Thursday, March 13, 2008

2/3 of a Bibliophile

Good news! I made it out of another set of block exams alive. Today marks another milestone for us here on Saba. I am officially 75% done with my basic sciences here on Saba. That is very hard for me to believe. Fifteen months ago Beth and I had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. This has been one of the best/worst experiences of my life. I have never experienced anything quite like Medical School. It is for sure the most mentally, physically, and emotionally challenging thing I have had to face so far in life. Ok, so now lets move on to the title of this post.

I have a confession to make. I am an aspiring Bibliophile. The sad part of this is that I can only make it to 2/3 of my aspiration. Over the past few years I have grown extremely fond of collecting books. I absolutely love going into book stores and looking around. I think I could spend days inside of old bookstores as well as your nearest Borders. There is only one problem with my aspiration of becoming a bibliophile. By definition, a Bibliophile is one who meets three separate criteria. They are as follows:

1. One who Admires books

2. One who loves to collect books

3. One who loves to read books.

You see, it is the last part of that list that is keeping me from accomplishing my dreams. I have tried MANY times to fulfill this last task. Unfortunately, it always ends exactly the same. It is not that I don't like the book that I read. Most of the time I am totally engulfed in each book that I read. But, for some reason, I walk away from it. I leave it sitting there never knowing how the book ends. I know some of you are reading this with disbelief. How can any sane person just stop reading a novel in the middle and never know how it ends? You are in good company if you are currently asking that question. I ask it all the time. The truth is that I don't have a good answer to my antics. Maybe it is the fact that I like to have things unfinished so that I feel like I still have something to do. It could be that I"m just lazy, or that I simply have ADHD. I think Beth would vote for the latter.

My guess is that everyone has something in their life that they leave undone. I'm pretty sure that at the root of this nonsense is the fact that we all have some sense of fear to finish certain things that are active in our lives. For me, that comes in the form of books. My guess is most people finish the books they start reading. I am positive that the majority of you don't continue to go to the book store and buy classics only to have a nice collection of great authors on your shelf that you have never read.

Beth must be the most patient and understanding girl in the world. The fact that she goes with me to bookstores KNOWING that 99% of the time I will never finish the book is pretty amazing. So, give me a few years. I will have all the greats. Just don't ask me for advice on which ones to read. That is unless you want to know about the first 100 pages.

2 comments:

Cross-Eyed Blogger said...

Lee -- Step away from the books. Runaway. I have an advance case of Book Obsession -- and no, that's not a Calvin Klein scent for the literate. I feel it's a major victory when I escape a bookstore without a purchase. I carry a book with me at all times. And feel naked when I find myself without one. I'm in a constant state of panic always looking for the next truly good read. Lee, your young. You can still save yourself.

Anonymous said...

Hey, LeeBO
I am enjoying reading all your comments. Maybe I can figure this out and I won't appear as stupid as I really am. You know how these mother's are!! I hear about all your studying and I am sure we truly have no idea of what all you could possibly have to do. I admire you, Big Guy!! You are absolutely right--we all want what we don't have and we let the present get by so many times and then look back maybe not with regrets but not savoring the moment. I really can't believe you are almost done over there--WOW what a chapter in a young couple's life!! Who knows where you will soon be heading and what your title will be one day!! I always knew you would grow up to make your parents and yourself/family so proud of you!! I was always so glad you and Nathan were friends. All of the Bouldin's as you well know have always been pretty SPECIAL to our family!! Keep up the good work as I know you will. I admire your little wife too, as close a family as she came from she took a really BIG step to stand by you, which is exactly what she was suppose to do but every young bride couldn't have handled the situation!! Gotta run and clean my nasty house!! Keep the interesting comments coming!!
Love you, Michele