Books I am trying to Read

I've got so many books going at the moment that it can be a little overwhelming. I keep looking up different titles on Amazon to see what kind of prices I could get on these used. Some books can't be read before the time comes to return them to the library.

While we were away on vacation: I didn't get a whole lot of reading in, but I did manage to finish *Crime and Punishment,* the first Russian novel I have ever succeeded in reading from beginning to end. I know that I am missing something. The book was good. I was not profoundly moved by it. And yet this book, and Dostoyevky's name has come up in so many other books that I have read and enjoyed. There's something about 18th century Russian culture I cannot connect with I guess. I wonder, what was I expecting. And why is it that the only significant change taking place in Raskolnikov's life occurs in the last two pages of the epilogue? The epilogue of all things. Must keep reading, but at least now I'll have some idea of what Wayne Booth is talking about when he mentions *Crime and Punishment* in his book, *The Rhetoric of Fiction.*

I started reading *The Life You Save May be Your Own: An American Pilgrimage* by Paul Elie while we were at the beach, but only barely. I hope by reading it to gain insight into Southern writer's who also happen to be Catholic. I hope to learn something about Walker Percy from the book as well.

Tonight. I've got three books going, and I'm thinking seriously about a fourth. Tonight I have been reading *Mommy I Have to Go Potty,* because that's where we are with our oldest child for the moment, as well as working on *The Baby Food Bible* because I'm concerned that I must start offering my babies better food choices so that they will grow up prepared to enjoy a variety of wholesome foods. My imagination rarely strays beyond sliced apples and peanut butter and jelly at lunch time, and I know that we are not getting in the vegetables that we need. Also this evening I started reading that Walker Percy book of essays that I mentioned previously, for my book club. So far, as usual, I don't know quite what is going on. The fourth book I've been thinking about is Dr. Weissbulth's *Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child* because we are trying to resume our regular routine now that we've returned home after almost a week away. I have got to get some sleep.

I started Ursula LeGuin's *The Dispossessed* weeks ago, but haven't worked out the time to devote to it, and soon it will have to return to the public library. Two other books sit on my shelf that I had hoped to read, but again I must return them unread, *On the Road* by Jack Kerouac, and *The Glass Bead Game* by Hermann Hesse.

And that concludes my book obsession for this evening.