Nearing year-end, still reading, yes

Practicing pipa has taken up a sizable chunk of my time, but I think I'm actually getting somewhere with this.  I plunged into the art of pipa knowing next to nothing, only that I was picturing an image of myself that I would like to one day become, and pipa was in the picture.  I suppose I owe this in part to my adoration, fine, infatuation, with TTL, and somehow there's a tenuous link that only makes sense to me.  

My list of finished books is pathetically short this year, I was going through it the other night and found that I actually managed to finish four books on the Silk Roads, though one of which I recall almost nothing (Mental Note: re-read that book).  I'm still pursuing that thread in my future reading.  Now that there's the prospect of visiting one of the key places that often turns up in Silk Roads books, I'm more motivated to read about this subject.  

Right now I'm reading "Villette" by Charlotte Brontë.  This is the only book I have genuinely enjoyed for quite some time.  I'm only about one eighth of the way through, but already I expect this to be a book that's thoughtful, carefully written, and takes its time.  The narrator has sensibilities that echo to a certain degree with mine, dare I say it, and a quality I normally find only in British literature.  As I was reading the book, I realized that my limited proficiency in the language a few years ago would not have made it possible for me to enjoy the book, but now I'm more equipped to share in the author's thoughts and life journey.  A rewarding realization.  Many of the books I've purchased over a decade ago, I've purchased too early, only now am I truly prepared to appreciate them.  But better now than never.