my favorite kind of day

today was my favorite kind of day for it held an event that comes with regularity, in varying spans of frequency & must be savored.  today i finished both books i was reading & now i get to choose the next book.  i just finished outliers by malcolm gladwell ( i haven't figured out how to underline in the blog yet).  it was a wildly interesting book about the elements that contribute to success.  i confess that i have also really enjoyed his other two books- the tipping point & blink.  i recommend all three books.  the other book i finished was the thirteenth tale.  this was a book group selection some months back & i missed that group & never read the book.  everyone in the group loved it, so i decided to check it out.  it was a great book.  pretty fascinating plot & well written.  i'm still not sure i've figured out the mystery- it had me thinking for a while though.  & this month's book is the painted veil by somerset maugham.  i saw the movie pretty recently & i'm going to cheat this month & not read the book.  sometimes i just want to read something that i want to read.  

i keep a stack of books that is open-ended.  i used to literally stack them next to my side of the bed.  in the interest of marital harmony; however, i have found different ways to maintain The Stack.  now i have a shelf in the bookcase dedicated to The Stack, as well as a basket on the floor & some stacks on table next to the bed.  Often my eyes are bigger than my time.  The Stack includes professional reading, as well as pleasure reading.  some books have been in The Stack for way too long, yet i can't seem to surrender to the reality that they probably aren't going to get read.  

some of the candidates for my next book include middlesex,  nonviolent communication,  the world is flat, the time traveler's wife, the worse thing i've done, beautiful boy, then we came to the end, the plague of doves & between, georgia.  i also have several non-fiction books i'm spending time with- i usually have two-three books going at a time.  i've been reading the knitter's book of yarn.  this explains a great deal about yarn & the process & the qualities of various kinds of yarn.  it's quite informative & i'm learning a lot.  when you meet another knitter, the first question usually is "what are you knitting?" & the second is "what are you using?".  (should i have put that period there?  it looked lonely without it, but the question mark is referring to the quotes & not the whole sentence.  i'll have to ponder this.)

i'm leaning toward middlesex.  i started it once about 1-3 years ago- not sure why i stopped.  it looks to be a good read & has received good reviews.  i have a couple of friends who have read it & liked it.  i could also get started on the may selection for our book group, which is a free life by ha jin.  i think i read that book a couple of years ago & i remember liking it.  if i decide to go with the book group book, that may involve a trip to barnes & noble & then the whole book choice thing grows exponentially.  

it is such a delicious state to be pondering what world to enter next.  to decide what character will become my next friend & confidant.  i love the choosing.  it's not as much fun when i've already got a book lined up because the choosing has already been done.  the two exceptions to this were harry potter & the twilight series.  i loved knowing i would be spending time with them in the very near future.  especially harry.  it's sad for me that he's gone- i do miss his yearly visits.  

so, i think i'll give myself a bit longer to live in the choosing state before making a commitment & savor the decision.  i can't be in the choosing state but for so long, though- luckily, i can't stand to be without a book for too long.  that was the hardest thing for me in college- finding time to read for pleasure.  all through college & grad school, i always had a book going that i would visit for the 10 - 30 minutes before i fell asleep.  i read the rise & fall of the third reich my freshman year- it took forever...... when you only have 15 or so minutes a day, it does go by slow.  

so, perhaps another 5 - 10 minutes of searching, looking at all the possibilities & then.....  the decision.  & an end to one of my favorite kind of days.