Sunday, October 07, 2007

The avoidance of reading

Earlier this week I happened to recall that Tulsa - my sometime commenter-in-chief on this blog - had lent me a book to read..... very nearly a year ago.

Thus, guilt prompted me to start reading it this week. Guilt, I realise, is not a good reason for reading something. Perhaps I should add that as a comment postscript to my 7 Habits of Highly Efficient Readers post?

I'm really not enjoying the book much (review to follow soon on BookBook), but it's a very easy read, and I find I have nearly finished it - so I figure I may as well plough on to the end, just to see if it improves in the last 70 pages.

Guilt is rarely a good reason for doing anything, is it?

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

visitor 6000, me!
earthling!
how cool is that?

Froog said...

Congrats, Earthling!

Haven't heard from you in a while. Where have you been?

And Visitor No. 6,001 is ME. How sad is that?

Froog said...

Hey Earthling, keep an eye on the Barstool: we should be passing the 5,000 visitor mark over there sometime in the next week or so.

It could be you.

Anonymous said...

You needn't feel guilt on my behalf. read it, don't read it, I'll hardly take it personally. or is it an unread book upon your bookshelf that evokes guilt? then move it, remove it. be gone with the guilt.

Froog said...

Done with now. Do you want the book back?

You can try my 'unreadable' book, if you like - that might take you a year.

Anonymous said...

I left a post here yesterday (the day before?) recommending The Time Traveler's Wife, but I see it didn't show up. Anyway, that was a great read. Highly recommended.

Anonymous said...

sure, bring it on...

Anonymous said...

Thats the second time the 'The Time Traveler's Wife' has been recommended on here unprovoked. Seems I may have to finally get a shift on and read it. Although if I read any more about Roth novels I may have to beg, borrow or steal a copy - he seems to be the flavor at the moment.

Froog said...

OMG, have you visited the BookBook blog yet? Maybe you should become a contributor.

FG, I have a Roth I could lend you... but I really don't think you'd enjoy it. Who else has been recommending him? Portnoy's Complaint is something of a modern classic, but even that's a bit overrated, I think. I get the impression that most of the rest of his stuff is just self-indulgent SHIT. Very well-written shit, but shit nonetheless.

Anonymous said...

I think I once recommended The time traveller's wife, either here at Froog's or on a different blog -one of the friends/readers of froog-/.
I only read some of it, and had to pack it in a box and send it somewhere, and now I don't know which box it is in, but it's certainly OUT of reach and in a different country to where I am. my "timetraveller's wife" has travelled.