookshelf yesterday and finished it today. I say "doesn't count," because I think I was reading it for the third time (and therefore quite quickly), but even on the third reading it was still enjoyable.

So now I've picked up something else I found on the shelf, Peace Like A River, even set in Minnesota. It passed my mandatory test -- I have to be able to read a couple of pages without struggling. Some books I open up and have a hard time getting through a paragraph, and there is no way I would finish them, no matter how highly recommended the book.

Don't know whether this one is worth the read, but it had reasonably large print so not too big a commitment.

I've read several books set in the Middle East or South Asia, have enjoyed the peek into different cultures. Good for expanding the mind and realizing that joy (and suffering) can be found in all sorts of different situations.

I think that is a fine test and one that I will surely implement at some point in my life. And maybe soon. For me, Proust is the apotheosis of something that would likely not pass.

There have been some books that I've had to start and re-start several times before I could get into them, and I was glad I did. Mostly this is a function of not having a nice chunk of time to get into a book and only reading little pieces at a time. Currently, I'm reading "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle," and I love it. I'm already half-way through in only a week...a minor miracle for me (see "lack of time" comment above).

I often have some time (it a matter of setting priorities in my case, whereas you often don't have a choice), but not the attention span. You're right, some books are a struggle, but very much worth it. Though there have certainly been many that I struggled with and never finished.

Obama's first book, Dreams from My Father, which I finished on election eve, was a bit of a struggle, but very interesting. I hope to read his second before too long.

We have that one and I am sure Dasha would not mind if I lent it to you.