I've always written the bulk of my posts while at work. All I needed was an afternoon free of meetings and other obligations to make a few comments on my progress to Book Shelf Zero. My job has changed a bit and those free times have all but disappeared. Updates on my reading progress have all but disappeared too. That doesn't mean that I'm not making progress of course. I managed to finish my second owned book of the year, Look to Windward (another book from Iain M. Banks Culture series) earlier this week. Another excellent entry in an excellent series. That brings me back down to 147 books owned, equaling the lowest to be read number that I have managed to achieve in my quest. It was the seventh book that I've read this year.
Look to Windward has the distinction of being the 100th book of the NPR Sci Fi/Fantasy list that I have completed. Only 215 to go!
Ebooks from the library continue to dominate my reading time. I've been reading Tobacco Road for the last few days. It's a Modern Library Top 100 book. The books in that list seem to fall into two categories. Highly readable short novels that get read with no real effort, and difficult for a variety of reason books that take a focused and concentrated effort to complete. Tobacco Road is of the first group (Deliverance immediately comes to mind as another member of that group). It's a very short book. I'm more than a third of the way through it with nothing more than a few random reading moments given to it. It has a distinct rhythm and it treats the poverty stricken family at the core of the book with near indifference. It has none of the schmaltzy glorification that was so obnoxious in The Grapes of Wrath (which is very much one of the takes forever books). The time and conditions depicted are so far removed from my experience that I can't say if the book captures a moment of the American South or it stands as a commentary on the bias of a writer looking down on the unfortunate from a position of privilege. I look forward to getting through the rest of this quick read (hopefully this weekend).
The question of which of my owned books to read next stands waiting for me to bring some kind of resolution. I was planning on reading A Bend in the River, but with Tobacco Road going, I'm not sure I want to get started on another ML Top 100 book. I'll look over my shelves tonight to see what strikes my fancy.
One final note. I'm feeling good about below 147 before I buy another book. I have another Culture book on my shelf so I can continue to pursue this excellent series without making a purchase. I also just don't feel like buying anything. The library satisfies the acquisition urge and making progress towards the big Zero feels good. Hell, I still have the gift card I bought at B&N over Christmas to get the free $10 in my wallet! 140, here I come!
