Sunday, December 30, 2007

Reading

I've been visiting one of my favourite blogs more often recently and I have to say it really is staggering how kimbofo does it. She keeps up not just Reading Matters but two other blogs as well, to an exceptional standard, as well as holding down a job and apparently being gifted in many other ways. She's an inspiration and I'm saying that because she has inspired me to get off my fat arse (well, my pert and attractive arse actually) and get some serious reading done.

Now kimbofo has apparently got through on average more than a book a week for the whole of 2007. I know I can't do that but.. maybe I can manage a book a fortnight. I know some of you may think it a philistine kind of excercise, to just crank out pages as if they were something in a mass production process (Come to think of it, that's just what they are most of them) but I feel that if I don't get down to it in that kind of way then I'll never get anywhere.

My problem is not my schedule or my work or anything else; it's me. So having identified the problem I'm doing something about it. I remember I once posted some (whisper it) New Year's resolutions on this here blog but I can't find the fucker so I must have thought it too embarassing and deleted it. Anyhoo, I'm not making "resolutions" this year, I'm just trying to catch up.

So I've given myself a start. It's still a day or so to go before 2008 actually (and it seems, improbably) arrives and I've got a good start into A Star Called Henry by Roddy Doyle. This comes hot on the heels (by my standards) of Paula Spencer which I picked up at a ludicrously high price when I was stuck in Gothenburg airport with not even a newspaper to read. That was just excellent; I think I finished it just as we were landing at Glasgow. I was amazed at how immersed I was in the thing.

So there you are, readers. That's the plan. Am I not just precious?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are very kind! Sometimes I don't know how I do it -- then I say all the grey hair, the bags under the eyes and realise I haven't left the house in four days! ;)

Glad you're enjoying A Star Called Henry -- I read it a long while back but didn't enjoy it as much as The Barrytown Trilogy (The Commitments, The Snapper and The Van).

Oh, and my secret to reading lots of books, spend pretty much one day in bed every weekend (usually a Sunday) -- you'll be amazed at how many books you can plough through when you're snuggled under the duvet with plenty of coffee and fattening snacks!

west coaster said...

kimbofo! I'm honoured to meet you. That's a good plan. Go on the blankets once a week. I'll go for it. :)