Binge reading is a fine way to enjoy your retirement. I’m antsy and have a hard time relaxing enough to just slump down and read for hours, but once I do, it’s bliss.
I have two library cards from two different systems and get most of my books from the library. If one doesn’t have it, the other one might. Sometimes I pluck from the shelves at home, although we drastically reduced our book inventory when we moved to our retirement home.
The local library branch is a short walk from our house. I slap on a backpack and feel like a kid again, off to wander the stacks and dream big. We were avid readers and joined every summer reading club that ever was. How did I miss A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle?
The book was published in 1962. I was seven. Probably too young then, but it seems like it would have turned up on a reading list at some point. Yet, I never heard of it. I found the book on a display at the library that includes employee favorites. It’s a young adult novel about children who travel through space and time to save their father … and the world. I loved it.
Next on the binge list was Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump by Rick Reilly. Although I’ve resisted all previous Trump books, golf is the siren call, the crack cocaine of temptation for me. Rick Reilly is a very funny golf writer.
The book was entertaining, but I couldn’t read it at night. Left me in a bad mood right before bed. It’s kind of like watching a train wreck, and you can’t look away. In full disclosure, I loathe Trump, and this book further documents what a truly vile person he is.
Cheating at golf is one thing, and lying about how many club championships he has won is another, but I was particularly horrified by the stories of cheating the workers who build his golf courses. Bullying contractors to accept less than 50 percent of what they were owed because Trump was tired of spending money.
Dang depressing. I am done reading about the man and hope I can get him out of my consciousness by 2020.
The last book I binged on was Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. It seems like half the world has read it, so I’m not telling you anything new, but what an absolutely wonderful book! The novel is part coming-of-age and part murder mystery about a girl, Kya, who is forced to raise herself in the marsh.
Kya is accused of murdering her former lover, and the story flips back and forth between the murder and growing up so lonely and under such tragic conditions yet becoming an expert on the marsh habitat.
I plopped on the comfy reading couch and didn’t budge until I finished the book and wiped the last tear from my eye. By the way, the writer is a scientist who has written non-fiction books, but this is her first novel – at age 70!
The next book I’m tackling is from the family stacks. Although I adore the Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien, my fandom is based on the movies. I’ve never read the books. Dale had a boxed paperback set, so I’ve started The Fellowship of the Ring. It’s a slow start.
What’s the best thing you’ve read lately?
I highly recommend three books by Graeme Simsion. The Rosie Project, The Rosie Effect and The Rosie Result. Read them in order. My book club friends didn’t all like the first one, but I thought all three were very entertaining. They are definitely good binge books!!
I looked up those books on Amazon — they do indeed look binge-worthy! Thank you for the recommendations.
Great post! I just read an article in the New York Times extolling the virtues of binge reading vs taking more time to read a book. Like you, I don’t often sit long enough to read through a book but I’m going to try to make room for that in my life (I was a binge reading child, so why not?). I enjoyed Madeline Albright’s Prague Winter, a memoir about her family’s experience around WWII. As former Secretary of State and child of an ambassador and diplomat, she brought a unique point of view. Next up, I’m thinking of re-reading all of John Le Carre, this time in order.
I always liked Madeline Albright — sounds like an interesting read. I’ve never read John Le Carre. Maybe it’s time. If I do it, I will also go in order. It’s a sickness.
I recently finished Nine Perfect Strangers because it was a popular ebook at my library. I enjoyed it and it was a fast read. Now I’m being practical and reading Jill Schlesinger’s “The Dumb Things Smart People Do With Money”. I will join you on your 2020 quest.
Hi Kim! I’m thinking you are retired now or close to it. Yay. Thanks for the book recommendations. I will say I never did anything dumb with money, but I never did anything really smart with it either … other than spend less than I had.
14.5 days, not that anyone’s counting. 🙂 I am pleased with my boring index funds. Consistent base hits is what I’m looking for and it’s working out.
I finished Ken Follett’s Century Trilogy last year – Fall of Giants, Winter of the World, Edge of Eternity. It has stuck with me. I’m currently reading I’m Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen by Sylvie Simmons. It isn’t exactly a page turner but I’ve always enjoyed his words so will persist. The biography that was a page turner for me was Buffy Sainte Marie, The Authorized Biography by Andrea Walker.
Interesting. Follett is another one I’ve never read. I am a Leonard Cohen fan, so I might see if they have it at the library. As for Buffy Sainte Marie, I don’t know much about her, but if you say page turner, I’m in.
It’s not exact lately, but the book I could’nt stop reading: Donna Tartt, The Goldfinch.
The very BEST i read in years.
Currently it’s Don Winslow, The Border.
Yes, I’ve heard The Goldfinch is excellent. I’ll add it to my list. I love Don Winslow’s early stuff about surfers, but I haven’t read the drug war trilogy. Not sure I can handle the violence. But if could get through all of Trump’s lies and misdeeds, maybe I’ll have another look!