Bookworm

I have three -- count them, three -- books left in my big pile of 46 books. I think I started that count sometime in October, when I told WG that I had a lot of books to read, and he wanted to know what I meant by "a lot." That pile has grown over the past several months, mostly as I added in about 10 Young Adult books and just over half of the Lemony Snicket Series (now I'm done with the Snicket, done I tell you!). So, for good measure, let's just say that the pile topped 50 and and came close to 60, and that I've started one of the last three. My goal was originally to get through the pile by the time I went to DC in June (and picked up more books, which I have not added to the official pile), but I've revised my deadline to simply be BEFORE HARRY POTTER. So, I have until NEXT Friday to read three books. I have confidence in my reading ability.

Of course, my path along the way has been thwarted by books like California's Napa Valley (it's got gossip and ghostly history and all kinds of neat things...and of course, I've found out things about the winery where WG works that he neglected to tell me). And, then my number came up for my hold on Ann Brashares first novel not for teenagers. And, of course, there have been others, because, who really can pass up Chuck Klosterman's take on why John Cusack ruined romance for so many men. So, with these, and others, it's easy to understand why the "official" stack has been going down at such a slow pace.

Finally, in this ever so literary post, I have to say that I did something last night that I've been meaning to do, oh, since I figured out that being an English major didn't totally suck: go to an author reading. I tend to ignore these, for reasons unknown even to me, but this time, it was important to go. The author, Lisa See, had appeared at an event I sort-of helped coordinate in my old job, and I was curious about her new book, Peony in Love. So, off I went, with my mother in tow, to one of the last remaining independent bookstores in California, and we sat and listened and laughed as the author talked about this book, past books and a future book. She also fielded questions from crazy audience members with questions about the content of their own books (which, undestandably, Ms. See could not exactly answer. It was lovely.

Now, I can't wait to finish my three books so that I can start another official pile.

In addition to talking about her book, Ms. See talked about her writing style and process. And I think I'm going to go ahead and copy her, since I can't get into a routine of my own. She writes 1000 words, five days a week. I always start out with huge goals of 10 pages a day or something ridiculous like that. I'll try this 1,000 words a day. And I'll keep y'all posted, since I know you're just chomping at the bit for me to finally write the Great American Chick Novel.