hardly come to mind... do they?
I went to my branch library for the first time a few days ago. I'm usually at work during the hours it's open, but I was working from home and decided to walk over there. I love libraries, and looking around this little neighborhood branch I was struck with the pleasant thought that given enough time -- six months, maybe? -- I could read every single book in the library.
I won't, of course. Which leads me to another literary meme, via Amber: books I'm vaguely embarrassed not to have read. Actually, I'll amend the meme to include some books that I'm even more embarrassed I never finished.
The books I have never even attempted:
1. Every philosophy book ever written. That's right -- I have never read a single book on philosophy, never taken a college course, never learned anything at all about philosophy beyond a few quotes for my high school debate team. I'm not proud of this -- not that I do anything about it.
2. The Grapes of Wrath. I keep thinking maybe I'll read it one day.
3. Anything by Noam Chomsky. Yet when his name comes up in conversation, I'll nod knowledgeably and say, "Ah, yes, of course. Noam Chomsky."
And some books that I have read most of, but never finished. The embarrassing part is that when they come up in conversation, I pretend to have read them. (I mean, I've almost read them. Or you could say, technically, that I have read them. I just didn't get all the way to the end.)
4. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie. I had fifty pages to go and never picked it up again. It was too overwhelming.
5. Crime and Punishment. The protagonist was so self-loathing that I loathed him too. Couldn't get through it.
6. The Bhagavad Gita. The sad part is that the translation I have is so short, but I still haven't gotten through it. I read half, and then forget about it for months, and then have to start over.
Update: I forgot, I'm supposed to pass this on. I tag Josh, SG, and -- why not -- Saucy Intruders.
