Brain Overload

Is it possible to be unable to blog because you have too many things to blog about? After this past week, I'm thinking the answer is an unequivocal "YES" and therein lies my problem. I have a little notebook in which I began jotting down various and sundry things that I wanted to blog about and so far it looks something like this: Follow the bouncing ball, puns, Ten Percent Won't Pay the Rent, bathroom shelves, visual reminder board. And that doesn't even include the book list or the WIP list.

So, this is my attempt to at least catch up with my reading list, which I think will be the shortest entry of those above.

In the reading aloud category, Giuli and I are enjoying Inkheart. I already read it but I felt I needed to review the first and second books in order to finally read Inkdeath, which has been on my "to read" list for a few months now. We finished Heidi a week or so ago, which has been an ongoing project for way too long.

For non-fiction, I have so many books scattered around the house that I could read something different in every single room, including the hallway in the bookcase across from the washer and dryer. I have two books in the master bathroom (because who among us does not stash books in the bathroom, I ask you?): The New Feminine Brain (because I want to know what was wrong with the old one, of course) and Mindful Knitting. In the guest bathroom (aka the kids' bathroom) are Pickpockets, Beggars, and Ratcatchers and The Wisdom of Insecurity. Amazingly, in the downstairs half-bath, I only have magazines...which shows you that I don't often use that bathroom. Non-fiction I am actually reading before I drop off at night - The Magician's Book, which Paul just finished reading last week. I am sure I will reread the Narnia series after finishing it, too, just as Paul is doing. I'm thinking of using that as my read-aloud series after we finish the Inkheart books.

Fiction - I finished the Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Volume One, which was actually two books in one volume. I read the first part a couple of months ago and decided I was in the mood for juvenile fiction so went back to it. I'd like to read more by Diana Wynne Jones - of course, the next book in this series was not in stock at Borders the other night. She also wrote Howl's Moving Castle which I'm sure is familiar to many of y'all. I also finished Coraline, which was delightful in a way that I think only Neil Gaiman can provide. Now I am reading The Lies of Locke Lamora, which was recommended by Heather. And my classic book that I put down for a while but will get back into shortly is Don Quixote.

Dare I mention that I have a small collection of books on my desk which I can grab at a moment's notice when the urge strikes? The obligatory Little Oxford English Dictionary and the Visual Quick Tips Microsoft Office 2003 are pretty standard fare on a computer desk, right? Others that might not seem so expected are: The Well and the Shallows, Instant English Literature, Green Clean, The Importance of Living, Once Upon a Galaxy, Shakespeare - The Invention of the Human, The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns, and last but not least, Mason*Dixon Knitting. I have not listed the authors here because all these books are on my Shelfari up at the top of my blog.

So, in typing all this up I have realized something that you may have picked up on, too. I think I have a greater attention span when it comes to non-fiction than fiction. I need the continuity of story, which is difficult to do if you are immersed in too many fantasy worlds. Also, when it comes to fiction, I absolutely feel the need to finish the damned thing if I get very far into it. I can't think of any books offhand that I have had to abandon completely, although there are several that I had to start 2 or 3 times before I was in the right mindset to be able to delve into them. Amazingly, Outlander was one of those books. I do have an excuse for the first attempt, though. A friend gave me a copy when I was in the hospital back in '95 when I had Guillain-Barre. I think my attention span was just not up to the task and even Jamie and Claire could not hold my attention. Granted, I didn't get that far into the book before I gave it up. I have no excuse for the second attempt but, as they say, third time's a charm and that time totally sucked me in. Even though I haven't read all the books in the series yet, I'm still excited to see yet another Outlander title coming out soon!

So, how about some feedback from the peanut gallery on this one? What type of reader are you? Scattered and smothered like Waffle House hashbrowns? Perhaps you have a favourite genre? Any books you wanted to throw across the room? (Anxiously awaiting Paul's input on that one) Or what tome do you constantly come back to, rather like a comfort book?

I didn't really pare down my blog topic list because, in looking at my notebook, I see that I have managed to completely avoid every item there. *facepalm*

Oh yes, I am 80 percent finished with my slouch hat! Hooray! I hope to post pictures tomorrow when I finish.

Happy Reading!

OMG I did say I thought this would be a short post. Colour me embarrassed.