(no subject)
That notebook's one I've been keeping since c. 2002, listing all completed reading for each year. The page is divided into six parts: novels, poetry, plays, story collections, individual stories, non-fiction - for that page the poetry one runs out of room and starts up again in the bottom corner. Before 2002 I'd kept a list for maybe three years on a single sheet of loose paper in minute writing. But it filled up, hence the notebook.
A few times over the years I've tried to list all the books I'd ever read - and invariably fall asleep after a couple columns. Which is to a large extent the point of my list-making anyway.
I think several categories would sink the effort: Wodehouse books, as I can never keep his titles straight, therefore have no idea which or how many of his I've read; children's books because of the dark backwardsy abyss and all that; genre fiction and comic books from c. 7-15 because I cringe thinking about most of them. Also probably Shaw, Strindberg and Eugene O'Neill plays. I guess for those I could just physically check by reading the first couple pages of each, but that's hardly worth my time. None of this would be worth anyone's time. But it's interesting that it's also impossible. Which is probably why I've never heard of anyone trying to do it, unless you count the people who say, "The only book I've ever read is..." [usually the Bible, sometimes The Secret or something].
I read so slowly that I'll never read half of what I want to. I read so slowly that I should stop making or daydreaming about making lists and go read.
A few times over the years I've tried to list all the books I'd ever read - and invariably fall asleep after a couple columns. Which is to a large extent the point of my list-making anyway.
I think several categories would sink the effort: Wodehouse books, as I can never keep his titles straight, therefore have no idea which or how many of his I've read; children's books because of the dark backwardsy abyss and all that; genre fiction and comic books from c. 7-15 because I cringe thinking about most of them. Also probably Shaw, Strindberg and Eugene O'Neill plays. I guess for those I could just physically check by reading the first couple pages of each, but that's hardly worth my time. None of this would be worth anyone's time. But it's interesting that it's also impossible. Which is probably why I've never heard of anyone trying to do it, unless you count the people who say, "The only book I've ever read is..." [usually the Bible, sometimes The Secret or something].
I read so slowly that I'll never read half of what I want to. I read so slowly that I should stop making or daydreaming about making lists and go read.