Too Much of a Good Thing?

I love to read. If I am still for any amount of time, I have a compulsion to have a book in my hands. I read everywhere. I mean it – everywhere. If I have something that takes a while to stir on the stove, nine times out of ten I’ll have a book on the counter that I at least try to read while I stir. On the treadmill when I actually get to exercise at the Y – a good book makes the time go faster and seem much less mind-numbingly boring. In car line while waiting to pick up the boys from school. In the bathroom – where else do I have an excuse for at least a moment of uninterrupted quiet? Not that the bathroom door being closed actually stops any of the little people in my house from trying to have a conversation with me, mind you, but, theoretically.

Between my husband and me, and now the kids, too, we have a lot of books in our house. We've given a bunch of them away, but still we don't have enough shelves for them all. Drew finally built some shelves out in the garage and we've got to go through the piles and get rid of some more. When we still lived in Brandon, FL, we moved into a new apartment once, and a friend who was helping us move boxes could not get over how many boxes of books there were. And they were heavy. He teased us about that for the longest time after. My brother can attest to that, too. He helped us move into our third floor apartment when we first moved to Tampa, and I think we about killed him hauling those heavy boxes of books up three flights of stairs, remember, T?

I have a bad habit of starting more than one book at a time, too, and it is not uncommon for me to have several books with bookmarks in them at any given time. This bad habit has escalated on me of late. I’m starting to feel like I’m swamped in books. I pretty much have enough going at the moment for every room of the house. I think I need to put some away and read one at a time, perhaps. Of course, reading this way means that it can take months to finish a book, though I actually read very fast. It’s not like I have hours and hours each day to while away the time reading. Most of my reading actually does take place in the bathroom – when I take bubble baths in the evening after the kids are all in bed, or sitting on the porch while Boo diddles around in the yard. I have been known to have three books on the table outside while the kids are playing. My Bible and two others so I can read a little here and a little there while keeping one eye on my wandering two year old to make sure she’s not getting into anything she shouldn’t.

Here’s what I am reading these days:

My Bible, of course. I try to make sure I read the Bible before I read anything else, and most days I am able to at least start my daily reading and pray before the kids get up. This has been a habit for a long time now, and I find that the day doesn’t seem complete without it, and that my attitude is so much better on the days when I do read my Bible and pray before taking on the rest of the day.

The New Pilgrim’s Progress, by John Bunyan, with updated text by Judith E. Markham and notes by Warren W. Wiersbe. This is a version of the classic by John Bunyan with updated, modernized language, but retaining the original story and flavor. Faithful and Christian are just about to enter Vanity Fair. I can’t wait to get back to them. Speaking of Pilgrim’s Progress, we read Little Pilgrim’s Progress, by Helen L. Taylor to the boys not too long ago, and they loved it! It’s a children’s version of the classic.

Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson. I'm reading that to the boys in the evening before bed. They absolutely love our reading time at night. I have to decode the old-fashioned language at times, but they are loving the pirate story. That's not surprising, at all - M's favorite restaurant ever is The Pirate House in Savannah, GA. We have read quite a few books together in the evenings. They are requesting we read all of The Chronicles of Narnia again when we finish Treasure Island.

The Excellent Wife, by Martha Peace. Well, anyone who’s been reading here at all knows I’m reading this one. I am keeping up with the group and reading the weekly chapters, but I am not sure I will continue to blog about it each week anymore, though I do continue to be challenged and encouraged by it, but I don’t know that I have the energy to keep up with the weekly posts about it. Those posts tend to take a lot of time to write.

Because the Time is Near, by John MacArthur. This is an in depth look at the book of Revelation. I’ve got a few potential blog posts simmering. This book needs more attention than I’ve been giving it. I may need to put it on hold until I finish some of the others and I can focus on it better.

When I Don’t Desire God: How to Fight for Joy, by John Piper. This one I have actually put it on hold, though I move it around the house occasionally, thinking I’ll get back to it. I want to finish it.

A Tale of Two Sons, by John MacArthur. This one arrived in the mail just today. I love the thrill of seeing a box in the mailbox when I know it's the book I've been waiting for. I fought and fought the urge to open it, because I’ve already got too many books started, but I lost the fight and read the first few pages this afternoon. I can’t wait to read this one.

And I have three novels from the library that are sitting on my desk. I just finished one by David Baldacci that I liked and I just started another book that was on the 14 day loan shelf at the library. I won’t say what yet, though, because I’m not far enough into it to know if it’s one I would want to be endorsing on the blog. So far it’s pretty good, though. I tend to like mysteries and detective fiction, but I have to choose somewhat carefully. I’m not as ADD with my novel reading style – I tend to read one at a time with novels just because I can’t keep more than one story straight if I have too many of them going at once.

And I wonder why I’m having writer’s block……