oedipus' online complexes

when visiting in late january, chaals enthusiastically explained how he was dedicated to reading at least a book a week this year.

at that point, i had just overcome a nasty blow to the head, which required me to remain horizontal for a couple of weeks, during which i had an opportunity to get quite a bit of reading done. as i thought of it, i realized that if i kept my current pace, i too could read at least 52 books this year.

so, i set myself some ground rules: all audio books must be listened to at normal, rather than at a quickened speed; a book must be unabridged in order to qualify; and i must finish it in its entirety before listing it.

what i had read so far, not only fit these requirements, but gave me a head-start on the endeavor:

1. Washington's Crossing, by David Hackett Fischer (RFB&D: DT-HC454)
2. The Cabala, by Thornton Wilder (NLS: 17679)
3. The Eighth Day, by Thornton Wilder (NLS: RC 37676)
4. An Honest President, a biography of Grover Cleveland by H.Paul Jeffers
5. Partly Cloudy Patriot, by Sarah Vowell (RFB&D: DT-HJ907)
6. My Life as a Fake, by Peter Carey
7. The Ides of March, by Thornton Wilder (NLS: RC 61139)
8. Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin (RFB&D: DT-HM597)
9. The Devil & the White City, by Eric Larsen
10. Of Time, Fire and the River, by Norman F. Brydon (NLS: C2896)
11. The Jonestown Flood, by David McCullough
12. The Mysterious Flame of Queen Luana, by Umberto Eco

and then, in February 2007, i joined MyOpera, and was asked, whilst setting up my profile, what was the latest book i had read? to this, i could only answer: Against the Day by Thomas Pynchon, for i had made the decision 6 hours into the 53 hours and 34 minutes it would take me to complete the book, that i was suspending my regular habit of reading several books simultaneously, until i finished Against the Day, so i listed it as the last book i read, attempting to keep current the progress i was making in completing the 53 hours and 34 minutes...

here is a partial (off-the-top-of-my-head) list of books i suspended reading until i finish Against the Day:

1. Julius Ceasar: A Military Biography, by J.F.C. Fuller
2. The Roman Way, by Edith Hamilton
3. The Iraq Study Group Report
4. Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community and War, by Nathaniel Philbrick
5. Jurgen: A Comedy of Justice, by James Branch Cabell
6. The Chronicles of Clovis, by Saki (HH Munro)
7. Fables for the Frivolous, by Guy Wetmore Carryl
8. Many Masks: The Life of Frank Lloyd Wright, by Brendan Gill (NLS: 27227)
9. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, by Mary Roach