So Many Books, So Little Time

OMG – I bought three e-books for $1.99 each on BookBub (1) this morning. Three! And that was me showing restraint. I almost bought four, but I decided not to get the one about Monty Python’s Life of Brian. That one is more hubby’s style than mine.

image created by Bing Image creator 8/27/25

If I bought books like that every day, I’d end up with over 1,000 a year. Egad! I read maybe 45 in a good year. Thank heavens I only check BookBub when my library app comes up empty—otherwise, I’d need to open a branch of the Library of Congress in my living room.

It’s fascinating how different people read. Some are loyal mystery fans. Others devour only nonfiction or historical fiction. Me? I’m an eclectic reader. I’ll happily hop from a mystery to a memoir to humor, depending on the day.

In my twenties, I was more of a binge reader. First sci-fi, then Agatha Christie marathons. In my 40s, I was on a steady diet of self-improvement and business titles like The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Later came Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series. My favorite character? Lula—the former "ho" who struts through Trenton in spandex three sizes too small. Grandma Mazur runs a close second—still spunky in her seventies and attending funerals for the cookies. And then there was Sue Grafton’s Alphabet series, breezy and wisecracking.

Mystery trio - Christie, Evanovich, Grafton

Book clubs have broadened my horizons even more. My first one introduced me to historical fiction—novels like Sisi, about the Austrian princess-turned-empress, and What the Lady Wants, about Marshall Field during the Great Chicago Fire. One of my current book clubs is wonderfully eclectic. This year alone we’ve tackled James (a retelling of Huck Finn from the slave Jim’s perspective), The Bald Eagle (yes, the bird gets its own biography), and The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post (the cereal heiress who also built Mar-a-Lago).

Here’s my problem: I love collecting books almost as much as I love reading them. The Myers-Briggs personality test calls me an “intuitive perceiver.” What that really means is:

• I like to explore new ideas (translation: I can’t resist “just one more book”).

• I keep my options open (translation: I’ll skip from genre to genre).

• I get bored with routine (translation: don’t expect me to stick with one genre).

• I jump from topic to topic (translation: my bookshelves look like a yard sale).

Robert Frost described this perfectly in his poem The Armful. (2) He wrote about carrying so many packages that they spill into the road, then trying to rearrange them into a better load. That’s me with books. Frost never suggested getting rid of them to reduce his armful, so I figure he must’ve been an “NP” too.

image 8/29/reated by ChatGpt- 8/29/25

Every move we’ve made (and there have been three in 13 years), I’ve had to part with books. Hundreds donated to libraries, neighbors, or friends. Thankfully, since 2010, I’ve been reading e-books—otherwise I’d be buried under paperbacks by now. My iPad, of course, has bottomless storage. Convenient, but also a little dangerous.

One of the things I love about reading is how it connects me to people and places. In the 1970s, a close friend of mine from India moved back home. Ever since, I’ve been drawn to books about India—like The Henna Artist and The Widows of Malabar Hill. They gave me a glimpse into her part of the world.

My friend's name was Joshi - a common name in India

Other times, reading helps me understand people better. Jodi Picoult does this brilliantly, and so does John Grisham. My newest favorite is Clive Cussler—his The Chase had me hooked. And when I want humor, I reach for Dave Sedaris or Ellen DeGeneres. A little wit sprinkled between the mysteries and thrillers is good for the soul.

I guess I’m still a kid at heart, always asking “why.” Books don’t always answer the question, but they give me a better sense of all the possible whys.

Of course, if a book about cats or about a musician I love pops up—say, the Beatles, Beethoven, or even Bad Bunny—I’m helpless. Into the shopping cart it goes.

At the end of the day, I read because it’s fun. Because it connects me to new ideas and old friends. Because it helps me understand the world, even if just a little. And because, as all bookworms know, there will always be “so many books, so little time.”

Reading has always been one of my deepest pleasures. These days, it’s also a gentle escape. In my stage of life, illness and loss are often close by, reminders that there’s less life ahead than behind. Books don’t change that reality, but they soften it. They carry me into other worlds, other lives, other possibilities, and for a while I’m carried along by stories rather than by worry. That’s why I’ve always loved reading—it both distracts me and delights me, a comfort I’ve never outgrown.

So what are your reading habits?  How have they changed over the years? What books are next on your reading list?

References

1. BookBub (I call it the online book version of an irresistible yard sale)

   

2. Robert Frost, The Armful, allpoetry.com