I recently read this article . . .

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LONDON (AFP) - Bestsellers by Bill Clinton, J.K. Rowling, and David Beckham are among the books Britons find hardest to finish reading, according to a survey published Monday.

Although the average reader spends more than 4,000 pounds ($7,760 dollars) on books in their lifetime, 55% admit they buy them for decoration and have no intention of reading them.

Topping the list of unfinishable fiction is "Vernon God Little" by DBC Pierre, which 35% said they could not plough through, followed by Rowling's "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" (32%). Ulysses" by James Joyce (28%) was at three and Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses" -- which prompted Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to issue a fatwa, or death sentence, against him in 1989 -- is at number six (21%).

The non-fiction list was led by the memoirs of former British Cabinet minister David Blunkett (35%), followed by ex United States president Clinton's 1024-page autobiography "My Life" (30%). Real Madrid star Beckham's "My Side", the fastest-selling autobiography of all time in Britain, comes in third (27%).

The survey also found that only 24% of people find time to read every day, with 48% saying that they were too tired to do so.

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and it got me thinkin' that, although I would not admit this at a literary soirée, I am certainly guilty of having books for decoration, and I certainly still own books that I just can't read:

Decoration and No Intention

1. Geoffrey Chaucer The Canterbury Tales (Nevil Coghill, Trans.). London: Folio Society, Vols. 1 & 2, 1966. (Beautiful old set including woodcuts purchased years ago at a used bookstore somewhere because I thought it not right for a lit major not to have a copy.)

2. J. K. Rowling Harry Potter a l'ecole des sorciers (Jean-François Ménard, Trans.). Paris: Gallimard-Jeunesse, 1998. (A friend bought this soft paperback for me as a nod to my love of French; a great but intimidating gift!)

3. Charles Dickens Charles Dickens' Book of Memoranda (Fred Kaplan, Transcriber). New York: New York Public Library, 1981. (A gift from my mom; excellent addition to all Dickens' novels, which I have read.)

Just Have Not Been (Yet) Able to Read

1. Jeanette Winterson The World and Other Places. New York: Vintage, 1998. (I believe I read one of her stories and liked it so I bought this collection, and I just can't get into it. I've failed twice. Not sure why.)

2. Dava Sobel Galileo's Daughter. New York: Penguin, 2000. (I know it is a bestseller and something I should be into, but I just could never get past the beginning.)

3. Simon Winchester The Meaning of Everything. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. (Again, seems right up my alley but I can't finish it. This might be more laziness on my part than anything else.)

There, I feel better ...