I didn't get any books for Christmas. Instead, my family gifted me a lovely pair of horse-shaped bookends among other things, perhaps in the hope that I might be tempted to read the books on display if I saw them every day. Never mind all the other unread books carefully tucked away in cabinets.
You read the ones you have first, and then we'll see about more books.
The trick, if it was one, seemed to have worked. Perhaps it was a sense of guilt that made me put The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides and Shiver by Allie Reynolds on display. Both were gifts from my daughter two years ago.
I had started reading The Silent Patient and even wrote about the book on this blog in 2024, and then completely forgot about it.
The bookends were a reminder to pick up the book where I'd left off. Except I had to start from the beginning, having forgotten what I'd read up to the bookmarked page. You can't just open page 52, so to speak, and continue reading as if you'd been there only yesterday.
People often ask on social media what book they would read first in the new year. With me it's usually a half-read book from December 31. So no surprises or hidden gems there—unless I’m tempted to let other books jump the queue.
But I'm optimistic, as I am every New Year, that I'll not only finish the leftovers but also read more books this year.
Maybe then I'll get books for Christmas.
The wild ginger is in flower. So is agrimony, lady's lace, wild geranium. The ferns are turning yellow. The fruit of the snake lily has turned red, signifying an end to the rains. A thrush whistles cheerfully on the branch of a dead tree.
Yes, and when all the wars are done, a butterfly will still be beautiful.
— Ruskin Bond, author and poet, in his introduction to Delhi Is Not Far: The Best of Ruskin Bond, September 7, 1994
Love the bookends!
ReplyDeleteI do too, Ryan. Now to read the books!
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