On books and moving

One thing that always slows me down during moving is flipping through books. It serves as a nice breather from the constant shamble of moving, of boxing up, of cleaning, of planning, of counting the remaining pennies in the bank account. Often, I find moving is also a good time to contemplate how many books I buy and the abandon with which I buy them. Like the previous owner of this book, I don't even like Robert Frost. Some books, like this one, are books I buy because I think I should know something about the author and their work. I'm guilty of the "Oh, right. 'Stopping in the woods' or something. I remember that. I should know more shit about this dude"-style reasoning, as if I will win Cash Cab* because I know who wrote "Fire and Ice." Which I don't, because I sold my Robert Frost Reader. 

Of course, it's not not a bad thing to buy books, explore unknown writers, and generally do that Reading Rainbow thing...

 Far from it. It's just the pragmatism that rears itself--and the spark of laziness and dread--when you don't want to move the 25 boxes of books you've not gotten around to reading yet. "Why the hell did I think I wanted to read the USA Trilogy? And Infinite Jest?" you think to yourself. Many questions come to mind when faced with mountains of boxes, full of heavy, heavy books: When do you determine when a book is useless to you? Did you fail the book or the other way around? Is the weightless convenience of an e-book the only good reason for an e-book? Or is it just the best reason? 

Still, even though while I pack up old liquor boxes with my books, constantly reminded of how little I've read and how much the bulk of that weighs, it's comforting to know that these books are waiting for me and that I do have time to get to know them, even when if feels like I'll never have time for anything anymore. Except for The Robert Frost Reader. That shit is dead to me.


*I saw some of Cash Cab for the first time the other day. I was at the gym, and the televisions bolted to the walls were muted, but I was surprised at how at ease the contestants where at being ambushed by a roving game show. I'm awaiting Gyno Cab and Funeral Cab spin-offs with eagerness and anticipation.