Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Reading Habits #5: The Ten Commandments

And Apollo spoke all these words, saying, I am the god of knowledge and intellect who brought you out of ignorance, out of illiteracy, out of apathy.

The Ten Commandments of Moses
by Anton Losenko
© Wikimedia Commons
You shall have no other pursuits, neither movies or music nor chess, before books.

You shall not bow down to more than three books at a time; for we the authors of the three books would be annoyed if you leave them half-read.

You shall not take the name of the writer in vain; for the writer will not hold you guiltless for taking his name in vain but not reading his book.

Six days you shall read, and do all your writing. But the seventh day is the Sabbath: in it you shall not do any work, except read again.

Honour your books and your comics so that your days may be long upon the land of bookstores and libraries that Apollo is giving you.


You shall not tear, mutilate, fold, and dog-ear your books, nor write or scribble on them.


You shall not commit adultery and remain loyal to your books.

You shall not steal someone else’s books or buy more than you can read, nor hoard them. 


You shall not bear false witness against your fellow readers and bloggers.


You shall not covet your fellow-blogger’s bookshelf, or his books, or his blog, or his posts, or his style, or his hits and visits, or anything that is your fellow blogger’s.



Thank you, every one of you, for your very generous support through your visits and comments in 2013. The 3Cs wishes you and your families a very happy and satisfying new year; a year also filled with lots of books as well as the time and the pleasure of reading and reviewing them all through the year.


Note: For the previous four Reading Habits, look under Labels.

23 comments:

  1. Wise words from Apollo, there, Prashant! I think your list of books read is pretty substantial, certainly far better than mine turned out this past year (funny how having an infant cuts down on reading time!) Happy New Year, and best wishes to you and yours for 2014!

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    1. Jeff, thanks for the boost and your good wishes. I read at least ten fewer books last year and, frankly, there was no method to what I read. Perhaps, my reading in 2014 will be different in a good way. I don't think I read anything when my kids were small.

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  2. Oh dear, I'm afraid that I've committed several mortal book sins in numerous commandments above, especially parts of #8 and #10. How do I get absolution? Perhaps I should just forgive myself and move on and try to sin no more.

    Here's to a wonderful 2014! Thanks for all the thought provoking posts, Prashant and for your many splendid comments elsewhere.

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    1. John, thank you for the kind words and best wishes. I'm pretty much down on all the commandments, especially hoarding books. I think sinning in books should be allowed. I need to respect them more by reading more, though, and then giving them away. I hope you have a great year reading and reviewing some fine vintage books.

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  3. Oh dear. You wouldn't like to see the state of my books when I've finished reading them. 'Dog-eared' is only the half of it. My favourite trick is to fall asleep with a book and next morning….

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    1. Sarah, clothes tags and labels make for excellent bookmarks. If I don't bookmark a page then I usually memorise the page number which I promptly forget. These days I fall asleep with my tab rather than a book.

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  4. I think I could follow this church. :)

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    1. Charles, me too, though I'd have a difficult time adhering to these rules as well.

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  5. This is a great set of rules, Prashant, and humorously presented. I definitely have sinned with the 8th commandment: do not "buy more than you can read, nor hoard them."

    I wish I could read 3 books at a time. I do have a couple of non-fiction books going with a fiction book, but the non-fiction take ages to read and I have a go at them between books usually. I never have successfully read more than one mystery at a time.

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    1. Tracy, thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed them. I like posting occasional trivia. If I'd stuck to my rule of reading three books at a time, in 2013, then I'd have read more than I eventually did. Clearly, three books is the exception rather than the rule in my case. I, too, take a longer time reading non-fiction as well as the Classics which I don't rush through. I hope to read more mysteries this year.

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  6. Grin. And all the best in the New Year for you and yours.

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    1. Ron, thank you. It was fun. All the very best to you and your family too!

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  7. Have the happiest and bookishness of New Years.

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    1. You too, Patti, absolutely! Your wonderful blog has sustained my interest in blogging.

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  8. Happy New Year to you and your family Prashant.

    Well done on the Commandments. Now, how many have you broken in the last year?

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    1. Bill, I wish you and your family the same. Thank you for the appreciation. I broke every one of them last year...and the year before...and the...

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  9. Prashant, I think I would do well to follow the commandments. I'll try but you know what I'm like!

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    1. Col, make a small chit of the commandments, put them in your shirt pocket, and then go out and do exactly what you want to do. The first three days of this year have gone by without any new book purchase; I'm feeling rather proud of myself.

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    2. Prashant - so far so good,

      I haven't bought anything myself, but I have downloaded a couple of freebies I was tipped off to on New Year's Eve! It would have been impolite not to.

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    3. Col, good for you. Last evening, I registered on Net Galley after I noticed that it was the source of some of the books you reviewed on your blog. I'm still trying to get the hang of it but it looks promising. I know I'm only adding to my misery!

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  10. Haha........well done! I shouldn't have to drown in a sea of books on my own.

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    1. Col, in my case it's a sea of books and comic books! Actually, I thought Net Galley might be open only to Americans, or other Western readers, and I was delighted to find that it wasn't. I hope they have some good westerns in stock. I also wonder how the site makes revenue; I'm guessing it's from publishers.

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  11. Honestly, I could never give away my books until it was clear that my time on this earth was very short, It's in my will to donate my books and other assorted reading materials to a open-minded place that let's any and all people read whatever they wish, without said place behaving at times like the proverbial 'Thought Police'. Something like the late, lamented 'A Change Of Hobbit', who closed their doors in 1991. What I'm saying is, yes, I am a book hoarder, get me into a convention dealer's room with a credit card, you have to admit, having an addiction to books is a lot healthier than most other obsessions, true?

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