Choosing Between My Children

One of the most important things that I have learned in my 57 years is that life is all about choices. On every journey you take, you face choices. At every fork in the road, you make a choice. And it is those decisions that shape our lives. ~Mike DeWine

Once again it is time to make a choice. It really shouldn't be a difficult choice but, for me, it is. Choosing one necessitates that I don't choose another. Choosing to take one along for the ride means the others will be left behind, left behind and neglected, left behind and neglected and, essentially invisible, all but forgotten.

I just finished with two of them. Just finished a book of love poems in The Captains Verses by Pablo Neruda and a book on leadership titled Taking People With You by David Novak. Both were enjoyable in their own way, both stimulating to different hemispheres of my brain.

I have a number of books at hand. Do I jump into an autobiography? I have Gandhi and Mandela available. Do I peruse another leadership book such as Onward by Howard Schulz or any number of the Seth Godin free offerings or Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman? Perhaps the prose of Julie Otsuka that creates such stunning image. How about One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a book that many claim to be his masterpiece written in a style called magical realism. That style would be a first for me which is a very good reason for immersing myself in that novel.

I have been reading meaty books lately so a mystery would give my mind some time to rest while still being stimulated. I have The Snowman by Jo Besbo which is a book said to be perfect for Steig Larson fans of which I am one. I completely devoured his Girl With A Dragon Tattoo series. Perhaps another classic is just what I need. I have Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse which is a book steeped in Eastern Mysticism. I also have Walden by Thoreau, Ethics by Aristotle, Utopia by Sir Thomas Moore, The Prince by Machiavelli.

At home, I have a few books given to me, books that seem really interesting, books that have been collecting dust. The only problem is that they are bulky books and I want to read from my iPad. What should I read next? Sometimes, making the choice I must make feels like I am choosing between my children.