May 08, 2008

Weekend Reading

This is going to be a pretty busy weekend but I'm already putting some thoughts into what I want to be reading over the two days. I have been feeling a little overwhelmed with my reading choices lately and I hate feeling like that about reading - it's supposed to be my passion and joy not my stress and concern! I think in the not too distant future I will have to do some thinking about my reading goals for the next few months or so - hopefully that will help me to stay on track and read what I really want to be reading. Any suggestions or help with this would be greatly appreciated!
But for now I'll just concentrate on the upcoming weekend.
I picked up a book while I was in Sydney this week that I hadn't heard of before - Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures By Vincent Lam. It comes with glowing praise from Alice Munro and Margaret Atwood (possibly supporting their fellow Canadian but I think I'll trust them). I'm already 120 pages into this and it is very easy reading so I think I will try and finish this one over the weekend. The book is narrated from the perspective of four medical students and explores their relationships with each other and their work/study. Having worked in a hospital setting in the past I'm finding it very interesting reading. The author will also be speaking at the Sydney Writer's Festival which I am going to later this month so it would be great to hear him speak about the book there.
The other book I'm feeling the need to begin as I have been waiting for it to arrive for a while now is My Reading Life By Bob Carr. This is also a book I have down for my Non-Fiction Five Challenge.
Bob Carr is a former Premier of the state of New South Wales and is known for his love of reading and books and his promotion of children's literacy during his time as a political leader so I am looking forward to reading about the books that have impacted on his life.
I think that should get me through the weekend!

3 comments:

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

I'm not sure what to suggest since I'm not sure what is causing you to feel overwhelmed. I like to vary what I am reading--if I read something heavy I'll follow it up with something lighter so I don't get burned out. I used to feel overwhelmed by which book to read next--there are so many! Then I started joining challenges, which helped. Even though I could choose the books, my reading became a little more laid out of me. But, the more challenges joined, the more books I have to read--I'm not sure if it helps with the feeling of being overwhelmed, but I love them anyway. Bloodletting...sounds like an intriguing book! I look forward to reading your review.

Karen said...

Thanks Trish - I think the sheer number of books is what is causing my overwhelmed feeling! I like to be very much in control of things and have a plan - maybe I just need to go with the flow a little more!
I definitely agree that the challenges help to direct my reading. I think my fear is that there are just so many good books out there that if I'm not reading wisely I might miss some of them!

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

Oh yes, I know that fear! Sometimes I get very overwhelmed and anxious that I won't be able to read all of the books I want to in this lifetime. There are so many already written--and then the ones that are yet to be written! Anyway...maybe I'll try to get a few pages in tonight before bed. ;)