The Book Monkey is on my back.

In my first post, I talked about this spreadsheet that I'll be using to keep track of all the books I read.  I wasn't sure what the "rules" were for this (and there must be rules), so I asked the creator of the spreadsheet: my mother.  She said she only records things that she has never read before, or a re-read that may as well be new because it's been an unknown amount of time since she read it last.  Fair enough, but now that I finished the GL&PPPS, what should I read!?

I drive everyone insane about my quest for the next most excellent book.  It makes me and everyone around me much more comfortable if I have a lineup.  If I don't, I obsess.  I talk about it constantly, I pour over the Barnes & Noble website, I ask people for suggestions and then I don't take them.

(I really don't ignore the suggestions, for the record.  I file them away.  The problem is that when I ask people what I should read next, what I don't tell them is that I have a specific vibe of a book that I need to read next based on the end of the last book I finished.  I either need a complete change of scenery, or I need something to segue smoothly out of something I'm not ready to part with quite yet.  I have trouble explaining this to people without sounding insane or revealing my anal-retentive ways, so I usually just ask for blanket suggestions.)

This time, I'm trying to be calm about the fact that I don't have a new book lined up.  I want one because I don't want there to be a date gap in my "ended" column of my last book and the "started" column of the next book, but I also don't want to be enraptured with a new book when I receive my Kindle in 10 days.  The Kindle will need my full and undivided attention because I'm not sure how I'll adjust to non-traditional reading material.  Conundrum.

What I'm currently doing is finishing a re-read that got put on the back burner when I started a new book, two new books ago.  It's kind of boring, though, because the momentum is lost.  I also thought about starting a non-novel, but I have the very hardest time in the world reading those before bed because I'll drop right off to sleep and never, ever finish them.

I also have books in my shelf that haven't been read, and I'm pretty sure I won't be too enraptured with them to detract from the Kindle, but they intimidate me.  I hate to admit this.  I like to conquer books.  I normally tackle books that intimidate me so that I can be victorious over them.

I have a few reasons for my reservations, though.

1.  I'm afraid I won't get it.  Nothing in the world is worse than realizing I'm too dense to read something that is written in English.

2.   I'm afraid it'll be dull.  Okay, I'm just going to say it.  I don't care for Jane Austen novels, and I have three in my bookcase.  I know the dialogue is witty and charming and adorable and there are all sorts of social happenings, but it doesn't do it for me.  I can totally appreciate it, but for me, it leaves something to be desired.  I like adventure.  I like for people to be almost dead or bleeding or lost forever or being chased or on a quest.  I like for there to be witty dialogue and strong character interaction as well, but not at the expense of some action.  I know you're thinking, "There isn't a whole lot of action in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society!" but that's where you're wrong!  Concentration camps, German Occupation of English islands, the sea, free-spirited people, and books.  Where there is history, there is action, and there is history in that book.

3.  Alright, maybe I just have two reasons, but those reasons are pretty legit.

Maybe I'll bite the bullet and try The Picture of Dorian Gray again.  I can't remember why I put it down.  I probably just got distracted, although it was awfully bizarre.  Bizarre doesn't bother me, though.

Just in case anyone was wondering.