“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”-Haruki Murakami
Hello fellow bibliophiles and welcome to my blog. I started I Would Rather Be Reading as a way to chronicle my adventures in the world of great literature. Calling me a reader is putting it rather mildly. I’m the one who is always carrying around a book. My loved ones dread when I move because it means hauling heavy boxes of books. I spend lots of time trying to figure out which books to take on vacation. Yes, I’m one of those readers. Despite my book collection, there is still room in my home for my wife and three cats (barely). My love of reading knows no limits, as I might be reading Dickens one day and Stephen King the next.
Several years ago on one of my book hunts, I acquired 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. There have been several updated versions with the most recent in 2012. It definitely gets the award for my heaviest book as this thing is a monster. My goal is to finish every book on this list within my lifetime. Yeah, I like to set massive and ridiculous goals. A lot of the content of this blog will be my ongoing exploits to slay this beast as I want to know what makes these particular books necessary reading. Will I gain some valuable insight into my world, or even into myself? What is it about these works that makes them classics? These are the questions that I hope to answer. Although I’ve read some of the books on this list, I will be starting from scratch so I can give a fresh perspective (plus I love rereading old favorites).
In addition to the arduous task I’m giving myself, I will also be blogging about other books that I’ve read or just the art of reading in general. Hopefully, fellow readers will respond with their own literary experiences. After all, there is nothing a reader likes more than to discuss works with others (next to actually reading of course).
I hope you enjoy the chronicles of my reading adventures. Also, please enjoy all the wonderful book photos as each one has been taken by my wife Natalie Getter!
Happy reading!
I Would Rather Be Reading 