Status: Unfinished

Reader's Bill of Rights:

1. The right to not read
2. The right to skip pages
3. The right to not finish
4. The right to reread
5. The right to read anything
6. The right to escapism
7. The right to read anywhere
8. The right to browse
9. The right to read out loud
10. The right to not defend your tastes

― Daniel Pennac

I think I have an actual New Year's Resolution this year: to finally finish reading some of my books. I gathered up a pile of them today and sat there looking at them, trying not to feel too bad about myself. This pile doesn't even include the collection of self-help books that are gathering dust on the shelf. I mean, I can read... I just DON'T read. But that doesn't seem to stop me from going to bookstores bringing home yet another book: 

Some of them I have barely even started, so I can't remember anything about them yet:

But most of the time I can remember where I have left off, even if it's been a while since I picked up the book. I started this one over the holidays. I'm currently at the part where the war has just broken out and the doctor is wondering if he should join the military hospital:

I started the one on the left about two years ago. It's about textiles and the role of women in history with them. I'm at a point where the researchers have re-worked an ancient woven piece and realized they worked it in the wrong direction. And the one on the right is about how our brains have evolved to enjoy music... I last picked it up about five years ago. I was at the point where the author was explaining how ancient reptilian skulls show the early evolution of the three bones in the mammalian ear:

And in this book, I'm at the point where the long lost brother of the old ram has come back to the flock, and nobody knows where he's been... which is so exciting that I can't understand why I thought I could put it down:

I think I'm not the only knitter that struggles with reading. It's impossible to read and knit at the same time (unless someone's come up with a way to do it that I haven't found out about it yet). And I usually knit in the evenings after work when my brain is not really awake enough to try to take in information in the written form.

And then there's the weekly food prep that usually takes up half the weekend:

Along with trying out new baking recipes, which takes up the other half:

And well, let's be honest: I am also distracted by random sunny days in the midst of weeks and weeks of rain. Sometimes, I just have to abandon all plans and get outside:

Most of the time, I am just so enthralled by my current projects that I loathe to set them aside, especially when they are going well. This is my current Loro Vest... which has been so severely altered that it's not really anything like the original pattern. The alterations have kept it really interesting for me. I found a way to work the left side all the way up to the middle of the back of the neck without having to do any seaming, so I'm quite excited about it. Combined with the fact that it's working up relatively quickly, it is quite impossible for me to place anything else at higher priority:

Except for maybe napping:

I do have some spare time this afternoon, so maybe I will just kick back and do some reading for a while... just as soon as I get the dumplings ready for dinner... and clean the bathroom... and get my gym bag ready for tomorrow...

I guess I picked the right New Year's Resolution. It'll be an absolute triumph if I manage this one...