The Bedside Pile

I find reading now takes up more energy than I remember it doing so in the past. I guess it's a matter of my concentration not being so good. Achieving any kind of focus takes more effort. I always used to read one book at a time, devouring it if it was good and easy to read, possibly labouring for weeks if it was more difficult. I'd rarely not finish a book. Each was normally a well-researched or recommended read and chosen for good reason.

That's changed. I keep a number of books on the go these days, to suit different needs and frames of mind. I allow books to come to me by chance and I'm not afraid to stop reading if it's not working for me. I like to have a novel in which I can lose myself. I also like to have a less mainstream novel, a book that challenges me, although I have to be in the right mood for that. My current such book has very short chapters. The writing is so good that I often read a chapter back twice for the sheer beauty of the prose. It could be said that Permafrost is a page-turn-backer! I also like to have a non-fiction book to hand, for when that moment grabs me, plus a collection or an anthology of short stories. I'm still aspiring to write them myself and I think it's the very hardest kind of writing to do well. It's a difficult form. I read to learn, and the book at the bottom of the pile here is being read as a masterclass. Whether you want to read with more insight, or aspire to write better stories yourself, George Saunders is the most wonderful teacher. 

My previous pile was teetering beside the bed and I've had a bit of a sort out. My to-read books now finally have a dedicated shelf of their own. All these books come highly recommended, each in a different way.