The Reading Dilemma

I’m a reader. I wouldn’t stick “voracious” or “rabid” to that title, but I enjoy reading and do a fair amount of it. I peruse quite a few book blogs and follow some great lit folks on Twitter. Their recommendations send me to authors and titles I would never known otherwise. This is all great, great, great, great!

I have aspirations of attending a Books and Bars gathering sometime. Heck, I’d like to host my own Books & Bars type club one of these days (that’s a hobby/pipedream of mine). I dream of being really down with the kids on current literature by hip authors who write excellent stuff and then discussing it with folks in Rochester or somewhere. I don’t know (oooh, Sioux Falls would be due for one)

But now that I’m working on the grad school thing (which is happening, in case you missed the announcement), I have a dilemma that’s facing me in an immediate way:

WHAT DO I BRING TO READ FOR THE IBSEN TOUR?

I’m about to embark on a two-week tour through Minnesota (performing Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People), and a large concern of mine is what books I’m going to bring (and read, that’s the idea).

I have a “Monster Reading List” for grad school (you must know that is what the document is actually titled; I’m not giving it some pithy blogging name). I’ve started work on it. I’ve been racing through some Tennessee Williams, Eugene O’Neill, and Ibsen (haha) plays this past weekend. Okay, I’ve read one of each so far, but there’s a lot more.

Here's a small, tiny, tiny taste of the stuff that I'm working on for THE MONSTER READING LIST

So I’ve got homework. I’m accountable for 67 titles before orientation begins on August 15. This gives me less than five months to dive in. I think I’m on track with 3 books a week? I've read some of the titles before and feel comfortable talking about them, if there's time I'll re-read those. 

I’m not sure if this is entirely possible. Well, yes, it’s possible. But I haven’t done this kind of thing in a long time.

Let it be known I’m NOT complaining here. I’m just trying to get a greater sense of the reality of the situation.

And the reality of this “what do I bring to read” although it sounds petty, is one that grad school actually starts NOW. In turn, this may mean that I may have to eschew all semblance of a life NOW. This means reading for fun is done (among other things).

Must I come to terms with this now? Wasn’t there some kind of period of “LET’S LIVE IT UP!” that happens before I move to Texas?

Can I risk reading a hyped mystery like In the Woods whilst on tour (while simultaneously risking “you could be reading that O’Neill play, it’s another check off your reading list…”).

Mind you, I’ve been enjoying the grad school reading so far (and I’ve a good handful of them already and enjoyed them too), and I think I’ll continue to enjoy the reading. I’ve been obsessing over grad school for a couple years. Whelp…here it is.

Must I say "goodbye until 2013" to these guys?

I think I’ll end up bringing mostly grad school reading with one or two other titles. It all depends on how much I room I have in my suitcase and backpack (and time--keep in mind, I also have actual work for the theatre to do…so I may be overestimating the amount of time I truly have).