Reading (Not Reading)

I read several books at once.  Not simultaneously.  That would make it difficult to follow the stories.
[image error] "It is a truth universally acknowledged ... that a Hobbit living in a hole in the ground ...
 shall turn out to be the hero of my own life ... "
Huh?I cycle through three or four books, reading a few chapters, moving to the next one, and coming back around to the first.  Maybe it’s an issue of lack of focus.  Maybe it’s a voracious appetite for books.  If I could read with a book in each hand, I bet I would.
The pattern goes like this:  Read Book One, get about a quarter of the way in, then start Book Two.  Alternate between the two.  Then someone mentions a really good book, so you start Book Three.  Now you’re feeling guilty that you’re not reading Book One.  Plus there’s Book Two waiting for some together-time.  But what about Book Four tempting you from the wings?
Okay, maybe it is lack of focus.
In any case, I always have something to read.  I finish Book One, start Books Four and Five, finish Book Two, etc.
Occasionally I finish up all the books, one right after the other, leaving me with nothing to read.  That’s where I am today.  This weekend, I finished up my last two books.  Both of them were enjoyable, and I’m still savoring their taste.  I didn’t want either of them to end.
But I’m supposed to be reading!
When this happens, I usually grab something off my shelves, even if it’s something I’ve read before.  Practically all the books on my shelves I’ve read at least once.  In the case of Walden, The Lord of the Rings, Pride and Prejudice, and A Prayer for Owen Meany, I’ve read them multiple times.
So, today I’m Not Reading.  And it’s a tough spot to be in.  Since I don’t know what I want to read yet, it’s kind of like being really hungry but not having a taste for any particular food.
Books evidently are food.
[image error] This is going to be a heavy meal.
I’m trying to sit with this feeling, to live with the mild anxiety Not Reading produces.  My brain wants exercise, but maybe it’s a good idea to take a rest, even if only for 24 hours.
Tomorrow, I’ll hit the library.