Leisurely Stress

I'm experiencing a little book stress of late. I have my 2007 Reading List over there bearing down on me with great pressure. I wanted to try to read 50 books this year and beat last year's paltry 45, but it's not going so well. Last year, I had an entire summer of being unemployed and pregnant. Talk about your free time. This year I'm lucky if I squeeze in two chapters before my eyes close at 10:30pm.

Here's the trouble: my book club meets on Monday and I am supposed to be finished with Drowning Ruth by then. I am on, oh....about chapter 6. Not good. It's just not drawing me in, this book, and it's kind of depressing so far. Then, the next part of the problem is that in June I have to choose the book for book club and I am heaping tremendous amounts of pressure upon myself regarding this decision. What if they hate the book? What if it's too long and no one has time to read it? What if I choose one that's too light and people think I'm an airhead? Oh, the crosses I bear.

So just based on that decision alone, I'm having to reread at least parts of books that I am considering for my selection. Also to consider is that I don't want to pick a book that people are likely to have read before. Augh!! *beating head on desk* I'm currently leaning toward Clyde Edgerton's Walking Across Egypt, but it's been a long time since I read it, so I will have to reread.

Now, that's not the end of my reading saga. For those of you who live under rocks, the final Harry Potter book is being released in July. Yes, I will promptly read it and all, but this just adds to my pressure at this time. It should go unsaid that I will have to reread book six before book 7 comes out. I haven't read it in two years since its release because I didn't care to repeat the scads of tears I cried over Dumbledore's demise. But clearly, I've got to get over that because I can't read book 7 properly without first reviewing book 6.

On top of all that, there is an imposing stack of books on my nightstand that have nothing to do with any of these other issues that are just books I want to read "next". I'm just not sure when "next" is and I really want to start them too. Oh, and there are two Glamour magazines, a Cooking Light, two Southern Livings, and an Our State that are gathering dust as well. I hope I'm not the only person who gets stressed out over their leisure reading. I might be disturbed.