Never Give Up (On a Book)

I have many shelves, boxes and piles of books, magazines, and comic books throughout our home. Cumulatively, they comprise a massive "Read List". Most I begin to read upon receipt. Many I begin and read through along with two or three titles simultaneously. A few, I read cover to cover exclusively. Some I even read the first eight pages, fail to be hooked, and set them aside to eventually be plucked from the stacks at a later date. When I do begin the start-stop-start-stop dance with a title, it may go on for weeks or even years before it finally hits me (or I, it) in a way that sticks. These demonstrations of show of patience can provide the most entertaining (and rewarding) reading experiences. It often pays not to quit on a story.

Take Borne by Jeff VanderMeer for instance. After devouring his Southern Reach Trilogy in a two week binge in August 2017, I looked for another helping of VanderMeer's mix of ecology, sci-fi and thoughtful character development. Which brought me to Borne, a post-apocalyptic survival tale set in a futuristic landscape ruled by a gigantic flying bear. On a number of different occasions over the past year-and-a-half I have taken a series go at Borne. Each attempt ended in my failure to allow myself to be drawn into the narrative strongly enough to commit to it's story ahead of other books on my to-read table. Eventually, however, the student was made ready, and as foretold in countless episodes of Kung-Fu, the teacher, or in the case, novel, appeared.

A week ago, in the wake three months of folklore and comic book reading (reading for pleasure) and classic American literature (for teaching which is also pleasurable), I had a hankering for a sci-fi palette cleanser. Wandering the stacks at my local public library, I once again came found Borne waiting for me. This time I was ready and could not put it down. Turns out, Borne is that breezy, emotional follow-up to the Southern Reach Trilogy I had hoped it would be. Even if it took me a while to see (and read) it. In the afterglow of having digested a well-written story, I am especially glad that I hadn't given up on Borne. That is not to suggest I am yet ready to tackle James George Frazer's The Golden Bough, a tome that's been pecked at and thumbed through for going on 12 years...