Baldacci @ 100mph

I read a ton of books last year.

A whole hell of a lot of Baldacci, Chris Bohjalian, C.J.Box, Nelson DeMille, Robert B. Parker, Louise Penny, Daniel Silva.........................easy reading, baby - easy reading.

Great stories, well written - enjoyed them all. But I read fast, like a Japanese bullet train, and these authors are easy to read.

In 2026 I have decided to re-read many of the books that grace my impressive book shelves. The best of the best. When I moved in 2023, from a home we inhabited for 37 years, I had to decimate my book collection. I always bought books - no library for me - books are precious to me and they must be owned.

You can imagine how many books I accumulated over 37 years. Somewhere between a million and a Googol. I wasn't about to move them, so I created a system to decide which books to give away. Then I revised that system and revised it again and again. I had to keep widening the parameters because in my heart I did not want to part with them, but I had to. Each revision tore another chunk from my heart.

Anyway, that's why I say I ended up with the best of the best - books I absolutely could not part with. (P.S. - I now go to the library.)

Browsing my book shelves, I came across a great gift - The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens. The book looked and felt brand new, and I don't remember reading it. I was drooling.

When I began to read it I quickly realized I had to slow down and concentrate. I was missing stuff and misunderstanding stuff. The language is so rich I really had to focus. When I did, the story tasted so much better. I am a large fan of great literature (I also enjoy watching foreign movies with subtitles - are those two things related?). You have to work when reading great literature, to get the most out of it.

If you haven't read the book but intend to - stop reading this.

Very emotional story. The two main characters, the two you care the most about and love, die. Bitterly sad. But other characters, again people you care about, down to earth good people, experience good fortune and happy ending lives. And the worst bad guy, a real vicious selfish jerk, gets exactly what he deserves - an untimely death.

I was emotionally disturbed at the end. Then I thought, well, this is the way life works. Lots of sadness, some happiness, some really shitty assholes to keep everyone off-balance.

The first book I pulled off my bookshelf was Brave New World, Aldous Huxley. Tough read because it's where we're headed. I had 1984 lined up to read next, and Animal Farm after that but, Christ, I am depressed enough already without bludgeoning myself with apocalyptic stuff - especially when it is rapidly becoming reality.

The Old Curiosity Shop was a gourmet meal.

I'll be mixing and matching this year - grabbing books off my shelves, grabbing easier stuff from the library. Exercise, rest; exercise, rest. I want my mind to get sharp.

I'd like to be intelligent when I die.