Anna Karenina is a book with 800+ pages. For someone with a small head, it could be used as a pillow. Or, maybe when your husband is being so annoying you can throw it at his head.
But don’t.
Disclaimer: Domestic violence is in no way excusable. No man has the right to hit any other man or woman, and no woman has the right to hit any other man or woman. It is inexcusable. If you find yourself in that position, take immediate steps.
I am ashamed but I did throw Anna Karenina at my husband. In my defense he was being really annoying. It didn’t hurt him or anything, but made him very very angry. As long as I live I will not attempt to do anything similar ever again (but will be generous with the art in the afterlife.)
So this happened. Now, why I threw it at the husband is not relevant, or connected to the book. The fact remains, and along with rethinking my husband’s choice of life partner, I also thought a lot about my choice for the reading blog. I am utterly unable to connect with Anna Karenina, the character and the book. It is not that I don’t like the book, it is mildly interesting, but there is no- pull. It has turned into a chore, a stupid commitment I made to the cosmic void to read and write. Despite being a prick myself, my husband seems okay(-ish) to stay with me. But I don’t feel like extending the same courtesy to Anna and Tolstoy.
This brings us to the point of today’s post- should we finish all the books we start? Bill Gates seems to think we should. Then again, I think he meant, don’t start a book you might not finish. But how am I to know whether or not I will finish a book without actually spending time on it? Book reviews never really worked for me. Even my favorite Instagram/Goodreads reviewers have misled me into buying some of the most boring books ever.
Do you, my non-existent reader, go through such tough reading times? Were you at a place when you couldn’t focus on what you read, you couldn’t enjoy your favorite genre, you left every book unfinished?
(Wait she throws a book at her husband, finds it difficult to focus and read, and is not considering the sure possibility of her being overly dramatic? No.)
This year I have finished one book. “Invisible Empires” by Pranay Lal. It is a non-fiction book about viruses. Their discovery, omnipresence, influence and potential. I have complaints about the book, but overall I enjoyed it. Maybe I am in a non-fiction phase right now. But there is a danger associated with non-fiction. It pulls one away from the much loved world of fiction- of magic, fantasy, drama, thrillers and mystery. It is very hard to go back to fiction once you start on non-fiction. The reverse isn’t so bad. I feel so.
Let the record show that within 30 days of reading, I have come to despise Anna Karenina. So I am taking a break. But I don’t want to take a break from fiction. This is the year of self discovery so what the heck.
A Cosmic Void 