There’s a LOT of reading material in the world, and an average lifespan is not enough to read it all in.
Even within an average lifespan, most of us need to spend a portion of our days engaged in other activities to make a living – as well as eat, drink, sleep, in order to….well, stay alive. I’ve had to accept that I’ll never get through even just the books I’d like to read – forget all the essays in literary journals, articles, reviews, and poems.
On top of that, anyone who has a strong desire (ie, needs) to write, struggles for time, because writing something creative can be an endless exercise. What writer can say for certain when an essay is finished and does not need one more small edit?
I’ve already lived more than half of my allotted years (I assume/hope!) and although I probably read more than the average person, (but less than the exceptional person) I’ve barely made a dent in all the material out there that I’d like to be reading.
In the past decade I began keeping a list of books I’ve read. I usually read around 25 per year (though in 2020, in lockdown for over 3 months, that included the whole, amazing Wolf Hall trilogy. From memory, the volume of those 3 books – the slimmest is about 600 pages – is the equivalent of 7 or 8 average-sized books – so I really should have increased my annual total for 2020 in recognition of that!) Last year I made it to 30. And that is while trying to read the literary journals I subscribe to, and all the articles and essays and newsletters about writing. (And having a day job.)
Today, I did some basic calculations (it was a slow news day) and realised if I keep going at that rate (and live the average life expectancy of my demographic) I’ll only read another approx 900 books by the end of my life.
Wow! I should really get started on narrowing down which 900 books those will be!!
I can very quickly narrow my focus, actually, since my favourite reading material is Non-fiction (See Fig 1: one of four piles of books stacked on the desk in my bedroom).
Never say never, though – the Wolf Hall series was an astounding fictional series (in the vein of deeply researched historical fiction where the “fictional” part is where the author has to creatively imagine the thoughts, conversations and small actions that fill necessary gaps in what was recorded) that a friend INSISTED I try. I will be forever grateful to have experienced those marvellous books, & through them, to have become a fan of Hilary Mantel.
But I’m getting sidetracked. I was talking about non-fiction! The non-fiction I like best usually incorporates some or all of: memoir, analysis, critique, research, journalism – or some blend of all of the above. It must be imaginative, but never try to pass off fiction as fact.
“Wow – I should really get started on narrowing down which 900 books those will be.”
Me, contemplating my remaining years and how many books I will have time to read
At the moment, my favourite thing to read is essays. There are so many, wonderful essays to discover, in print or online. For example, recently I discovered US author Amy Leach when I read an essay by Leach, published in Aussie literary journal Heat.
On the basis of that essay I rushed out and bought her book, Things That Are (see above). I read Things That Are, and one or two of the other books pictured above, and some essays, online, and in printed journals, and that was all since the last week of December till now. I’m inspired enough by some of the great books I’ve recently read, to try resurrecting this blog (when everyone else has moved across to newsletters!) to try and combine the two pastimes – reading and writing – by writing about what I’ve been reading. It’s not a new or innovative idea, I know – whole websites and blogs are dedicated to posts about books – but I don’t see as much written about reading essays and online articles. It’s a goal….but who knows if it will eventuate. Writing also requires time (see above.)
But if you’re also interested in writing, especially creative non-fiction, and books or essays that delve a little into all the other things mentioned above, pop by occasionally (& if you need to kill some time while you wait – read an essay!). Meanwhile, I’ll pull those recently-read books out of the pile – or online essays from where I’ve bookmarked them – and take some notes.
Blathering About Nothing 
Blather away!