Jan 31 - Line for the day

'How did a flying boy first meet a certain one-handed pirate?'
- Back cover, Peter and the Starcatchers, by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson

Everything about the outside of this book is exciting. The obvious Peter Pan reference, the front cover which calls it a 'rip-roaring pirate-filled adventure', its fantastical yet piratey cover image, a suitably fat paperback that promised to be a thrilling read. Yet this book has been sitting on my shelf for years, and I have yet to read it. There is nothing about it which is stopping me. It somehow just never gets read. I wonder how many more such books are there in my bookshelves. Actually, I don't have to wonder. Straight of the bat, I remember those Indiana Jones books on the top shelf. Again, something I've been meaning to read for ages, but they are just gathering dust.

Why is it that there are some books that you really want to read, buy and display in prominent places, and then just never manage to pick up. Even when I get the time and don't have a book in mind, my hand never goes towards these books. I'll either re-read some oldies, or do something else. And I never really forget these books. I know they are waiting for me. But somehow, I don't actually want to read them.

Peter and the Starcatchers. The first thing I loved was the name. Its just the kind of name to want to pick up and read about. Then I loved its image, its nice blue-white twilightish colors. Even the back story was compelling. Sometimes, you can get everything right, and still lose.