I heard about The Novel Cure when it came out last fall. Jessica reviewed it for Shelf Awareness, and I snapped up the hardcover when it was 20% off at the Harvard Book Store. I started it in early November. And I just finished it last week.
Lingering that long over a book I’m enjoying is highly unusual for me. Some hefty books, like Les Misèrables, may take me several months to finish – but Les Mis is 1200 pages long, and I was pleased I’d finished it at all (though I did love it). I can read a normal-size novel in a couple of days, and I often whip through a young adult or middle-grade novel in a day (most recently, The Dirt Diary). If it’s taking me ages to finish a book, sometimes I abandon it altogether.
But I’ve lately been lingering over books, dipping in and out of them at will – The Novel Cure and several others.
Is it laziness? ADD? It’s certainly not boredom, because I’ve really enjoyed them. Rather, these books – the format and the subject matter – are perfect for dipping into.
The Novel Cure, for example, consists of alphabetized literary cures for many ailments, such as unemployment, a broken heart, and reading instead of living (or the other way around). Each entry comprises a page (or less) – ideal for flipping through before bed.
One Good Deed by Erin McHugh follows a calendar format, as McHugh chronicles her attempt to do one good deed every day for a year. The book itself is pocket-size and most of the entries are short – ideal for a quick pick-me-up over breakfast or in the evening.
And finally, I’ve finished up my Lord Peter Wimsey kick with Lord Peter, a collection of short stories featuring my favorite aristocratic sleuth. I do prefer the novels, but the stories are slim, elegantly plotted, and satisfying. Sometimes I did read several at once, but if I was pressed for time, it was a pleasure to savor one story.
These bite-size pieces are a totally different reading experience from the absorption of a novel, but sometimes, that’s just what I need. (Of course, now I’m back to immersing myself in novels and memoirs.)
What books do you like to dip into?
cakes, tea and dreams 
I read cookbooks. I know that sounds crazy (who really does that?), but I do. Every recipe, every description, every word. Of course, it takes me a while to do this, but your idea of “dipping into” the book is the perfect description. How will I know what recipes to try if I don’t read them all?
Definitely going to be on the look out for The Novel Cure
I dip in and out of books that have a devotional theme and lend themselves to small tastes like Everyday Saints and Other Stories, For the Life of the World, The Practice of the Presence of God, and books about writing like River Teeth or Bird by Bird. I also read cookbooks! 🙂
I always go back to the Dirk Gently books because they are just so funny. I love the Wimsey books but I’ve never read the short stories, so I’ll look out for them.
Gwen
[…] this one each year. (And proving once again that we are kindred spirits, my pal Katie posted this blog about “dipping” into books just as I was finishing my two-months’ enjoyment of […]