I took a sick day today and I stayed in bed until nearly noon. I spent some of that time watching episodes of The West Wing, but the rest of the time has been spent reading. I am once again trying to get through Will Durant’s Story of Civilization, which I last attempted nearly 18 months ago. While I was in Florida, I was overcome with the sudden desire to read world history and I have found nothing that reads quite as well (or, to put it another way, is a well-written) as Will Durant’s books. So once again, I’ve started from the beginning and this time, I hope to make it through all 11 volumes, but who knows.

Ironically, ten years ago today was another reading day.

Another big reading day today. I got through about 200 pages of Forever Peace spending most of the day reading.

I mention this because with only a few days left in 2007, it is looking like it is going to be far and away my worst year for reading since I started keeping track back in 1996. I completed 16 books this year, totaling somewhere in the neighborhood of 2.5 million words, more than 1 million words less than my previous worst year, 2003. I guess my priorities changed somewhat this year, my time has been occupied with other things (like writing and travel) and I’ve been more and more socially active.

But I still look to books as my primary mode of self-education, and I look back at the breadth and depth of reading I did a decade ago and wonder how I can keep it up with every other thing in the world I’ve got going on. Maybe I can’t, but I’m going to try to make more of an effort.