A couple of weeks ago a friend said to me, “Isn’t it amazing to think that no matter what, even if you read every second of every day, you’ll never finish all the books in the world?” While this concept is absolutely incredible, it also drives anxiety straight into my heart. I am the type of reader who has a never-ending list of books that I want to read and yet never finish. For some reason, while getting ready to read the next planned Book I always tend to get distracted and read something else instead. There are so many books out there in the world; it is so hard to keep track of everything a person could want to read. Honestly, I even find myself getting angry at my own reading capability because I am not able to read as many books as I want. It is ridiculous. But, it is also entirely magical. The fact that no matter what happens, how much you read, there will always be the comfort of a new book waiting in the future.

Books populate the earth like ants and it is almost impossible to go throughout the day without encountering one. Trust me, though, when I say that my wallet wishes it were. Too often, I find myself spending money I don’t have on books I don’t have time to read. After years of this bad habit, I had to limit myself and read slower or else I would have to eat the pages of Thoreau for dinner. ‘

Currently I have a list on my phone of about twenty books that I would like to read. This list will grow and change and in three months it’ll probably look completely different than what it does today. That is because my interests are constantly changing and I’m always finding new books that catch my eye. While it frustrates me that I can never read everything I want to, it is also a blessing. We live in a world where books are available for rent or they litter the corners of stores like lost treasures.

As of at this very moment, here is my list of To Be Read books:

1. A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Dougas Adams
2. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
3. The Bookstore by Deborah Meyler
4. Pride and Promiscuity by Arielle Sckstut and Dennis Ashton
5. 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel by Jane Smiley
6. The Story Grid by Shawn Coyne
7. A Scream in Soho by John G. Brandon
8. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
9. The Elements of Style- Strunk/White/Kalman
10. Bossypants by Tina Fey
11. Love Invents Us by Amy Bloom
12. Shake the World by James Marshall Reilly
13. Paris Street Style by Isabelle Thomas and Frederique Veysset
14. Thinking on the Page, A College Student’s Guide to Effective Writing byMartha Schulman

These books are all on here for various reasons and I can almost promise you right now that some of them I will never get around to reading. However, some of them I will. And these will delight me and inspire me in ways that only a book can do. This list will ebb and flow with my life over the months but, to me, it will always remain as a list of possibilities. Almost as though this list promises me that there is a future because out there are books that I have yet to read but I damn sure plan on it.

Current Music: The Hills by The Weekend