My Next Big Project

I love to read. Always have. In 8th grade, we had to keep a record of all the books we read and I remember my teacher not believing that my list could be so long. I still have fond memories of some of my earliest literary passions--"Heidi", my very first, and then all the Louisa May Alcott books starting with "Little Women." (Jo was my favorite sister.) My mom was a great reader too--she kept a beat-up copy of "Pride and Prejudice" on the hamper in her bathroom just in case she felt the urge to commune with Jane Austen while sitting on the john. She subscribed to the Saturday Review, a popular literary journal, and I thought one day when I grow up I'm going to write a column like Granville Hicks, a featured critic in the magazine. It seemed to me to be the ideal job--being paid to read lots of books and write about them.

Well, I never did become a book columnist. I suppose four years of writing papers in college as an English and American Literature major cured me of that. But it is surely still one of my greatest pleasures to be alone in my book-lined study deciding what book I'm going to read next. Although I mostly read at night after dinner I rarely read in bed but prefer to stretch out on the futon in the corner of my study with whatever volume I'm currently working on.

And tonight I have made a major decision: I'm going to reread Tolstoy's "War and Peace." This will be my third time tackling W and P but this time out I'm going to take on the new translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. Reading W and P is always a major undertaking--the book is long (nearly 1500 pages) and heavy even in paperback. Can't tuck this book in my pocketbook to read while on the train or waiting for my manicure to dry. I've ordered it from Amazon and I'm psyched to begin next week. Biggest decision now is what to read in the meantime.