Read Less

Every year when magazines publish lists of New Year’s Resolutions, one that hits the top of many peoples’ lists is “Read More Books”.

I think my immediate family, at least, would argue that I should in fact read less, and perhaps do something about the leak in the roof, do some laundry, and learn to cook something besides vegetable soup.

Currently I am in three book groups.  That may seem excessive, but I don’t work outside the home, and frankly, I don’t work that much inside the home, so I have plenty of time to read.

And thanks to the waves of popularity that buoy up certain books, frequently my book groups end up reading the same books.

All three of my book groups, for instance, read the Pulitzer Prize winning title “Less”, written by Andrew Sean Greer.  Most of the ladies did not care for the book and did not find it amusing, thanks to its luckless protagonist. 

However, I have a pretty dark sense of humor and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about all the terrible things that befell Arthur Less.  The examples of the misunderstandings caused by his inability to speak German made me laugh aloud.

Most of my reading, though, is not of a Pulitzer Prize winning nature.  A friend asked me yesterday for a book recommendation, and I blanked.  All I could think of were books that I enjoyed but would be embarrassed to recommend.

Recently I have read and enjoyed Agatha Christie mysteries, Sherlock Holmes homage mysteries, those Rick Riordan fantasy books intended for twelve-year-old boys, those awful Selection books by Keira Cass marketed to ninth-grade girls, Dave Barry humor novels set in the you-can’t-make-this-shit-up state of Florida, a really dreadful Juliana Gray romance novel entitled “How to Tame Your Duke” etc. etc.

I was asked for the recommendation at a party of Duke fans who had gathered to watch the Duke/Carolina game.  Duke lost its mojo completely thirty-three seconds into the game when Zion Williamson injured his knee, so I had plenty of time to cruise through Amazon on my phone and find some titles that I had read and enjoyed that had at least some literary merit.

Oh, look at the time, I have to go make some vegetable soup now.