2024 Reading and Writing Goals 

Umberto Eco, who owned 50,000 books, had this to say about home libraries: "It is foolish to think that you have to read all the books you buy, as it is foolish to criticize those who buy more books than they will ever be able to read. It would be like saying that you should use all the cutlery or glasses or screwdrivers or drill bits you bought before buying new ones. "There are things in life that we need to always have plenty of supplies, even if we will only use a small portion. "If, for example, we consider books as medicine, we understand that it is good to have many at home rather than a few: when you want to feel better, then you go to the 'medicine closet' and choose a book. Not a random one, but the right book for that moment. That's why you should always have a nutrition choice! "Those who buy only one book, read only that one and then get rid of it. They simply apply the consumer mentality to books, that is, they consider them a consumer product, a good. Those who love books know that a book is anything but a commodity."

Most enjoyable as always, Saoirse. One reading tributary I'm following is Fitzgerald. Just finished "Tender is the Night." Next, "This Side of Paradise." I want to re-read Donna Tartt's "The Little Friend." I've also been dipping into Murakami. And I want to read some classic Westerns. Re: Life, the Universe, and Everything (the real thing, not the book)--you are a remarkably bright and lovely lady--life kills us all eventually--everything you create is permanently available. We create because it imbues our souls with colors they wouldn't otherwise have. My favorite quote, from Walt Kelly's Pogo Possum: "Don't take life so serious, son. It ain't nohow permanent." Cheers, love, and God bless you and your endeavours.

I have no idea why I am here or why I deserve to be, because I have little discipline to read fiction. Anyway, I was recently copying a Mary Shelley oil painting, and I decided I had better try and actually read Frankenstein. So I did read a bit of it, fiction is difficult for me to understand. If I am bored on say a welsh train journey, takes no discipline..in the house I do not read fiction I just paint A LOT. One of the few novels I did read was Frankenstein during my time in Daytona. Anyway, I just got the novel back out from the library and I hope I try to read it in Daytona about a bit more as I did not read much of it over Xmas, but I do like some of it. I hardly remember remember reading it in Daytona about 20 years ago and I doubt I understood much of it. Instead of blabbering on, my point is that I hope you consider doing one of the few books I have actually read one time in the future, if not Frankenstein - Dracula, Rosemary's Baby or Fahrenheit 451. Oh, I read a horror book by Denis Wheatley too, but apparently he was an elitest Nazi.oo

As always, entertaining and amusing video! I hope to read 52 books again this coming year, and continue to work on my memoir!😊

Great video, Saoirse!! I really can resonate with your statements about rejection. As you also said, unfortunately we need community.! I also wish that wasn't true, but it is and we have to put ourselves out there. Please write a novel, fiction or non fiction!!

Franny and Zoey by J. D Salinger

Sometimes a great notion by Ken Kesey Kazuo ishiguro's books remains of the day buried giant, artist of the floating world

Again Khaleed Hosseini's books then mountains echoed. Thousand splendid suns

I’m going for a a classic book year, A few which I’ve never got round too, So far I’ve just finished frankenstein, Hard times, currently…..

By some chance that you might be reading this, I would like to recommend a book: "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" by Milan Kundera. I think you might like this one a lot.