So many books, so little time: Looking forward to The White Nile

When it comes to reading, I don't make New Year's resolutions, though every year I mentally tell myself I'll buy fewer books, and read more of the ones I already have. Last year, I kept half my promise. I bought just about a dozen secondhand books but read so few that there was hardly any point writing about them.

This year, somewhat surprisingly, things have gone the other way.

Less than two weeks into 2019, I had already added four "new" books to my groaning TBR shelves and, happily, read an equal number. My aim is to finish at least seven books and novellas a month, along with as many short stories and poems as I can manage. Time, however, is not on my side, so I'll be reviewing only a select few each month.

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Of the four books I picked up at the Books by Weight exhibition, the one I'm eager to read is my Penguin edition of The White Nile, 1960, by Alan Moorehead, the Australian-born war correspondent and writer of popular history. 

I've been curious about this book for quite some time. It chronicles the exploration of the Nile in the second half of the nineteenth century, when much of central Africa remained unknown to Europeans and the river's source was still one of geography's great mysteries.

Part travel narrative, part history, The White Nile has earned a reputation as a classic account of adventure and discovery. Its blend of historical detail, larger-than-life personalities, and dramatic expeditions has kept it in print for more than six decades. 

Separately, my wife picked up three books—Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen as a replacement copy, Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton, and The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit.

I also bought a few ebooks, but that's a guilt trip for another day.