hobby

Rules of the Domain

~ garrettpinder ~ 1 Comment

As I approach another anniversary with this blog, I decided to go through and do a bit of housekeeping, both on the site and at home. After packing up my life and moving to a new apartment, many of my books have been scattered throughout my living space without any sense of order or proper placement. Though there may be a box or two of books still taped up, I was able to organize all that had been unpacked.

The end of summer marks the end of sunny vacations and hot, sticky days, but as autumn draws closer, my mourning is cut short. The fall ushers in a new school year. A time when the air is filled with potential. High expectations and a recharged sense of accomplishment. My summer has been far from uneventful — I believe I have read more books this summer than I have in the past several years. The selection was not the most traditional beach reads, but working my way through The Sickness has kept me steadily motivated.

Now that a new semester approaches, I am faced with a staggering mountain of books to read. (I should have known… it’s a young adult literature class!) Thirty-five books in total, to be read over a fourteen week period. “Oh, for sure I already own a good chunk of this reading list,” I thought. But after looking over the selection, I only recognized three titles: The Perks of Being a Wallflower, A Child Called “It”, and Flowers in the Attic. Less than 10% of this list were books I had heard of. I took pause. After a few calculations I looked down at my paper in disbelief.

Total Pages: 11,080

That staggering number has me freaked out. That’s an average of 121 pages every day — I’m lucky if I can read 12 pages a day! I took a moment to consider a few points: I’m starting the reading list early. I do not have to purchase any books. I have at least an hour of listening time for audio books every workday.

“Okay,” I said polishing my glasses, “Let’s do this!”

The last item of business to attend to was my domain. Not my living space, but my web domain. WordPress has been offering that I “Go Premium” ever since I started this blog, and underestimating my early commitment, I put off purchasing the dot-com for my site. Today I decided to make the purchase, solidifying my little blog in the Internet world, only to be sadly disappointed. “Go Premium today – make http://www.booksick.me yours” said WordPress. Wait, “dot-me”? What happened to dot-com? I quickly typed into the navigation bar, hoping my fear isn’t true… but unfortunately, it seems as though someone else has purchased the dot-com domain for booksick. It seems to be some type of search aggregator, but to be honest, I didn’t spend much time on the site, refusing to give the other pages more hits.

After a bit more research, the knife of remorse only dug deeper. The domain was purchased 31 August 2013 09:24:00. Just two days ago. The expiration is 31 August 2014 09:24:00 — and you can bet I have set my calendar. I’m staring down that date, now charged with even more purpose than before. It will be mine.

*  *  *  *

Currently, I’ve finished the two books chosen for Week 1, and I am working on a book from Week 2. I also found a book from Week 4 on OverDrive that I’ve been listening to while I wait for my holds at the library. Though my school books will not be listed within the master list, I will be sure to address them in each entry.

The Sickness

~ garrettpinder ~ 2 Comments

BookSick
adjective

1. to be more concerned with collecting and owning books than reading
2. to derive pleasure in the acquisition of books

ex: I just got back from my friend’s apartment, and I’m worried he may be BookSick.

Symptoms:
I love reading, and I never go anywhere without a book. I buy books noticeably faster than I finish reading the ones I already have. I justify buying more books by buying clearance and used titles. I have strong urges to collect all the books written by the same authors. I multiple books at the same time. I spend hours in bookstores. With the exception of one book, I have never read a book more than once.

Treatment:
Now that I own… a lot of books, it’s time to buckle down and read. Part book review part self-therapeutic diary — this blog will help me document my journey as I work through my rather substantial personal library. I will finish the books I start reading. I will read one book at a time.

I cannot begin this process however, without recognizing certain obstacles.

First, I work a full-time job in retail. This means I work at least 40 hours every week. During the upcoming holiday season, those hours will increase. My job does not exactly facilitate reading during downtime, but reading ebooks on my phone is entirely feasible.

Second, I am an active member of a book club that meets once a month. Let’s face it, many of the books chosen will not be coming out of my own library. I will do my best to borrow rather than buy these titles.

Third, and most notably, in the fall of 2011 I will be joining the ranks of students aspiring to graduate with a Master’s Degree in Library Science and Information Studies. This part-time program will most likely consume one of my two days off every week.

Knowing my limitations, I will set a low goal for the time being, and I reserve the right to adjust the goal depending on the circumstances of my three limitations. That being said, I hope to read at least two books every month. One being a book club selection and another from my library.

Wish me luck!

And I’ll do my best not to buy more books.