This morning, I took the Little Miss over to the local Barnes & Noble, where I picked up a paperback copy of James Clavell’s Shogun. I read Shogun some 9 years ago, back in 2005, and I remember really loving it. I just had the urge to read it again. When I first read it, I read a paperback copy and I don’t know what happened to it. Likely it was part of a big book donation we made when we moved into our current house 4 years ago.

I have the e-book version, and I was tempted to get the audiobook version, but the reviews of the reading of the audio book were mixed. I decided to go totally tactile with this one, and read it as I did the first time around. Of course, then I had neither glasses nor children, but time waits for no one. I’ll read it when I’m not listening to the audiobook I’m finishing up (Christine by Stephen King). It might take longer. I listen to a lot of books while on my daily walks, which should return to normal tomorrow. But that’s okay. It’ll be a nice change of pace.

And speaking of changes of pace, my “to-read” list is looking somewhat different for 2014 than it did for 2013. In my experience, my “to-read” lists are very tentative and express more of a present mood than a future one, but the list is quite bare of what I’d call genre fiction (always setting aside the 12 books each year that I read for my book review column for IGMS). Among the authors on my list for 2014:  Larry McMurtry (Lonesome Dove, etc.), Earnest Hemingway, William Faulkner, and, of course, James Clavell. We’ll see how this pans out. I’m certain that I’ll read more Stephen King in 2014 as well. And the list of genre books I have queued up for review all look promising.

For now, with the snow turning to slush, and the air still cold and the rain still wet outside, I’m looking forward to sitting by the fire today with my paperback version of Shogun, and leaving this world for the world of 17th century Japan–at least until the kids require my attention once more.