Aside from finishing Ulysses I am in the middle of so many different books but close to finishing none of them. In between times like this are hard I find. I want to rush to finish something but I don’t want to rush but I am antsy to begin something new that has been in waiting and sometimes I just go ahead and start it because I can’t wait. That’s one reason I usually have so many books on the go. I am so glad for the impending Thanksgiving holiday. I get a four-day weekend with nothing to do but read. I can hardly wait!
Do you know about Poetry 180 from the Library of Congress? It’s a poem a day for high school students. While I am not a high school student I still enjoy the poem a day I get in my email inbox. I thought you all might like today’s poem by Ted Kooser Selecting a Reader.
The Library of Congress is such a great resource. They also have a blog called The Signal that focuses on digital preservation issues. Today, the 48th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination, they have a fascinating post about preserving the assassination study data. It was all encoded on punch cards and in 2001 researchers wanted to do a study comparing public reaction from the assassination to public reaction to September 11th. But no one knew where the punch cards were! They were found but then came the problem of converting the data on the punch cards to data that is readable by today’s computers.
Back then, no one was thinking about digital preservation. But we are now thank goodness. That doesn’t mean mistakes aren’t made and data lost. There are gobs of data lost all the time. Sad when you think about it. The blog also talks about personal archiving in case you are wondering what you can do to preserve your digital life.
And now, I think I’ll go read. I have some books to finish.
I just started reading ( Buying a fishing rod for my Grandfather )
I am starting ( in the park ).
Hope it gets better.
Enjoy the long weekend and I hopenyou get lots of reading done!
We have such similar reading habits–I can totally relate to your first paragraph. I have an extra day off and have been contemplating how I am going to spend my reading time. I did a little shuffling and so started two new books (oops) but am thinking now of the, let’s see, four I want to finish by the end of the month. I guess I know what I’ll be working on. Have a great break and hope you get in lots of reading (and maybe you’ll even start a new book, too!:) ).
It’s tough in the middle of a lot of long books – I so often find myself starting a little something new, which invariably then takes over my reading time. I will think of you on Thanksgiving, having a lovely long time to read. As for digital storage, I think with sorrow of all those Kodak photographs from the seventies, doomed to fade away eventually. At least nowadays we do seem able to preserve things forever if we think about it!
Roy, I hope you like the book. I’ve had it on my TBR pile for awhile and am looking forward to getting to it in a week or two.
Kathleen, thanks! I hope you get a long weekend and lots of reading time as well!
Danielle, I know! I was thinking of you as I was writing that first paragraph! I must say I use you as an enabler sometimes, not that I need to, but when I think, “Danielle does this too,” it helps me feel so much better
I hope you have a nice Thanksgiving break with lots of reading time too!
Litlove, heh, that’s one of the dangers of starting something new while in the midst of other books, isn’t it? It is a risk I invariably take, however. Those Kodak photos actually have a better chance of surviving long-term than many of our digital photos. Thanks for the Thanksgiving wishes. I think Bookman might be planning on posting a recipe for the occasion.
It’s exciting to start new books, yet I am not fond of having too many going at once. It always seems like a good idea until I realize I haven’t finished anything in weeks. I’ve found that juggling about 2-3 books (along with daily Bible reading) is all I can handle.
Have a happy Thanksgiving and a great reading-weekend!
Thanks for mentioning our blog, The Signal! Glad you like it.
And that’s why paper is the best. Mostly.
I’m in the middle of several books. I feel like Goldilocks. None of them are “just right”.
Just stopping by to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving, Stefanie! I’m sure you’ll enjoy your long weekend with some very happy reading also!
I did not know about Poetry 180 (even though I have a superbig crush on the LoC). Thank you!!
Such a fun poem – thanks for linking to it. I did not know about Poetry 180 but love it and will now spend my morning browsing through the poems. Thank you.
Justin, thanks for the TG wishes. I hope you had a lovely holiday. I tend to have 3-4 books in progress on average though I’ve had as many as a dozen before. That was quite the juggling act!
Bill, you bet! It’s a great blog!
Carrie, heh, I know that Goldlilocks feeling so well!
Arti, thanks so much! I thought your TG was soon after ours but it looks like your already happened. Belated good wishes to you!
Marianne, I am glad I am not the only one who loves LOC! I hope you enjoy Poetry 180!
Michelle, it’s a bit of an unexpected ending. I like surprises in poetry like that. Hope you enjoyed browsing the Poetry 180 site!