reading program

Lest anyone think that when I said I'd finished two books of short stories last night that I'd actually read them all within the last couple of weeks, I thought I'd explain my reading program. (Also, my most faithful reader might get a kick out of actually understanding the "system", since I think it annoys him!)

I realized a while back that reading one book at a time really slowed down my progress, as I kept getting bogged down in the nonfictions. I really wanted to read the nonfictions, but they definitely require a little more time to get through. So I thought if I could read them a chapter at a time, it would help bump up my speed and still allow me to read all the books that interest me. At the same time, I got depressed because my existing library had grown so big I didn't think I could ever reread every book I owned. So I decided to do it anyway.

So basically I have a few shelves worth (I add a new one every time I get a new bookmark) of various nonfictions, works of poetry, dense works of fiction (like Les Miserables, which I'm determined to finish this time!), etc. I read a chapter (or 5 pages minimum of the poetry) of each book in a "cycle". For every book I finish, I get to read one book of fiction, and I get another fiction for every cycle I go through. (I also add a new book nonfiction every time I finish one, so the total number of books I go through never actually drops.) And at the end of every cycle, I reread one of my "old" books. The short stories fall into the nonfiction category because I can read them one story at a time. It works pretty well, but takes up a huge amount of space!

I have one bookshelf almost completely devoted to books "in cycle". Plus a couple of shelves of nonfiction waiting to make it into the cycle, and a shelf of fiction ditto. On the plus side, I'm down to about 10 books left to reread ... plus my entire mystery section (a long shelf and a half of it). I'm really looking forward to getting into that—I'm leaving Agatha Christie to the very end, and I've promised myself I get to read her entire works in order of publication. I'll be fascinated to see the development of her talent over time.

In addition, I keep two books in the car (usually westerns or mysteries, some paperback that's easy to carry into places like the doctor's office) and by the bed a book of poetry (5 pages a night) and a nonfiction. I constantly get asked where I find the time to read, especially given the seven journals—one once a year, five quarterly, and one bimonthly—that I also manage to read. I think it's a combo of fast reading, ability to pick up and put down a book at will and still hold onto the thread of the narrative, and bloody-minded stubbornness! Also, I tend to consider a lot of what I read research for future books, so it helps me keep focused because it's the most tangible thing I do right now toward my ultimate goal of writing books, along with keeping up this blog.