Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Lost In A Good Book

Two things happen whenever I come across someone else’s list of book backlogs.

First, I feel slightly less guilty about my own backlog. It means I’m not the only one who’s hoarding books faster than I could read them. My backlog seems less alarming, quantity-wise, against some whose backlog reach to hundreds! I realize I could probably finish all my unread books in about a month or two if I temporarily forget about other stuffs like TV/movie watching and gaming and social life. AND if I’m motivated enough to read new books, which I think is my biggest problem.

Second, reading through people’s booklists introduces me to other books that pique my interest, so that my list of to-read books expands! Aside from the unread books that I physically have, I also have a list of books I want to buy and read, and it’s getting longer. My wallet’s already complaining. Maybe I should check out public libraries.

There’s actually a third point, quite related to my second one. Reading through people’s booklists makes me realize how I have gaps in genres of books I’ve read. I haven’t read much science fiction or historical or chick lit novels. Maybe for some, this isn’t such a big deal, especially if they have preference for certain genres. For me it’s a case of wondering what I’m missing. I guess there’s nothing wrong with trying out something when others have a favorable opinion of it, but I wonder if that makes me a sheep.

Are there books you think I should check out?

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