Ramblings and a Couple of Links

I've got so many books going at the moment that I feel a bit like a juggler. And of course when I'm reading one I think I should be reading something else. No, shouldn't be reading More Book Lust should be reading Snow for book group on Tuesday but I want to read The New Brain and then there's Don Quixote which I haven't picked up since I finished part one a couple weeks ago. And then there are all those books waiting to be read. Must. Read. Faster. It used to be, long ago, that when I wasn't reading for school I read only one book at a time. Then I met my husband who had a book to read in every room of the house. Then I tried it. Two books at a time felt good, liberating. Then it was three books. Ooohh, naughty. But something happened, I turned into the guy juggling a chainsaw, a flaming torch, a bowling ball and an egg all at once. Okay, maybe that's a bit melodramatic, but that's what it feels like sometimes. But as soon as the number of books I'm in the middle of dwindles I have a sudden and inexplicable panic and within less than an hour I will have begun reading at least two new books, sometimes three. Non-readers would no doubt say I should see a therapist to get help for my obvious problem. But I am quite happy in my bibliomania thank you very much. And now, here are some symptoms of my mania, maybe they will contribute to yours:

• Academic vs. non-academic historians. The "experts" complain the laypeople jazz things up too much, paint scenes that are not entirely factual, focus too much on personality and drama. The historians for the people complain the ivory tower folk are dry as kindling and better than tranquilizers. I understand both sides of the coin here, but if I have a choice between history written as a story or history written like a textbook, I'm going to read the one that's got more story.
• This will provide you wil lots of fun. It is a "Surrealist Compliment Generator." Here's one I just got: You are a banana moon subverting the sun. I feel so special.