Books On Hold

I've mentioned quite a few times that I'm one of those readers who can't commit to just one book at a time.  I always have a few on the go - usually four or five that I'm reading in earnest, as it were - but there is also a second batch of books which I have started, and intend to finish, but somehow drift into the background of my reading.  Sometimes I started and the book got sidelined somehow, dropping from those four or five into the hinterland of will-finish-one-day; sometimes they're books which, from the outset, I intended only to dip into now and then.  I thought you might like to see a list of the books I have on the go, not including the four titles I've started in the past week or so.

I was a little surprised at quite how many there were, I have to confess.  Here are all eleven of the books I have started, will finish one day... but haven't touched for quite a while.  With each picture I've included a quick mention of where the book came from, why it got sidelined, and how far I've got...

The Memoirs of a Midget - Walter de la Mare

Pages Read: 64/378

I started this because I thought it might be useful for my thesis.  It turned out to be neither very useful nor very engaging... but I think I'll finish it one day.  Especially since it turns out my housemate Rachel is distantly related to the author.

A Reader on Reading - Alberto Manguel
Pages Read: 92/291

The Library at Night - Alberto Manguel
Pages Read: 94/328

These Manguel books were always intended to be dip-in books for me - I have them on hand when I'm writing my thesis, as it seems a more productive distraction than browsing Facebook.

Gentleman Prefer Blondes - Anita Loos
Pages Read: 48/156

I bought this after seeing it mentioned in the Provincial Lady books, but stalled a couple of years ago - I will finish it one day (maybe even today, thinking about it) but I can't remember thinking it very amusing.

The Kingdom of Infinite Space - Raymond Tallis
Pages Read: 52/291

Not my normal read, you'll agree - a non-fiction book about the head - but I did find it fascinating when I started it last summer.  But I think I'll have to read it in small doses.

The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan
Pages Read: 590/782

Colin lent me this about three years ago, and I read 550 pages in one weekend (a good way to make yourself read something is to take nothing else on a trip to Paris) but since then I haven't been super-keen to get back to it.  Colin got so bored of waiting that he bought a new copy, and gave me this one.

Told By An Idiot - Rose Macaulay
Pages Read: 30/315

This was actually the first Rose Macaulay novel I bought, but I still haven't read it - I started at Christmas, but somehow got sidetracked.  I think I'll have to start it again next time, as I don't remember anything from those thirty pages...

The Man Who Unleashed The Birds: Frank Baker and His Circle - Paul Newman

Pages Read: 82/239

Paul Newman kindly sent me a review copy of this book about Miss Hargreaves-author Frank Baker, which I'm enjoying - but somehow it went back on the shelf for a bit.  Its time will come!

The Novel in the Viola - Natasha Solomons
Pages Read: 254/391

I loved Solomons' first novel, Mr. Rosenblum's List, but I didn't have the same urge to whip through this one... but one day I will finish this one.

The Snow Child - Eowyn Ivey
Pages Read: 112/404

I was really excited about this novel, and did enjoy the first hundred or so pages a lot - but I wasn't in the right mood for it after a while, and... well, you're getting familiar with this story now!

The Finkler Question - Howard Jacobson
Pages Read: 251/370

This is the only one on the list that I might well not finish.  It was for book group, and I didn't get to the end in time for the meeting... I'm finding it very boring indeed.  One day I might make myself plough through those final 120 pages, but it doesn't feel worth it.

EDITED TO ADD:

I forgot about The Chateau - William Maxwell!
Pages Read: 138/402

I bought up loads of Maxwell novels when I read They Came Like Swallows, and somehow stalled on this one... bringing my total up to TWELVE neglected books.  And four that I'm reading more actively.  So... SIXTEEN books on the go - argh!


Well, there you are!  Have you read any of these?
I'd be intrigued to see how many I've finished this time next year... and, if nothing else, this little investigation has helped me locate all sorts of bookmarks I thought I'd lost.