My fall (and possible return) from grace

Making excuses for being late has always bugged me. Sure there are times when being late to an appointment or turning in an assignment late has a reason, but for the most part, lateness to me is lack of planning, a lack of caring, and a lack of respect to oneself and whomever expects a prompt arrival or return or report.

So currently I hate myself.

I have tried and failed to read one classic book a month and cannot keep up. I deprived myself of reading other things because I know I must read this month's selection and yet it still is not read. Now I'm two months behind.

I am a horrible book club leader and I know it.

Not only do I suck at my reviews, I can't get my shit together to simply get the reading done. I'm sorry.

A couple of months ago I wondered if my lack of concentration to the printed page was, um, poor eyesight. As in old eyesight. As in I needed reading glasses.

Yep. And so I ordered a nice pair and now I never use them because I am used to taking off my glasses (I am near-sighted) when I read. Eventually not using reading glasses won't be an option, I suppose.

Earlier this week when I had yet another coma inducing event with Cranford (I can't read a page of this classic without day dreaming about something anything other than the story), I was reminded of the website Project Gutenberg. And since I read so much so very very much off the computer screen, I wondered if this site had Cranford and what would it be like to read off the computer screen.

Aside: Not too long ago, some of us claimed that reading books on the computer would "give us headaches" and that would never ever happen. We claimed that sure blogs and snippets could be read, but never ever a work, like a fiction novel or a scientific paper. Never would we read from a computer screen.

We were Fools. That includes me.

Obviously I love to read stuff on the computer screen. In fact I can and sometimes do spend entire days reading from my computer. So why was I so surprised three chapters of Cranford were swallowed like sugar water (and now I am deep into the story - Yay)... Why?

This is coupled with the quality of books I'm reading as well. Which needs to be explained. I order books from my library. Classics are usually worn. One exception was Voltaire, but most others are in horrible shape. My library copy of Cranford is a paperback made into a hardcover with yucky yellow stains and filled with underlining in Bic ballpoint blue ink pen.

If you have ever done this to a book whether it be a your own or a library book, don't tell me. I might have to kill you. With a bic ballpoint pen. In blue.