Romeo Talks Books

Literary Multitasking

  • It really is cool when you manage to unite two of your favorite hobbies. Reading is absolutely my favorite. I can’t imagine a day with no reading. There is nothing like settling in and letting an author take you on a journey.

    Also, high on my list of hobbies are crocheting and cross stitch and painting. I have often found myself in a quandary over how I want to spend my time. Do I read? Do I crochet? Do I work on my cross stitch project? There have been times when I would choose one and feel like I was ignoring another.

    I can’t say I have found a way to combine all of them but I have found a way to do two of them at the same time. The solution is audiobooks. With audiobooks I can “read” and work on one of my other projects at the same time. In fact I find that by listening to an audiobook while I crochet, cross stitch or paint actually helps me to concentrate on the craft project with greater clarity. My mind doesn’t wander to other concerns or random thoughts. Instead, the passive listening given to the audiobook allows me to absorb the story and still concentrate on the hand-eye coordination necessary for the projects.

    Finding this clever little hack has brought me more pleasure in working on my hobbies. The frustration of trying to find time each day to do all the things I love is greatly reduced. Currently I’m working on a Christmas afghan and listening to The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett. Doing the two together has raised my productivity on the afghan and has resulted in longer sessions of crafting. It is a win-win.

    One response to “Literary Multitasking”

    1. Sarah Deas Avatar
      Sarah Deas

      We have the exact same hobbies! You’ll need to show off your Christmas afghan when it is finished.

      Reply

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  • Every reader once in a while uncovers an absolute gem of a book that sends them over the moon. I’ve just finished one of those books. It is Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon. This book swept me away into another place and time where I hung out with the characters for just shy of 600 pages. It is part coming-of-age story, part fantasy, part mystery, part suspense novel all rolled into one tidy package. The writing is impeccable. The plotting is strong and engaging. The characters are a wonderful combination of good people and bad people.

    Cory Mackenson is a 12 year old boy in Zephyr, Alabama, and he still carries with him the charmed life of childhood where everything is an adventure and there is magic in the air. But he is at the age where real life starts to intrude. He is learning that there are bad people who do bad things to other people. He is learning that there are circumstances beyond anyone’s control that have dire effects on some people. He is encountering bigotry and corruption. Through it all, he and his friends work at maintaining their carefree childhood reality, finding magic in unlikely places.

    McCammon gives us a narrative that feels personal, almost autobiographical in nature. Set in the early 1960’s, there is a nostalgic aire to the novel that floats the story’s many plot lines and shares the childhood sense of wonder even when events take a troubling turn. The novel flows smoothly from event to event and ties it all up in a neat literary package that reads like a gift from the author.

    I have read many books by Robert McCammon and I have enjoyed them all but this novel is the jewel in his crown. It is unlike any of his books that came before. I recommend this book wholeheartedly. It reads like a breathtaking ride on a magic bicycle.

    One response to “Review: Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon”

    1. readingwithmyeyes Avatar
      readingwithmyeyes

      McCammon is such a good writer, one of my favorites. A Boy’s Life is incredible.

      Reply

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  • Every reader once in a while uncovers an absolute gem of a book that sends them over the moon. I’ve just finished one of those books. It is Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon. This book swept me away into another place and time where I hung out with the characters for just shy of 600 pages. It is part coming-of-age story, part fantasy, part mystery, part suspense novel all rolled into one tidy package. The writing is impeccable. The plotting is strong and engaging. The characters are a wonderful combination of good people and bad people.

    Cory Mackenson is a 12 year old boy in Zephyr, Alabama, and he still carries with him the charmed life of childhood where everything is an adventure and there is magic in the air. But he is at the age where real life starts to intrude. He is learning that there are bad people who do bad things to other people. He is learning that there are circumstances beyond anyone’s control that have dire effects on some people. He is encountering bigotry and corruption. Through it all, he and his friends work at maintaining their carefree childhood reality, finding magic in unlikely places.

    McCammon gives us a narrative that feels personal, almost autobiographical in nature. Set in the early 1960’s, there is a nostalgic aire to the novel that floats the story’s many plot lines and shares the childhood sense of wonder even when events take a troubling turn. The novel flows smoothly from event to event and ties it all up in a neat literary package that reads like a gift from the author.

    I have read many books by Robert McCammon and I have enjoyed them all but this novel is the jewel in his crown. It is unlike any of his books that came before. I recommend this book wholeheartedly. It reads like a breathtaking ride on a magic bicycle.

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  • I am convinced that book reading and book collecting are two distinct hobbies. It is certainly possible to be a multipotentialite where the two hobbies are concerned, like someone who enjoys both knitting and crochet with equal skill and delight. The problem with being a book reader and a book collector is that you tend to amass books faster than you can read them. This is me all over. The result is I have many unread books on my shelf. Among these unread books are books I really want to read but for some reason they continually get passed over when I’m choosing my next read. Some of these books have been on my shelves for years on end. And still other books are yet to be purchased. Nevertheless, these are titles that I have a desire to read. They just get repeatedly overlooked and often get thrown over for something lighter, easier to read. Some of these books require a stalwart commitment to take on. Others are books I’ve been curious about but which have not managed to rise above mere curiosity when I am choosing the next read. So, as a result, I’ve decided to move these books intentionally to a more prominent spot on the TBR (to be read) list. I have created a list of ten of these books that I intend to read before I turn 70 (which is 5 ½ years from now).

    1. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. One of my favorite comedies is a movie called The Guilt Trip starring Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogan. In this movie, the book, Middlesex, is a veritable character all its own. Watching the characters interact over this title as they listen to the audiobook has sparked my curiosity about it. Plus, it is a Pulitzer Prize winner and I am committed to reading all the winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

    2. The Count of Monte Christo by Alexander Dumas. A classic by any standards, it has stood the test of time. I have lost count of the number of people I have met who count this as one of the best books they have read. This chunker weighs in at over 1200 pages. I don’t shy away from big books but I make dang sure I’m in the mood for a book of this size before committing to take it on.

    3. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. Another chunker, this one coming in at around 1400 pages. I actually started it when I was much younger (late teens) but I didn’t get very far into it. It has teased me ever since.

    4. Middlemarch by George Elliot. I saw the limited series on PBS. I loved it and have intended to read it as a result. At more than 900 pages it is another weighty tome. It will be tackled.

    5. The Magus by John Fowles. Weighing in at a mere 668 pages it seems to be a lightweight compared to the previous three on the list. I have read one book by Fowles, The Collector. I was quite impressed with it. The Magus has been sparking my curiosity since I was in my twenties. I only recently acquired a copy of it and I will probably read this one quite soon.

    6. The Far Pavillions by M.M. Kaye. I know. It’s 958 pages of historical romance. I confess. I have loved historical romance books since I was a teenager. It’s okay. Really. It is perfectly normal for boys to like romance. Isn’t it?

    7. North and South by Elizabeth Gasgill. Like Middlemarch, I saw the limited series on television and was swept away by it. Unlike Middlemarch this one is under 600 pages. A piece of cake.

    8. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. An American classic and another Pulitzer Prize winner. This appears to be a love it or hate it book, with people rarely coming down somewhere in the middle. I’ve shied away from this one because I don’t want to start it only to find out I’m one of the people who doesn’t like it.

    9. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe. This ebook has been on my Kindle for several years. My curiosity about it has been more about its novelty than anything else. But recently I read On The Road by Jack Kerouac, the book that defined the Beat Generation. I loved it. This 1968 book has direct links to the Beat Generation crowd. For that reason it has increased my curiosity.

    10. The Wicked Pavillion by Dawn Powell. I have been interested in checking out Powell’s work ever since I saw her referred to as a female F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald is one of my favorite authors so this comparison caught my interest. I want to start with The Wicked Pavilion as it seems to be one of her most popular books.

    So there you have it. 10 books I’m moving to head of the line to be read among all the other books I read over the next 5 years. 10 books I’ve wanted to knock off my list since I first heard about them. But like wallflowers at a school dance, they keep getting overlooked.

    What books do you want to read that keep getting shoved aside as you choose more accessible books? Have you read any of these? What did you think of them?

    2 responses to “Books To Read Before I Turn 70”

    1. Sarah Deas Avatar
      Sarah Deas

      What a fantastic list. Some of those are definite door stoppers. Will be interesting to hear what you think of them all!

      Reply
    2. Michael Avatar
      Michael

      Thank you. I will be keeping you updated.

      Reply

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  • I think it is safe to say that the majority of readers have a favorite literary era that is their go-to for their favorite reads. Some people like contemporary fiction and get excited about new releases and new authors. Others are fans of the Victorian Era and enjoy reading Dickens and Trollope. Others go further back still and are fans of Jane Austin, Thomas Hardy, and Shakespeare.

    Although I enjoy reading books from many eras there is one era that most of my reading comes from, an era of literature and popular books that speaks to me like no other. It is the twentieth century. While the twentieth century harbors a number of sub-eras like The Roaring Twenties, The Depression Era, The Cold War, Vietnam, and The Hippie Generation just to name a few, it is the entire 100 years that captivates me.

    The Twentieth Century was a very diverse, rapidly changing collection of decades. The Industrial Revolution was well in place and thriving by the start of the century. The automobile was becoming a commonplace fixture. The Wright Brothers gave birth to flying machines that over the ensuing decades would become a whole industry of Air Travel. World War I brought staggering changes politically and socially. The Roaring Twenties was a free-for-all period of abandon and youthful rebellion. There was the stock market crash in the late twenties that brought the Roaring Twenties to a screeching halt and ushered in The Great Depression. The United States several times in the previous century had experienced depression and recession and dealt with the economic blow by going to war, and the Great Depression of the 1930s was no different leading us into World War II which carried us through the 1940s and introduced the world to the horrors of atomic warfare, The 1950s brought us The Cold War, McCarthyism and the conflict in Korea. The 1960s exploded onto the scene with unprecedented social and political change giving us everything from The Civil Rights Movement to The Sexual Revolution to Vietnam to the start of the Gay Pride movement to space exploration. Technology, which had been growing over the past couple of decades, exploded in the 1970s and 1980s and continued through the 1990s into the new century. The eighties saw the end of The Cold War and the collapse of Soviet communism. The AIDS epidemic took root and devastated a large population.

    So, what does all of this have to do with reading and enjoying books? The authors throughout the twentieth century chronicled the rapid social, political and cultural changes in an unprecedented way. Literary fiction, popular fiction and non-fiction flourished with numerous writers depicting the variety of changes, growths, demises, and world changing events from every imaginable point of view. Books from literary drama to predictive science fiction to action packed espionage to social satire to somber war histories embraced the rapidly changing world and chronicled the good times and the bad with equal vigor. A reader can dive into the world of twentieth century publishing and spend literally years exploring the plethora of works and vicariously living in the most dynamic century in world history before coming up for air.

    Here are a list of books that I consider iconic of the twentieth century. Each one captures some aspect of the century that can be studied, enjoyed, and used to envelope the reader in some aspect of that dynamic century. It is not an exhaustive list by any means. It is simply a list of some of my favorite books. These are books that for me embrace an aspect of the century and its fascinating kaleidoscope of change and upheaval.

    1918 My Antonia by Willa Cather (social drama)

    1920 This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald (changing social norms)

    1925 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (the roaring twenties; wealth)

    1929 Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett (crime and corruption)

    1944 A Bell For Adano by John Hersey (WWII drama)

    1946 Hiroshima by John Hersey (atomic warfare)

    1953 Go Tell It On the Mountain by James Baldwin (ethnic drama)

    1959 The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan (WWII history)

    1966 The Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann (feminism)

    1974 The Glory and the Dream by William Manchester (US History)

    1976 Heartbreak Hotel by Anne Rivers Siddons (coming of age; civil rights)

    1980 A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (social satire)

    1987 …and the Band Played On by Randy Shilts (AIDS; gay rights)

    1988 Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler (social change)

    1990 The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien (Vietnam Conflict drama)

    1993 The Shipping News by Annie Proulx (social exploration)

    So, what is your favorite era for reading? Have you read any of the books listed? What books would you recommend?

    If you have never explored the works of the twentieth century, I encourage you to dive in. Dive in anywhere, grab a book and start reading. Explore the numerous authors and genres that flourished during this notable period. It was an exciting time, and it made for exciting reading.

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  • So, it happened one day in late July 2025. Several large green plastic envelopes arrived in the mail. I was very excited and filled with great anticipation even though I knew what was in them; my most recent book haul from Thriftbooks.com, my favorite purveyor of used books. I tore open the packages and spread out the contents on my bed. There were about 10 books, all of which were books I had long desired to read but as yet had not gotten around to. I picked up each book, fluttered the pages under my thumb, read the synopsis on the back of each one, and generally began my acquaintance with these, my newest friends. I looked at my bookshelves knowing already that there was no room there. I then looked at the row of books lining the shelf over my work table. They were packed tight from end to end. Although there were some books on my entertainment center all the space there was jammed up with them as well as my collection of favorite movies leaving no room for my new book pals. I already had several stacks on the floor of my bedroom/man cave and already had to watch where I stepped. I was aware of the several boxes of books in my closet that were still looking for a home. I sat on the bed and studied my situation. One thing that came to mind was the fact that with all of these beautiful books taking up every inch of spare space the truth was I hadn’t read but a small percentage of them. You see, I was in the habit of book buying, accumulating books at a rate faster then I read. I would by three books and read one, buy five and read three, buy ten and read five. It doesn’t take a mathematician to work out the end result of such behavior. I had a plethora of books that needed to be read. For a brief moment I actually felt foolish. But only for a brief moment. I try not to dwell on negative thoughts and feelings. However, I was aware that I needed to do something about it.

    It was then that I remembered an exercise that some Booktubers (YouTube content providers who specialize in book dicussions) had done who found themselves in a similar situation. They set themselves a challenge to read a certain number of books they already owned before allowing themselves to buy any more boooks. This was it. This was the solution. I would take a break from book buying while I read 100 books I already owned. I certainly had enough books. I had several hundred physical books scattered and hidden around my man cave. I also had several hundred titles on my Kindle Fire that I hadn’t read. Let’s not forget the approximately 50 audio books I had acquired through Audible and Kobo. I basically had enough books to last me at least to the next decade.

    The rules would be simple:

    Read 100 books I already own before buying any other books.

    I would allow myself to count books I DNFed (Did Not Finish) because they were disappointing, offensive or otherwise lacking. But I would allow myself only 10 of these and only if I had read at least 25% of the book. Life is too short to read books you don’t like and by 25% you can usually tell if a book isn’t sinking the hook.

    Audiobooks count as a book read.

    That’s it. Those are the rules.

    The experience so far has been positive. I pulled 50 books and put them together on the shelf over my work table where I could see them every day. They may not necessarily be the 50 I end up reading but is does take some of the pressure off seeing them everyday because 50 books doesn’t look nearly as intimidating as I thought it would. I also created a folder on my kindle and put 50 titles there. Since embracing the project I’ve felt good that these books that I’ve been staring at for (in some cases) years are finally getting the attention they deserve. There was an underlying sense of frustration from looking at these books and wondering when I would get around to reading them. That frustration has lifted. I only miss buying books once in a while when FOMO kicks in. In those cases I look to see if the book is in the library. If it is then I add it to my library wish list and rest assured that it will be available when I’m ready for it. If it is not in the library then I add it to my Books To Buy list for the end of the project.

    Since the end of July (July 20, to be exact) I have read 10 books, only three of which have been disappointing. Not a bad track record so far. So far I have read:

    Trust by Hernan Diaz (excellent)

    The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyl and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (entertaining)

    The Deep Blue Goodbye by John D. MacDonald (very good)

    Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem (excellent)

    The Six Days of the Condor by James Grady (disappointing)

    Noble House by James Clavell (riveting)

    Runway Zero Eight by Arthur Hailey & John Castle (entertaining)

    The Collector by John Fowles (very good)

    Great English Poets: William Blake (not to my taste)

    Little Heaven by Nick Cutter (disappointing)

    Currently I am reading two books:

    Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon

    The Tucci Cookbook by Stanley Tucci et.al. (yes, I read cookbooks, but only certain ones)

    Are you interested in doing a challenge like this? If so, declare it in the comments and keep us updated on your progress. Also, have you read any of the books listed above? What did you think of them?

    ©2025 Michael Romeo

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One response to “Literary Multitasking”

  1. Sarah Deas Avatar
    Sarah Deas

    We have the exact same hobbies! You’ll need to show off your Christmas afghan when it is finished.

    Reply

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The Joy of Twentieth Century Reading