The Never List

Recently my friend Mr T sent me a link to the British Library classic crime collection (full list here if anyone is interested) As someone who likes to think of herself as a bit of a crime fiction fanatic I was quite surprised to realise I hadn’t actually heard of most of them. This ‘golden age of crime’ had passed me by. Having looked through the list some of them sound excellent, which means there are even more books to add to my never ending ‘to be read’ list.
I was thinking about this the other day, as when wondering around Waterstones I lost count of how many books I picked up that I really wanted to read. Walking round a bookshop can take me hours and that’s when I’m not even buying anything. It was actually quite overwhelming. There were so many books that sounded good, it is just an impossible task to read them all. I wonder does anyone ever actually get to read all the books they want to read?
I have a target of 50 books this year on the goodreads challenge, yet I probably have more than that just sat either waiting to be read on my kindle or in the pile currently teetering in the spare room. Sometimes I think life might be easier if I was one of those people to whom reading is just a chore not a pleasure. Then again life would be a lot duller and what do people who don’t like to read do with all their spare time?
Don’t get me wrong, I do have other hobbies other than just reading which I enjoy doing. Me and the aforementioned Mr T will be attempting to complete the Muddy Boots 10k in Ripon at the beginning of next month (He’s promised to keep my coffee warm whilst he waits for me to finish, although that may be more due to me having the car key than any desire to see me finish!) I recently attended a sewing class and practiced my skills on what turned out to be a rather wonky Christmas stocking for Mr F. I’m a school governor and mentor a teenager. Plus, as people who know me may already know, I also like to spend a considerable amount of time each week helping support local businesses by sampling their wares of an evening. Yet reading will always be my favourite pastime.
Some of the above can of course be combined with reading. Going for a jog is always better with an audiobook to pass the time. In those moments such as last night in Manchester when I’m on my own I like nothing more than sitting in a bar – I mean supporting local business – with a glass of red wine and a book. However, I think sitting in a governors meeting and reading a book at the same time might be a step too far.
Oh well I shall just have to continue adding books to that ever growing list and of course supporting that most favourite business of mine, the bookshop.