Witness the tiring day and heavy night;

I started my 53rd book, The Recognitions, this past weekend and have been reminded of what a burden reading a 1000 page book can be.  At first thought, it shouldn't be a problem, after all, it is only 1000 pages, but when I look at that number, compared to most books the problem is quite apparent.

So far, of the 52 books I've read from the list, the average length has been 334 pages, which means The Recognitions is the equivalent of reading three books.  In addition, I've read, on average, 7,200 pages from the list each year, meaning this book will represent about 14% of my total pages read for 2012.  Basically, if every book on the list was this long, I figure it would take me over ten years to finish.

But these 1000 pagers also present a few logistical problems.  Naturally, a 1000 page book is heavy and awkward.  It's difficult to read it in bed for example, as holding it above my head simply isn't very comfortable.  I also can't read it with one hand; which can limit where and when I can read.  And the shear size makes it difficult to take with me where ever I go.  It doesn't fit into a jacket's inside pocket like Gatsby might, and it doesn't go into the seat pocket in front of me very well on the plane.  1000 page books are just all around awkward to read.

But the good news is I've hit the 10% mark!  Let's see, four days to finish ten percent means I should finish this book in forty days, which means I'll be done on...May 7th.  Hmmm...perhaps I need to get some reading done.