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Infinite Country by Patricia Engel | Thoughts

   Published : 2021   ||    Format : print   ||    Location : Colombia ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆   What was it about the country that kept everyone hostage to its fantasy? The previous month, on its own soil, an American man went to his job at a plant and gunned down fourteen coworkers, and last spring alone there were four different school shootings. A nation at war with itself, yet people still spoke of it as some kind of paradise.. Thoughts : Infinite Country follows two characters - young Talia, who at the beginning of this book, escapes a girl’s reform school in North Colombia so that she can make her previously booked flight to the US. Before she can do that, she needs to travel many miles to reach her father and get her ticket to the rest of her family. As we follow Talia’s treacherous journey south, we learn about how she ended up in the reform school in the first place and why half her family resides in the US. Infinite Country tells the...

The Sunday Salon -- Feb 21, 2010


The Sunday Salon.com

Yet another Sunday comes by so soon. It's been another blazing week, but thankfully, one that had a few books in it. I am not so sure of the coming week though, and I do plan to finish three books before Feb-end. I hope to achieve that!

I've been thinking for the past few days about reading lists. I belong to the group that obsessively makes reading lists prior to the start of each month. I like knowing what books I plan to read each month, how many more challenges are going to be nearing completion, plus it gives me a sense of order and predictability, which I value a lot. Besides, most books I want to read I pick from the library, and it definitely would annoy me if a specific book is not available currently, or if I have to wait a few days for it to arrive from another county.

On the down side, I can't always go by my inner desire to read a specific book, or feed my thirst for a book from some specific genre. Also, if I see someone praising a book highly, I do go through a moment of insane desire to read that book right away before I give in and add the book to my bloated TBR list. And the biggest disappointment is when I don't complete reading a month's list. I almost feel as if I let down a good friend, and usually that book doesn't go back to my next month's list, rather it goes back to my pile, for future contemplation. How many of you are like me? Do you just go by your impulse and pick the book you feel like reading at the moment, or do you plan in advance?

The reason I've been thinking of this is that I plan to not-plan my monthly reading lists anymore, other than those books I'm reviewing for a publisher or reading for a readalong. When I made this decision, I felt very relieved, especially thinking of all those books I've felt like reading on an impulse but could never since I already had my plans made for the month. I'm not sure how long I will be able to stick to this before my obsessive self kicks in, but it will be worth a try, to just pick a book on a whim or a recommendation, rather than wait ages before I get to some of them.

Read other Sunday Salon posts.