It’s near the end of February, and I am making progress on my reading list. I’ve finished three books, making progress on three more, and have another book waiting in my queue. (It’s due back at the library in two weeks, so I have a specific deadline unless I renewed it for another seven days.)
As I anticipated, I did divert from my established list.
No. 7: Book with LGBT+ main characters, was to be “Priory of the Orange Tree,” by Samantha Shannon. Instead, I was fortunate to get “Upright Women Wanted” by Sarah Gailey from my library. I thought the wait would be several more weeks, so when it became available, I grabbed it while I could.
That title alone was enough to pique my interest. That all the main characters were women, and queer women, was too intriguing to pass up. My only complaint was that it was too short – only 171 pages and easily read in a single afternoon.
What wasn’t to like about a wagon train of badass Librarians in a dystopian world ostensibly distributing Approved Materials when they are actually subversive spies for the resistance.
My current book is “Mary Toft; or The Rabbit Queen” by Dexter Palmer. This one is based loosely on the story of the actual Mary Toft from Godalming, Surrey. In 1726 she became the object of much controversy when she was able to convince people that she had given birth to not one, but 17 rabbits.
I’ve only just begun this book but it’s been great fun so far. This book was also not on my original list.
Used to be that I would slog through a book, not really loving the characters or story because I felt some sort of obligation to finish what I started. A quote I read from Nancy Pearl, former Executive Director of the Washington Center for the Book at Seattle Public Library, changed all that.
“If you’re 50 years old or younger, give every book about 50 pages before you decide to commit yourself to reading it, or give it up.
If you’re over 50, which is when time gets shorter, subtract your age from 100 – the result is the number of pages you should read before deciding whether or not to quit. If you’re 100 or over you get to judge the book by its cover, despite the dangers in doing so.”
Based on her equation, I can give a new book about 42 pages before tossing it on my Did Not Finish pile. I don’t have time to waste on books that don’t hold my attention.
This week’s word is:
Abandon
What to do:
Using “abandon” for inspiration, write 100 Words – 100 exactly – no more, no less. You can either use the word – or any form of the word – as one of your 100, or it can be implied. Include a link in your post back here, and add your story to the Mister Linky list. If you don’t have a blog, you can leave your submission in the comment section, or as a Facebook status post. Remember to keep spreading the love with supportive comments for your fellow Wordsters.
Thin spiral notebook 