Knowing When to Quit

Remember my post about Freedom? It was one of my "obligatory" reads? Well, I've decided my time is better spent reading something I want to read-- something I like to read... so I've given up on Freedom after I heard a public radio review of the book. It appears as though Franzen has received critical acclaim for this book. Why I don't know. Critics have hailed it as one of the best works of American fiction. Many have argued that if this book, a fictional portrait of a middle-class American family falling apart, had been written by a woman, it might not have received so much attention. I don't know-- but to me, this book is one of those "forgettable" reads... I'm moving on to something else... time is my only non-renewable resource...

"Obligatory" Reading

Every once in a while I start reading what I think I "should" read, and that's usually something that may not have caught my attention in the first place. It may be a book that I feel I "should" read because "everyone" is reading, or perhaps because The President is reading it-- and I feel that I should read the same so as to know what words, ideas, and stories that are filling his mind. That's what's going on with me right now as I try to muddle through Jonathan Franzen's Freedom. I'm only in Chapter 2, so I should reserve judgment. The saving grace is that I'm reading it on my Nook-- that nifty little e-reader from Barnes & Noble (honestly, this is NOT a paid advertisement!). Sophia got me hooked on it as we shopped around before she went on her 100 mile hike. City girl that she is, she could sleep in the wild but needed her Nook for nightly reading while bears, and other wildlife, I'm sure were watching from afar! I didn't think I would ever like e-readers, but honestly, I love it! I've loaded several books on it waiting to be read, and I carry it around in my bag. It's great for travelling, and I've even loaded tons of pdf files (required reading for the dissertation). I'm hooked on the Nook-- so even if the Franzen book takes a while to read, at least I can "Nook-it!"