Is it possible to read “too many” books at once?

Before I went everywhere with a loaded digital book device, I would always choose the wrong book. I would go to the airport with one book and before my flight left, I would know it was the wrong book, and I would buy something different. I once did this and then foolishly lent my new purchase to a fellow traveler with nothing to read at all. I then spent the rest of the flight—a decently long one—struggling and failing to read the book I originally selected for the trip.

I read a lot, but I do other very time consuming things too, like cook, draw, teach, and amuse my kids. The question of whether it’s possible to be reading “too many” books at once is not a question about spending more or less time reading.

Some people, including readers more avid than I, read one or two books at a time. Intellectually, I have always known this to be true. I have not always been fully aware of this on an emotional level.

“I’m going to try not to read so many books at a time,” a colleague confessed, as we chatted about changes we might make after a workshop on mindfulness and academic life. I was intrigued by this resolution, as it was frankly not one that had occurred to me over the course of the workshop.

“How many do you normally read at once?” I asked innocently.

I am not sure what number she admitted to—maybe three or four. Maybe five or seven. She wanted to pare that down!?!

I read so, so many more books at a time.

Part of the difference is semantic: if I start a book a few times before committing or rejecting it, it’s on my list. If I’m re-reading two or three or four books, maybe just late at night or before my morning coffee, maybe just on the weekend, that counts. If I’m re-reading part of a text that I’m studying or reading a batch of books for an upcoming course, that counts too. To say that I’m reading these books, even if someone else wouldn’t “count” them, is not the result of a desire to inflate my “current reading” count.

This isn’t a matter of virtue or commitment.

If not that, then what? To be currently reading a book is to hold that book in mind, the shape of it, my sense of it, my expectations of it, my perhaps faulty memories of past reading experiences, my anticipation of a range of interpretations or receptions the book might have gotten or might get… or these overlapping ideas and feelings hover in reserve at the edge of my mind. If this all sounds awful, my colleague’s goal of reducing the list of books in the current reading stack is an excellent resolution.

But for me, being limited to a few books would prevent me from reading. My book would always be the wrong book for the moment. When I’m reading many books, I don’t have this problem. One of them is ready for me, or I am ready for one of them. Or I just start another book.

Blueberry Lime Thyme Cocktail or Mocktail Idea

This evening, as I put together my daily cocktail / mocktail, I wanted something pretty that would balance either with the alcohol or without, and I wanted something both refreshing and smoky. Here’s what I came up with:

Idea / Recipe hybrid:

Blueberry Lime Thyme Cocktail / Mocktail

1 tablespoon blueberry syrup (recipe follows)

1/2 teaspoon orgeat (no recipe follows, though a friend made mine)

1 ounce lime juice

1 twist lime

1 sprig thyme, crushed, left in the drink to taste

Bourbon to taste

Water to taste

If you’re more of a recipe person or just too worn out from decision-making:

Add 2 oz bourbon for an actual cocktail

Add 1 tablespoon bourbon and 2 oz water for a hint of bourbon

Add 2 oz water for a Mocktail

Stir and serve over ice.

Yes, this is what I came up with after nearly a month off from daily posts, or rather, in the twenty minutes before writing. You might think after a hiatus from daily posts that I would have beautifully crafted essays or at least something worth posting. The fact that I don’t is testament to the power of the daily post: it enables writing and posting that doesn’t have to be “good enough.”

The last few weeks have been somewhat impossible, and I enjoyed not posting. And I missed posting. The idea of a weekly post resulted in bigger ideas but not in completion. So now that I have more or less wrapped up the semester of crisis, I’m back to the daily, not-necessarily-worth-posting posts.

Today’s recipe idea seems strangely perfect.

Multiples

Make multiples. It’s calming and promotes creativity. I made 27 butterflies today, with help.

Once you select what you’re making and give yourself a goal, you’re set. You have a specific task. You can pursue mastery of this task; you can explore widely within the confines of the task. It’s much easier to explore within the confines of that task. And your goal will be motivating.

If you happen to be trying to keep kids busy with a craft for more than long enough to pour yourself a coffee. multiples might help do that too. That depends on the kid , though. I make no promises.

Today, our house began a 100 butterflies project. We chose butterflies because we have a butterfly hole-punch, and it’s fun to punch them out, and then everyone can color them. It’s great because we have the confining butterfly shape and then anything goes. It is an almost all-ages collaboration. We are making a kaleidoscope of butterflies. Some are semi-realistic. Some are patterned—polka dots, chevrons, stripes, rainbows. Some have flowers and succulents . Some have scribbles.

One of the kids has already asked if we have to stop when we complete our 100.

2/100 I’m not a blogger and this is my blog (part II)

Whenever I order a vegan meal at a restaurant or buy a huge cart of only vegan things at Trader Joe’s, someone asks if I’m vegan or just vegetarian. The answer is actually neither. I’m an omnivore who likes vegetables. And tofu. But that is neither here nor there. 

If people often see what I eat and think I must be at least a vegetarian, they discover what I’m interested in, and think I must be at least an occasional blogger. I’m not. Or at least I haven’t been. 

I could blog about far too many interests—I’ve considered everything from gin, curly hair, and mysteries to the English language, higher education, motherhood, and intercultural family life. What that wide range of disparate interests means, in practical terms with regard to a blog, is that I can’t actually blog about any one thing. 

My plan for this 100 post challenge is to explore some of the blog ideas I have entertained in the past. I’ll start with some meta posts and shift into actual experiments. One day I might write about a gin cocktail or a curly hair problem, another I’ll consider a word or idea from some area of my life. To potentially prevent sheer chaos and confusion, I’ll use the framework of exploration, making, and reflection. Along the way, I’ll reflect, and I’ll make changes. Maybe I’ll take up meme-production. It’s more likely than Twitter.