Just as I am thinking, whew, I can relax a bit and have some meandering reads, the book gods decided to have a big belly laugh. It is now my turn for Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast and The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber. I’ve been looking forward to these for some time and I started the Chast last night and it’s so good.
These of course arrive at the same time I have gotten a review copy of The Architect’s Apprentice by Elif Shafak. I’ve not read Shafak before and I am really looking forward to it. It takes place in the Ottoman Empire starting around 1540 and centers around architecture, jealousy and rivalry.
And because that’s not enough, I’m expecting another review copy in the mail of a book called The Last Bookaneer by Matthew Pearl. Nineteenth century book pirates! Yes, you read that right. They are out to steal Robert Louis Stevenson’s last manuscript. It sounds completely silly but I’m hoping for a good, fun adventure kind of novel. Fingers crossed!
These four books in addition to all the other books that are lined up or already on the go. I am quite probably demented. Also, I am fairly certain that I have no concept of time when it comes to books and how much time is available during my day for me to spend reading.
And then today I found out about a project at the Biodiversity Heritage Library where they are asking people to help transcribe old seed and nursery catalogs. Of course I want in on that!
Since I work at a Catholic University I will be having a four-day Easter holiday weekend. The weather on Friday and Saturday is forecast to be not so very pleasant which means I will have plenty of time to indulge in reading and catalog transcribing. But since I already know I have no concept of time, I no doubt am thinking there will be so much more of it available than there really will be. I wonder if the scientists at the Large Hadron Collider really do make contact with a parallel universe that might mean I can find another me and we can get together and divide and conquer. That’s divide and conquer the reading, though being in charge of a universe or two could be fun. Nah, it would cut into my reading time.
Not to worry. I picture you as a girl who finds time
for reading–on the road and in spare rainy moments.
Tell us all about them!
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booksandbuttons, LOL, yes, I am exactly that kind of girl! 🙂 I should take some photos of those reading moments sometime.
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Eh, too many books is like too many cats…a good problem.
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Jeanne, you are so right, definitely a good problem!
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We live in a parallel universe where the concept of time is measured by how long am I going to read for now, how many hours of reading can I get out of my every day life, on holidays if I do not do such and such, I can read X which I was planning to read the week after and so on and so forth….good place to be in ;)….Do let me know how the Architect’s Apprentice goes…its sounds like my kind of stuff Ottomans, Architecture etc…but do tell!! P.S. I am seriously envious of your four day weekend!!!
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cirtnecce, oh my goodness! Did you ever make me laugh! You are right, we are already living in a parallel universe! I’ll definitely let you know about the Shafak. I can’t even begin to say how much I am looking forward to my four-day weekend!
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Haha. I can relate. I am planning on inventing a time machine to solve the problem.
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Nikki, when you invent your time machine will you share the plans so I can build one of my own? 🙂
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Fascinating. I didn’t realise anyone in the USA got a 4-day holiday at Easter. It’s standard public holidays here in Australia but I’ve never known anyone to have those days in the times we lived in the USA.
And, I can totally understand your wanting to help with the old seed catalogues. A bit like my work on the TROVE digitised newspapers. Hard to resist when it’s for things that interest us isn’t it?
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whisperinggums, 4 days at Easter is not standard by any means. Until I began working at a Catholic university Easter Sunday was the only day that “counted” as a holiday. Very interesting that it is standard in Australia!
Definitely hard to resist wanting to help when it’s for things we find interesting!
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And we were surprised when we got to the USA and found it wasn’t standard. Good Friday is probably the second most significant day here (after Christmas Day) for many people, and the say shops/museums etc are most likely not to be open, though gradually commercialism is winning out.
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Wait a minute! I thought in addition to making as much time to read as possible now, that’s what the afterlife is for – catching up on reading and getting to meet the writers. Now instead it’s a parallel universe? My disillusions are shattered.
The Shafak looks like a good one; looking forward to reading that one.
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That seed catalog project sounds really cool! I’m in the same boat with you – MANY more books right now than I have time to read. All my holds came in at once! Oh well, I guess I can always put a vacation stop on some of them and send them on to the people below me. But darn it if they don’t all look good! Have a great 4-day weekend!
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laila, isn’t that a neat project? I’ve come across quite a few universities and archives digitizing collections that crowdsource the proof reading. I think it’s a smart approach. I just had another hold from the library arrive! Your library has a vacation stop? That’s a nifty feature! And thanks! I’m going to try to make the most of those four days 🙂
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It’s lovely to have too many good books to read! I am sort of in that position myself, except that I’m not at all in the mood for ebooks, and most of my exciting reads are ebooks at the moment. It’s a cruel twist of fate. I need to get back to the library to refresh my store of hard copy books. Wish I had a four-day weekend! Though a three-day weekend is nearly as good. I’m planning to spend it as lazily as possible.
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Jenny, oh it is a very nice thing! That is a cruel twist.I hope you have a delightfully lazy 3-day weekend 🙂
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My last library book to check out before my temporary ban was also Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant! Haven’t started it yet but I’m really looking forward to it. And, oh my gosh, the Last Bookaneer – who wouldn’t look forward to that! How wonderful that you have a four day weekend coming up to indulge in some book reading!
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I hope your holiday and the weather can get you some way into that mountain of reading material. It is a nice sort of problem to have but having so many good books to read can make you gobble!
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Ian, oh it is the best sort of problem to have! Part of me wants the weather to be really nice so I can be outdoors doing stuff and part of me wants the weather to be terrible so I can be indoors reading. Maybe I can get two days of each? 🙂
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Iliana, I’m about halfway through Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant. It’s good and sad and, well, you’ll read it and find out. I sure do hope The Last Bookaneer turns out to be a crazy hoot.
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Time IS a funny thing. Sigh…
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