“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” 
~ Arthur Ashe

One of the challenges I have when it comes to "starting where I am" is that the place I'm starting from is often kind of a mess. Case in point: At this moment I have 6 books on my Currently Reading shelf, all in various states  of "progress."

Somewhere along the way I lost the ability to commit to one story at a time. Like so many of us in today's world of information overflow and instant gratification, I am easily distracted. I also tend to allow my mood to dictate what I read. Unfortunately, this means that the allure of something new and shiny often wins out over the stories that have been with me for a while. Hence my overloaded bookshelves and the existence of this blog.

Of course, this lack of focus also means that when I do pick up one of those books I've left sitting for weeks, or even months, re-reading is almost always necessary. And this applies to both fiction: "Who is this guy they're talking about and why is he riding a flying carpet through a cavern with his eyes closed?" and non-fiction: "What were the steps in that breathing exercise that will help me sit with my depression and not let it grip me for weeks at a time?" 

So I want to take this opportunity to retrain my focus. To extend my original commitment by also promising to read no more than 2 books at once. One title will be for the book club that I have with my husband: Brayer Books and the other will be a title of my choosing.  Both will be chronicled here for your enjoyment. 

Tune in next week when I announce the "winners."

In the meantime I'd love to hear if you have trouble reading "just one" book at a time. Do you have any strategies for picking a book and sticking with it? 
Rob
6/3/2013 07:03:09 am

I like to read big books with lots of characters so I forget things if I read more than one or two at a time!

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