Between the last page and the first

Of Endings, Beginnings, and the Impossible Task of Choosing What to Read Next

If you think finishing a book is difficult, wait till you reach the real challenge — choosing the next one. That, dear reader, is where the madness begins.

You close the last page with a sigh (or a sob, or a smug “I saw that twist coming”), and then it hits you. What now? Which book deserves the honour of being next? It’s a bit like speed dating with a thousand suitors — charming, mysterious, some with suspicious blurbs, others flaunting awards like badges, and a few that just feel… right. But are they?

First, the genre conundrum. Do you stick to your memoir streak, or have you already lived too much inside other people’s heads? Maybe it’s time for something lighter. Fiction? But what kind of fiction? And won’t that also involve living inside someone else’s head — some author’s imaginary creation’s head, to be precise? Maybe you could try that romance novel you started last year but found too sweet. Real life is anything but.

Non-fiction? What kind? Historical? Management? Self-improvement? Do you really want to be a better human today? Poetry helps. But you don’t read poetry books in one go, like a novel. Back to prose. Maybe science fiction will do the trick, as it so often does. But your brain is still tired from counting the number of species in the last one.

Next comes the author debate. Do you go with the tried-and-tested writer who’s never let you down — literary comfort food, if you will — or gamble on someone new who might just become your next obsession (or regret)?

Then there’s the internet trap. Reviews! Endless reviews. “Unputdownable,” says one. “Couldn’t get past chapter two,” says another. Some people rate books based on font size; others on how “relatable” the author’s mugshot is. Your head spins.

And then — shelf guilt. Remember that pile of unread books staring at you like neglected pets? You should probably pick from there. But what about that new one everyone’s talking about? Should you read it now and ride the hype wave, or wait until it’s less mainstream and therefore more you?

I’ve been going through all of this for the past week. Ever since I finished ‘Whereabouts’ by Ms. Lahiri, I’ve been at sea. I’ve spent hours sampling many works of prose — from all the categories mentioned above and more. Yes, add to that an obscure book of scholarly art essays and a now-French woman advising how to live joyfully like a Parisian. I’ve been tempted by many, but haven’t committed to any.

As of now, I’ve started two books. One is Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi and the other is Fer-de-Lance by Rex Stout. The former is “a moving, passionate testament to the power of books, the magic of words, and the search for beauty in life’s darkest moments,” while the latter is the first in a series by a 20th-century American grandmaster of detective fiction. To be honest, I’m not sure I’ll finish either.

I might go back to one of the umpteen books I previously started but didn’t finish. Intermezzo, Conversations with Friends, Outline, News of the World — among the fiction works I left mid-way. The first three were very good, and I’ve been saving them for a rainy day. The last one was a used copy, and I grew suspicious of it triggering an allergic reaction. Who knows what strange microorganisms it may be carrying? (Covid cases are also on the rise again!)

There are a few non-fiction books I’d begun too — most notably Mountains of the Mind and The Half Known Life. Then there are the two photography books I ordered online, currently en route as I write. I’m also tempted to buy ‘M Train’ to continue the memoir or memoir-adjacent streak (Lighthousekeeping, These Precious Days, Whereabouts) I’ve been riding lately.

Cue a non-verbal expression of numb exasperation that others may simply call a sigh.

Let’s face it — choosing is hard. Tomorrow is Monday, and I may end up Kindle-sampling or reading one of those Amazon Originals (short stories) rather than committing to a full-length read before the workweek swallows me whole.

So yeah, here’s to all the indecisive, overthinking, passionately picky readers out there. May your next read find you — before you drive yourself gently mad trying to choose it.