Held Hostage

Held Hostage

I am the type of reader who can only read one book at a time. I thought that once I started reading digitally, I would be able to read several books simultaneously, because my books would all be stored in one place: the Nook. However, reading digitally did not change this quirk that I have; I still can only read one book at a time.

So, I have been reading Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, and it is very a lengthy book, over a 1000 pages. With school ending, finishing up an internship for graduate school, working out, working in the garden etc., I have only had about thirty minutes a day to devote to this novel. With this said, it has taken me about six weeks or more to finish it.

In the meantime, other novels like The Third Jesus by Deepak Chopra, Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller, and The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen have been on my mind. I have looked at them on my nook, but could not bring myself to even peep inside these novels, because I was being held hostage by Crime and Punishment.

Don't get me wrong, Crime and Punishment is one of my all time favorite novels. The story line is magnificent, the characters are unforgettable, and it really made me think about good and evil, justice and injustice, and the roles of women and men in relationships.

I'm going to veer off topic, for a moment, to talk about the roles of women and men in Crime and Punishment. The main character, with all of his flaws, seemed to be the central figure to all of the women in his life: his mother, his sister, and the girl whom he pulled into his scandal. No matter how badly he treated them, they all still seemed to desire his attention, love and wanted to save him. Also, another character, in the novel, stated that " And if once a girl's heart is moved to pity, it's more dangerous than anything. She is bound to want to 'save him' to bring him to his senses, and lift him up and draw him to nobler aims, and restore him to new life and usefulness-well, we all know how far such dreams can go." Now, the character who stated this is definitely not a noble man, but  damn, the actions of the characters and many people whom I know, support this statement. I'm just thinking "Is there truth to be found in novels? 

Back to the hostage situation. I finished Crime and Punishment last night, and even though I savored every moment of this read, I felt a sense of relief to finally be finished and no longer held hostage. Six weeks or more is a long time to read one novel, even if is over 1000 pages. Is it a crime to read more than one book at a time, and if it is a crime, is there a punishment?

People, let me know if any of you have been held hostage by a novel :)

Books that I can't wait to get to!