Maybe this is just my subconscious making choices I’m not even consciously aware of, but there have been times where I’ll want to get into something (not always a book), and it felt as if the choice was already made before I actively made it.
In the context of books, I was sitting here thinking about what I want to read next, and was considering a bunch of books that seem dark and mysterious (Dracula, Slewfoot, Frankenstein, Six of Crows), and my indecision made me think of a scene I’ve heard from The Bell Jar about figs falling from a tree from indecision. And just like that, without me actually making the choice consciously, my mind latched onto The Bell Jar and I couldn’t shake it. Now I feel like I have to read it or it’ll just continue to bug me if I don’t. It’s like the book chose me, not the other way around. So I guess I’m reading The Bell Jar now.
Sometimes a book will follow me around for ages, is how I think of it. I’ll keep noticing it wherever I go (mostly because I go into any bookstore in my path); eventually I will be worn down by its persistence.