I’m still rummaging around the house tossing out the books I no longer can read or find room in my new digs to store and display them. But the real irony is that for every book I toss out or give away, there are at least three books I want to add to my future reading lists (digital versions, of course).
But even if I move all my books to my new place, I’m still going to miss my built-in shelves. Then again, having shelves that are deep enough for three banks of books has often left me without access to books I know I have but just cannot find. The again, I will miss the many hours spent every month or two rearranging the books and often discovering a real treasure hidden in the dark depths of black wood and indirect lighting.
I have been saving these daily reading suggestions in a simple database and often review them for ideas, books, or just to mark a title I actually read. Maybe someday I’ll publish the full list.
For now, here is the list of suggested reading from February 2016:
02-01-16 – H. P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life — Michel Houellebecq
02-02-16 – From the Fatherland with Love — Ryu Murakami
02-03-16 – The Spider King’s Daughter — Chibundu Onuzo
02-04-16 – Goth: A Novel of Horror — Otsuichi
02-05-16 – The Scapegoat: A Novel — Sophia Nikolaidou
02-06-16 – The Sympathizer — Viet Thanh Nguyen
02-07-16 – Make Something Up: Stories You Can’t Unread — Chuck Palahniuk
02-08-16 – Grant Park — Leonard Pitts, Jr.
02-09-16 – Burnt Tongues — Chuck Palahniuk
02-10-16 – Signs Preceding the End of the World — Yuri Herrera
02-11-16 – Night Squad — David Goodis
02-12-16 – A Cold War — Alan Russell
02-13-16 – Concerning the Eccentricities of Cardinal Pirelli — Ronald Firbank
02-14-16 – The Blizzard — Vladimir Sorokin
02-15-16 – Fantomas Versus the Multinational Vampires: An Attainable Utopia (Semiotext(e)) — Julio Cortázar
02-16-16 – Author and Me — Eric Chevillard
02-17-16 – The Naked Eye — Yoko Tawada
02-18-16 – A Breath of Life — Clarice Lispector
02-19-16 – Chelsea Girls: A Novel — Eileen Myles
02-20-16 – The People In the Trees — Hanya Yanagihara
02-21-16 – Memoirs Found In a Bathtub — Stanislav Lem
02-22-16 – My Work Is Not Yet Done — Thomas Ligotti
02-23-16 – No Longer Human — Osamu Dazai
02-24-16 – First Bad Man: A Novel — Miranda July
02-25-16 – Trigger Warning: Short Fictions And Disturbances — Neil Gaiman
02-26-16 – The Martian: A Novel — Andy Weir
02-27-16 – Wolf In White Van: A Novel — John Darnielle
02-28-16 – The Yellow Rain — Julio Llamazares
02-29-16 – The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll — Alvaro Mutis
A Celebration of Reading 
Oh, and good luck in your new home.
LikeLike
I’m sure I wrote about this before but my daughter is convinced I can’t continue on my own so she is moving me into her new house. I have a nice large bedroom suite with lots of built-ins and she is having a second (sun) room built off of the bedroom. This might actually be more room than I have now, discounting the space for an unnecessary kitchen, television room, etc. I should be very comfortable.
Packing and moving is a pain but the real terror comes when you have to find all new doctors, renew medications, etc. All in all, I would prefer not to.
LikeLike
None of us like change, but I am sure your daughter will help with sorting out a doctor and your meds. Here in the UK you register with a new doctor and all your records are sent from your old doctor. It was easy. I hope there is a similar scheme there. Sounds like the best of both worlds, someone to look out for you and a measure of privacy and independence.
Clare
LikeLike
When I retired, Mike, I moved from London 200 miles to my home in Devon. I got rid of lots of books. Many books that I got rid of were needed for reading /study projects within months and I had to go out and buy lots of books. So my advice, if you’ll forgive me, is to take anything you might need or want to read or reread. I was surprised at the cost of replacing some of the books that I had had for years eg anything by Spencer or Sir Philip Sidney and a set of the British published New Naturalists.
LikeLike
Remember, I don’t save books I’ve already read unless they are of academic value. But even that is becoming less important now that I’m somewhat hobbled going into my seventies. The prime mover for me, even less than the prospect of having limited space, is the fact that I just can’t read so many of my books because of the fine print. If I do later have a reason to replace them, most classics are available for free online and most contemporaries are generally not a loss if I don’t get to read them. One small note: hard bound editions with larger print are often available on remainder racks .. worth a peek.
Oh, and I am keeping my Proust, Joyce, Spenser, and most of the poetry but I’ve given up studying chess and learning Swedish so all those books are now available at the local Goodwill store for pennies on the dollar.
LikeLike
That’s all good Mike. I’m 70 this year, but so far my eyes are ok. I can imagine you on a veranda in Florida, trusty iPad in hand. I hope the move goes well.
Clare
LikeLike
I really like the shelves you’re leaving behind, Mike. Nice!
I’ve had the Houellebecq book for several years – it’s one of those I always forget about.
Loved The Martian.
LikeLike