I'm having a bit of a monogamy problem--reading monogamy, that is. I have several books on my nightstand that seem to be competing for my affection, and I'm scattered. I feel pulled in too many directions, and don't seem to be "in the moment" with my present book of choice. Each book is wonderful in its own way, and I'm feeling torn between multiple suitors.
The current recipient of my attention is Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. We spend long, leisurely moments together. I absorb every word carefully. I take notes, mark passages with post-it notes. I am reading this book for my book group, so there is a commitment (and a deadline). It is an enjoyable relationship, and fills a gap in my literary experiences. But I do confess that after 5 or 6 pages, my mind starts to wander, and I glance over to my nightstand and think of "the others."
There's Kevin Brockmeier's The View from the Seventh Layer. It's a collection of gorgeous short stories that had me at the first paragraph. We've had coffee together, this book and I, but I haven't yet spent more than a few minutes at a time with it. I'd very much like to get to know it better. The first story is a fable, about a town where everyone sings--except for a man who is mute. He surrounds himself with parakeets, hundreds of them, and presents them as gifts to people of the town. The imagery of this first story has stayed with me for a long time. I need more.
Also on the stack: I See You Everywhere by Julia Glass, who won the National Book Award for Three Junes. It will be published this fall. I sampled a chunk of the manuscript, and loved what I read. It's the story of two sisters who have a complicated relationship, and we check in with them at various points in their lives. I want to pour a big glass of wine and curl up on the sofa with this book right now.
I also want to have a drink or two with Richard Yates' Revolutionary Road, thou
gh this book calls more for a gin-and-tonic or Harvey Wallbanger in deference to its portrayal of early 1960s suburban Connecticut . I read half of this book while on a business trip, and it got misplaced in my carry-on luggage upon my return. By the time I had retrieved it, I had already moved on to a different book. I put it down just as Frank and April had finished lamenting their pitiful middle-class existence and decided to move to France. The characters are compelling, if somewhat unlikeable so far, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about them.
What do you do when you have so many books calling your name? Do you divide your time, or are you a serial reader? Maybe you never get into this situation. Let us know in the comments.
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Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Vintage trade paperback, ISBN 978-1-4000-3468-0
The View from the Seventh Layer by Kevin Brockmeier, Pantheon hardcover, $21.95, ISBN 978-0-375-42530-1
I See You Everywhere by Julia Glass, Pantheon hardcover, 978-0-375-42275-1 (forthcoming publication, fall 2008 - no Librarything link currently available)
Three Junes by Julia Glass, Anchor Books trade paperback, $14.95, ISBN 978-0-385-72142-4
Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates, Vintage trade paperback, $14.95, ISBN 978-0-375-70844-2
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