There is only one way to read, which is to browse in libraries and bookshops, picking up books that attract you, reading only those, dropping them when they bore you, skipping the parts that drag—and never, never reading anything because you feel you ought, or because it is part of a trend or a movement. Remember that the book which bores you when you are twenty or thirty will open doors for you when you are forty or fifty—and vice versa. Don’t read a book out of its right time for you.
Doris Lessing, ‘Intro to The Golden Notebook’
This sounds pretty much like how I seem to be going about my reading lately. Picking up whatever catches my attention and fancy for the moment and dropping them for whatever else that may come along that seem like a better fit for the mood. Hence, I never seem to be able to finish the books that get started and have nothing much to show for my reading. But then again, why do I feel like I need to have something to show for anyway? It really is a rather personal thing after all, this whole business of reading, isn’t it? So yeah, I think I’m just gonna go along with Doris Lessing’s “… only way to read…” (for now, at least).
By the way, the snapshot above was taken at the Villa Rufolo, Ravello, a charming little town situated above the Amalfi Coast. The little guy was looking kinda bored, when we first saw him sitting there between the columns, staring into space. So, we thought he might like to have something to read instead. 😉
