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There’s a stack of half-read and never- before- opened books sitting on a shelf in my bedroom. For someone who lists reading as one her hobbies, the stack is a disgrace. Why oh why do I own books purchased in August of 2006 that I still haven’t read? I have my reasons but really—it’s just a disgrace…

Earlier this week, I adventured over to a bookstore in search of something “easy to read.” Most of the lovelies on my shelf do not qualify as “easy reads.” Instead, they can only be tolerated in small servings as they seem to inspire headaches. Several are long and dense non-fiction works of genius. Others are shorter and fictional but written in vague styles saturated with symbols—they dare to employ terms that evade dictionaries.  (You know, I love you – Faulkner). Anyway, I went to the bookstore because I thought that I was dying to read a book and I thought that I wanted the experience to be quick and painless (screw long journeys down streams of conscience and through dark jungles swamped with metaphors!). I returned home empty-handed.

I failed completely in trying to find a brainless read. I didn’t even know where to start. While my mind was screaming, “Be practical! Look for something short! Look for something funny!”, my body subconsciously worked against me.  I knew that the game was over when I ended up starting longingly at James Joyce’s Ulysses with Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead in hand.

In the end, I decided to tackle Geraldine Brook’s March (from my shelf)- I’m so glad that I said “No! No!  No~,” to the bookstore’s meaningless drivel, to the popular stuff pandering to the lowest common denominator (HP? – I jest). March wasn’t a painful read. It was amazing, “teh awesome.” It won the Pulitzer Prize. You know, the Pultizer, that amazing award bestowed only on the most brilliant of books. I don’t know when I became afflicted with the “intellectually simulating = ahh! Omg! Scary. Boring! Confusing!” disease but, I’m recovering—it is a sickness that I loathe to have.

Hopefully, I’ll post a review of March soon. It obviously gets 5 stars… Unfortunately, there’s a group of nitwits on amazon.com who gave it one star. One of them didn’t even read the book…  Enough said.