Mr. Bemis is a bank teller and loves to read. His wife despises his reading addiction and even tears up one of his books. Bemis' reading also gets him into trouble at work. He is so absorbed in his reading that he can't count out the proper amount of money for a customer. When called to the supervisor's office, he complains that he can't read at home. He had resorted to reading the label of the ketchup bottle but his wife even stopped him from doing that.
One day during his lunch break, he sneaks off to the bank vault to read the Charles Dickens novel "David Copperfield". Suddenly, a bomb blows up while he is inside. Once he recovers, he comes out of the vault to find that a nuclear war has taken place, everything is destroyed and he is the only survivor.
He searches through the rubble for signs of any other survivors. He finds no one but he does discover enough food to sustain him indefinitely. The boredom and loneliness begin to affect him, however. He discovers a revolver and plans to shoot himself in the head when he notices the sign marking the ruins of the public library. He is overjoyed to find that the books are still intact.
He finds the works of Shakespeare, George Bernard Shaw, Shelley, Keats and Browning. He piles up books to read each month for the years to come. He drops a book and bends over to pick it up. As he does so, he drops his glasses on the concrete steps. The lenses shatter. He is now unable to read the books, just when he had finally found the time to read them. He claims that "it's not fair!"
The goal - to whittle down a To Be Read pile of books nearing 300. When looking at my bookshelves inspires guilt rather than joy, it's time to admit I have a problem and to do something about it.
I invite anyone who has come to realize that their TBR pile has grown large enough to stock a small-town library to join me in my quest.
Ready. Set. Go.
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