I’ve always meant to start a reading log but I’ve never gotten around to it. It’s hard to break the momentum of reading, the flow from one text to the next. And in any case, reading isn’t always systematic; a log isn’t likely to reveal any grand unified theory.
All the more so when one’s library is more an accumulation than a collection. I’ve always liked the final category in Thomas Jefferson’s inventory of his library; after listing the contents of various rooms and shelves, he adds those ‘lying about’.
A collection of new and previously published book reviews will substitute for a log. Alongside these are thoughts on other writers, part of my reflection of the work of writing itself.