I usually make a summer reading list and have it ready in May, but this year I'm behind schedule. I tried to work on the list yesterday afternoon, realized I had too many library books on my holds list that would become available over the course of the summer, leaving me little opportunity to read anything from my Fill in the Gaps list or any of the other books that I own and might take a notion to read. I stewed over this fact for a few hours, compared the number of books I'd read this year from my own stacks to those from the library, despaired particularly over how few books I'd read from the stockpiles I've managed to purchase just this year, and then I summoned the wherewithal last night to inactivate all the books on the holds list.

It still isn't pleasant to dwell on how scuffy and cloudy all those Brodart covers are going to be if I'm not going to be one of the first to get my hands on the books, but otherwise I feel good about my decision. I'm reading A.S. Byatt's The Children's Book to discuss with a friend (and it's soooo good) and I can decide once finished what I'm in the mood for without worrying whether I'll have time to read it before its due date.

It seems a pleasant way to live.



And I would like to say thank you to Jeane at DogEar Diary for giving me the Lemonade Award during the time that I was Not Blogging for showing "great attitude or gratitude"--rest assured that getting this award is saving the rest of you from a long-winded, whiny post on why I've not been blogging, and trust me, some things are better not whined about in public.