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Still hibernating (sort of) but felt the need to brag

I started and finished reading more than 60 books in January, which is a personal record. Admittedly, most were in the long novella/short novel range (80-120 pages), with a handful as long as 180 pages, but since they are sold as separate eBooks, they still count as entire books. The page count is probably pretty similar to that of an average month. If I manage to keep this up, I might manage to read an average of a book a day for the year, but I expect I will start to slow down as February progresses.

I traded Kindles with a friend and delved into the short romance novels she had collected, mostly series of paranormal-themed novels and one space opera series. This was the reading equivalent of binging on candy - inducing a satisfying rush with lots of calories but little nutrition. But this is just the kind of reading I need at this time of the year: entertaining, with guaranteed happy endings and not much substance. I expect I will probably end up with a massive reading hangover, but it will have been worth it for having kept me from plunging into one of my depression downswings, which tend to happen at this time of the year.

In-between I have been reading A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. Continuing with the food metaphors, it might be likened to a juicy hamburger with the works: still fast food, but with substance and some nutritional value. In fact, I have gleaned several interesting tidbits of science history from it that I want to delve into in more detail, thereby adding some steak to the menu.


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Jono said…
I found you again after a hard drive crash of last fall. I forgot what a voracious reader you are. I'm lucky to read a handful every month. 60 in one month is beyond impressive!
February 05, 2015 3:24 pm
George said…
Yes, very impressive! I went the other way and read James Jones' SOME CAME RUNNING--1,266 pages! The 1959 movie version with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Shirley MacLaine is enjoyable, too. We just experienced the coldest February in 145 years of weather-keeping here in Western NY. The average temperature per day was 11 degrees! We're just like Siberia!
February 26, 2015 7:44 pm
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