# 2026-02-16 - On Selecting Books To Read
My to-read list [1] is fairly long. To call it a single to-read list
is a misnomer, because i actually organize it in multiple places.
For example, when something catches my eye, i'll bookmark it. Then it
might make its way into my book database. Then it might make its way
onto my public to-read list.
So how do i decide what to read?
If i find something compelling in a little free library then i might
read it right away. The same goes for books that are gifts or
recommendations from friends. But that's unusual for me. Usually i
will let books age for a while in my to-read lists. Why?
Well, i have always enjoyed the process of selecting things. This
process is still an honest one when i walk into the public library
and browse through the physical shelves. I got the same kind of
experience in book stores, music stores, and video rental stores.
This experience was even replicated online on web sites like
cdbaby.com and the original Netflix when it first started.
In contrast, modern Netflix, the library ebook app, and modern music
services do not provide an honest process. They are heavily gamed to
algorithmically influence and manipulate me, inexorably creeping
towards dark patterns and total domination. I see repeated titles in
the list. Sometimes the same title is repeated very many times.
"They" REALLY want me to see THAT particular title. And i feel it is
no longer possible to scan through the entire catalog from beginning
to end. I am seeing an unstable fish-bowl view of the catalog.
So perhaps my to-read list is a reassuring security blanket of a
structure where i can step into a warm, familiar cloud of things i am
authentically interested in and with God-like agency, pluck out my
books of choice.
Some years ago i wrote the following private list.
# Book Reader's Diet
1. A book that you have read before.
2. A classic.
3. A best seller from the previous year.
4. A gift or recommendation from family or friends.
5. A book related to your career.
6. A prize winning book.
7. A book from scholastic reading lists.
8. A fantasy book.
9. A science fiction book.
10. A history book.
11. A nature book.
12. A recommendation from the Internet.
Before going out of town for a while, i might load a batch of books
onto my phone to read. There's no way i will read a dozen books in
one trip, but if any one of those books turns out to be a stinker, i
can easily put it down and pick up another. Also, i WILL eventually
read through all of those books, even though i may finish it long
after i have returned.
This list is just an example. Of course i vary my selection process.
It's February, which is Black History Month in North America. So i
scan through my relevant to-read items and chose...
# Book 1: Reminiscences of My Life In Camp by Susie King Taylor
Reminiscences of My Life In Camp [2] by Susie King Taylor [3]
Great, that's book #1. 9 more to go!
# Book 2: The Junior Classics Vol 2 (Lohngrin)
I recently read an interesting comic titled Eight Pillars of Gay
Culture [4].
Panel 6 shows a list of thirteen tragic heroines from literature and
opera, many of whom i had not heard of before! I decided to begin
with Elsa [5] in The Stry of Lohngrin [6].
# Book 3: Computer Connections by Gary Kildall
I recently saw a post on a web forum that referenced
Computer Connections [7] by Gary Kildall [8].
# Book 4: Hacking The Future by Arthur Kroker
I found this HAcking The Future [9] by Arthur Kroker [10] quoted in a
recent gopher post, and it looks like something i ought to have read
a long time ago.
# Book 5: The Story of My Heart by Richard Jeffries
I read that The Story of My Heart [11] [12] is an emotionally charged
biography, and that the author loves the outdoors. A biography and
nature book in one. Sign me up!
# Book 6: Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
Carmilla [13] [14] is a Gothic fantasy, a vampire book that pre-dates
Bram Stoker's Dracula. A family member recently enjoyed the
2026 Dracula movie, so why not read this book for my own
entertainment?
# Book 7: Lifted Masks by Susan Glaspell
Lifted Masks [15] by Susan Glaspell [16] is "A collection of short
stories that delve into the complex inner lives of the characters and
the masks they wear to conceal their true selves. Each story is
beautifully written and thought-provoking, exploring themes of
identity, self-deception, and the masks we all wear to navigate
through life."
# Book 8: The Adventures of Harlequin by Francis Bickley
The Adventures of Harlequin [17] may not be a classic book, but it
was a classical era and a classical character [18].
Recently i read an interesting theory about Harlequin:
In most of the accounts dealing with Diana, her followers usually
seem to have been women. But similar rites existed among all-male
groups with a male god. As with Diana, the leader of the male
troops had many different names, depending on the location in
Europe. Among the most common were Herne the Hunter, Herla the
King, Herlechin, Herlequin, Harlequin, Hellequin, Hillikin,
Berchtold, Berhtolt, Derndietrich, Quatembermann, and Kwaternik
(Russell, 49, note & Ginzburg, 58, n. 2). In my opinion, this
male figure is a survival of the Celtic horned god. As we saw in
chapter 2, the Latinized name for the Celtic horned god was
Cernunnos, which means "The Horned One" (Bober, passim). The
ending -os on this word is the suffix that Greek and Old Latin
added to most masculine nouns borrowed from other languages. So
the original, de-Latinized form was probably Cernunn. Now, the
prefixes Cer- and Her- are interchangeable Indo-European roots
that both mean "horn." Hence a variant spelling of the same name
is Hernunn. This last word, I suspect, was the original Celtic
ancestor of Herne, which is one of the oldest names for the male
figure we're dealing with. A variant spelling of Herne was Herla.
From Herla comes "Herla, the King", and from "Herla, the King"
comes Herlequin and Harlequin (see "Harlequin" in the Random
House Dictionary). Medieval depictions of Harlequin confirm these
speculations based on language. They usually show him wearing a
forked cap having two drooping horn-like appendages.
In the Latin literary tradition, Harlequin was turned into the
figure of the Fool, as, for example, he appears in late Italian
comedy. He is usually shown dressed up in bright clothes, and
this is the traditional appearance of Harlequin on the Italian
stage. His manifestation as the Fool is interesting, because in
the Middle Ages a holiday survived from paganism called the Feast
of Fools. It usually took place around January 1st (the festival
of Janus--the brother of Diana)...
The word "Fool" as applied to Harlequin didn't originally mean
silly or stupid, but rather frenzied or ecstatic or mad, akin to
the French word /folie/, which means madness or lunacy.
# Book 9: The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
I usually don't read mystery genre novels. Well, once i read through
all of the canonical Sherlock Holmes novels and a few pastiche to
boot. One of my favorite pastiches was Saberhagen's Sherlock Holmes
and Dracula. Anyhow... A friend recommended
The Maltese Falcon [19] [20], and that's why i added it to this list.
He described it as an early example of the hard-boiled detective
genre.
# Book 10: An Anarchist Woman by Hutchins Hapgood
I picked An Anarchist Woman [21] by Hutchins Hapgood [22] from my
list of vagabond literature. I don't know much about this book yet,
but i'll give it a shot!
Whew, that ought to be enough reading material for a while!
tags: bencollver
# Footnotes
TEXT [1] to-read.csv
HTML [2] Reminiscences of My Life In Camp
TEXT [3] Susie King Taylor
HTML [4] Eight Pillars of Gay Culture
TEXT [5] Elsa von Brabant
HTML [6] The Story of Lohngrin
HTML [7] Computer Connections by Gary Kildall
TEXT [8] Gary Kildall
HTML [9] Hacking The Future by Arthur Kroker
TEXT [10] Arthur Kroker
HTML [11] The Story of My Heart by Richard Jeffries
TEXT [12] The Story of My Heart
HTML [13] Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
TEXT [14] Carmilla
HTML [15] Lifted Masks by Susan Glaspell
TEXT [16] Susan Glaspell
HTML [17] The Adventures of Harlequin by Francis Bickley
TEXT [18] Harlequin
HTML [19] The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
TEXT [20] The Maltese Falcon
HTML [21] An Anarchist Woman by Hutchins Hapgood
TEXT [22] Hutchins Hapgood
# Tags
DIR bencollver