I confess: I am a bibliophile.

I read a lot. Constantly. If I'm not actively typing something on the computer, I'm reading something online. If I'm not doing work of some sort, or in front of the computer, I have a book in my hands.

I read while I'm waiting for the microwave to finish cooking something. I read while I'm stirring something on the stove. I read while taking a walk. I read during meals.

I can't even sit down in front of the TV without having a book handy -- if I'm not multitasking between the TV and a book, then at a minimum, I'll read during the commercials.

Yes, I read in the bathroom; I'd read in the shower if I could.

Of course, I often just sit down to do nothing but read. And it is a rare night indeed when I don't read in bed for at least an hour before turning out the light.

Sadly, my memory is such that I usually have to wait a long time before re-reading an old favorite, usually several years. Remembering too much about the book tends to diminish the pleasure of the re-read.

Not only do I read constantly, I read quickly. I often finish a 300-page book in just a couple days. If I do little else but read, such as during a vacation, I'll get through even the longest novels in short order. The paperback version of "Shogun" (1200 pages, more or less) took less than a week.

Consequently, I tend to keep a moderately large supply of fresh reading material close at hand.

Each book on the following list is (relatively) neatly stacked on or next to my nightstand. This list is a bit longer than the usual list of books in my reading queue; I usually keep only about a month's supply on hand. This will last me through the summer, I hope. Listed by author, though in no particular order:

Patrick O'Brian
- The Thirteen Gun Salute
- The Nutmeg of Consolation
- The Truelove
- The Wine-Dark Sea
- The Commodore
- The Yellow Admiral
- The Hundred Days
- Blue at the Mizzen

J. R. R. Tolkien / Christopher Tolkien
- The Book of Lost Tales, Part 1

Bernard Cornwell
- Sharpe's Christmas
- Sharpe's Skirmish
- Sharpe's Havoc
- Sharpe's Escape

Frederic Wheelock
- Wheelock's Latin

David Drake
- Grimmer Than Hell

Eric Flint
- Ring of Fire
- 1634: The Galileo Affair (with Andrew Dennis)

Neal Stephenson
- The Confusion

John Keegan
- Intelligence in War
- Illustrated History of the First World War

Victor Davis Hanson
- Carnage and Culture

Jac Weller
- Wellington in India
- Wellington in the Peninsula

W. M. James
- The Naval History of Great Britain During the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, Volume 1: 1793-1796

C. Nepean Longridge
- The Anatomy of Nelson's Ships

Jerry Pournelle
- There Will Be War (Volumes 2 through 9)

That should keep me busy for a little while.

No, I'm not going to list all the books stacked in my bedroom that I've already read. There isn't time enough to do so... and I'd rather be reading.

Posted by Russ at 04:35 PM, May 9, 2004 in Miscellany