Striving to learn

I love learning. There are many moments I imagine returning to school for the mere fact of learning and reading and discussing pieces of literature and writings I wouldn't pick up on my own. However, as that is unlikely (and really I don't crave the pressure of homework or tests), I pick up books from the library. It's not the same as a classroom environment, but it's what I can do. I suppose that might be partly why I enjoy reading nonfiction books so much. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good fiction read, I just typically gravitate towards the nonfiction section. Right now I'm reading The Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventures in Narnia by Laura Miller; The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8 Lee; Take Joy: a Book for Writers by Jane Yolen; Eat, Memory: Great Writers at the Table Edited by Amanda Hesser. And waiting in the wings are Mistress of the Monarchy by Alison Weir; Why Read the Classics? by Italo Calvino; Birth by Tina Cassidy. It may be said that I try to read too many books at once (I believe in this I am my father's daughter). It does fragment my attention a bit, but I just find so many interesting books I want to read! My eyes grow heavy too quickly at night.
I suppose the real reason I sat down to write this post, though, is actually the book I'm listening to as I commute between jobs, Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer's Life by Kathleen Norris. I'm not even a quarter of the way through this book, but I'm fascinated by this theological memoir. Norris examines her relationship with acedia (a demon of bad thought recognized by early monastics), a slothful, soul-weary indifference. I may not agree with all of Norris's theology, but I appreciate the careful way she is navigating through what could be a touchy subject. I'm learning of people and ideas I'd never heard of prior to this.