The Rules for Reading

     Hello All (and by all I mean 5)!  I am sitting in my little loft in Davis, frantically trying to get enough homework done to survive another week at school.  I am reading a book for my negotiations class and as I am nearing the end, I am getting excited to have another book to add to my list.  Growing up, my dad taught my sisters and I certain rules about reading.  That's correct, we have rules and we live by them (as best we can anyway).  First rule: We were not allowed to start a new book until we had completed the book we were reading.  Second rule: keep a running list of the books you have read.  Third rule: the book cannot go on that list until you have read it entirely.  Now these may seem like good rules to teach your future OCD children, but there are some flaws.  I don't just mean that we waste valuable time reading a stupid book because we started, though that is unfortunate.
     This semester I have had several challenges with these rules.  First, I have listened to about 10 books on CD in the last year.  I love it.  It keeps me from road rage because I am stuck in traffic and counting the minutes I am unable to get my homework done.  It is also the only way I can get any "reading for pleasure" in to my law school life.  However, do I get to put them on the list?  I technically did not read them.  I do not like this gray area.
     I am also in a class for history PhD students this semester (a first for me) where I have learned that graduate students are assigned a book a week or more (usually 400-500) pages of academic history.  I knew I should drop the class when I realized what I had done but it was on slavery, history and the law.  So I stayed in the class. The truth is, there is absolutely no way I can read the entire book when I have 5 classes and they each have hundreds of pages a week.  So I asked the students how they do it.  They explained they read the introduction, chapter 1,  the conclusion and any chapters that apply to their "work" (they also only take 2-3 classes per semester).  So I have been attempting this.  I am not good at this because of the rules.  I need to read it all.  So I end up reading about 2/3 and getting behind in all my other classes, only to not be able to finish and then have to start a new book the following week.  It is killing me!  Not only am I braking the rules, I have rent 2/3 of about 10 books in the last 8 weeks and I can't put them on my list!!!  Every week I feel tortured by this situation.  I ALWAYS finish all my readings and all my books.
     I realize this is a ridiculous post and I apologize but I know my sisters read this blog and they will feel my pain and that is all that matters.