One thing, though, that writing tends to get in the way of, is reading.
Normally I'm a pretty fast reader, but lately I've been chugging through books at a ridiculously slow rate, well for me anyway.
I've been reading Behemoth for over two weeks now, and even though I'm loving it, I'm still only on like chapter thirteen.
Normally it wouldn't be such a big deal, but I set that goal to read 55 books in 2011. So far, I've read 13, which is a little over 3 a month. That is not even close to cutting it.
I think what I need to do is get some more of the Ranger's Apprentice series (LOVE IT). Those are short and fast, so I could read some of those, update my list and feel like I'm moving in the right direction.
The only problem with that plan, though, is I already have a huge TBR pile with some great books I'm excited to read (an ARC of divergent, as example) so I don't think it would be fair to get some new books and move them to the top of the pile, just to inflate my numbers a bit and make me feel better.
Sigh. Ah well. Clearly I just need to get down to it.
How's your TBR pile coming?
30 comments:
The nice thing about an e-reader is that I don't have as many books gathering dust.
It doesn't stop the TBR pile from getting any smaller, but at least I don't have to clean as often. :)
I think you're being too hard on yourself. You've had a lot going on the last couple of weeks, reading should be fun, not a chore.
If you're not liking what you're reading right now...Change it. There's no such thing as the book police. They won't ticket you for not finishing the book in a timely manner. Put it down, find something else, and pick it up again later in the summer when you might enjoy it again.
I've been reading a really good thriller. I didn't plan on reading it but then again, I don't ever have a set TBR list...just a TBR room.
I'm off YA for a while...at least the new stuff I was getting from the library, but this is neither here nor there.
I don't want to be at work today.
Maria - ooh man i want an ereader so so bad! I'm planning on saving up my money for one
Anne - i'm actually really enjoying Behemoth, it's just frustrating when i feel like i should have breezed through it already, but instead i'm just plugging along
Hannah - i told myself i'm not really allowed to buy any more books until i get through most of my TBR pile.
And yeah i hear you about work
I can't read when I'm writing, especially in the final chapters. That's something I jumped on the same day that I finished FOUR, though. I read and critted one of my CP's books Saturday, then sat down on the library website and put holds on as many books as they would let me. Part of me wants to start revising my novel, but a bigger part of me wants to freakin' READ.
My pile is being neglected lately. Too much other stuff to do but I sure do miss my reading.
I feel like I've been reading slower than usual too! But it's probably because I'm so immersed in my own writing, which I guess isn't a bad thing.
ohman, sarah. i wouldn't worry about it. do what your passion is telling you to do, and don't freak about the reading. you are accomplishing something very important, and you set that 55 book goal, give yourself permission to not worry about it. a read in patches. when i'm having writer's block, or when life is not-so-eventful then i go on a reading binge. but even then i read slowly... right now i'm reading three books, they are all amazing, but it's been months on one of them. sometimes, the language is so beautiful, the imagery so rich, that i must linger and reread passages and close my eyes and image the worlds and the characters... yeah. i'm a pokey reader.
My TBR pile never gets smaller. It seems to only get bigger no matter how much I read.
My reading this year has been SLOW. I think I've only read 6 or 7 books--I blame editing. If I am WRITING, then I read on my commute and to unwind. When I am EDITING, I just can't justify reading something ELSE in that time when reading with a pen in hand fits that editing spot just fine... at the moment I am line editing my Garden Cozy (hopefully for the last time until page proofs?) and then I will get BACK TO a Circle of Friends that I am walking with, and The Hour I First Believed (a behemoth of a book I am reading at home very slowly)
How's your TBR pile coming?
Ever growing.
Though all my travel this last month has the one benefit of affording me more reading time (what with the airplanes and lack of DVR in the hotel room), so I've put away a couple books and a half dozen graphic novels recently.
If I count the recent Nook dowloads, the silly list is going the way of my waistline (and that ain't getting smaller).
Hey there Sarah! The problem with goals is that you always feel compelled to meet them. LOL I know this is circular. Goals are great, but they have to be realistic or you set yourself up for failure, eh hem, like all those lovely New Years resolutions that 90% of people have broken by now... :) So if you set unrealistic goals then you can set yourself up for disappointment OR a devaluation of goals in general. Maybe determine some priorities between where you're at in your writing vs. why you feel you've been slacking in the reading. Or instead of a yearly goal, set up monthly or weekly goals. Right now it sounds as if your goal would require about a book a week (or so, depending on the book of course)Some books (of average size) I've finished in a day, if they are a real page turner and the sentences flow easily, others like The Passage by Justin Cronin (800 or 900 pgs) have taken me several weeks to complete.
That's my thoughts for what its worth.
As for e readers... that's almost all I read except I use my Blackberry or my laptop to read them on. Most e book formats have software that is compatible with a smart phone or PC/Mac. I only purchase the paperback or hardbacks of the absolutely stellar books. (Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon, Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning, Kate Daniel Series by Ilona Andrews, I could go on and on... lol).
Well, happy reading and happy writing today, which ever you choose, and I'm glad that my hot man pictures on my blog made your morning today!
The title of your post says it all for me. It's bad in my neck of the woods. With reading, writing, critting. Everything.
The TBR is hiding in the closet because I can't stand to look at something I might never get to!
~JD
Summer - i think i actually do better reading while writing, as opposed to reading while editing. It's weird.
Jaydee - yeah that's my problem. I'm just so excited to read my TBR pile, and i'm frustrated by my uncharacteristic slow pace
Nia - yeah, that's how i've been justifying it for myself too.
Aspiring - 3 books?! That's crazy. I try real hard to only read one book at a time. I'm usually successful
Holly - i try to set limits on adding more to my TBR until i've gotten it down to a manageable amount
Hart - that is EXACTLY my issue - i'm always like, "why am i reading this, when i should be reading my own stuff?"
Teebore - yeah i bet that helps out tons. No upcoming travel for me though. I should probably just put aside some of my gaming
Linda - i'd love a nook, but i'm aware of the fact that my TBR pile would just skyrocket...
Joy - 55 is completely do-able for me. I think i read just under 50 last year and that was without even trying. I'm sure things will pick up soon for me. It's only the beginning of the year, after all
Justine - Maybe it's just that time of year for many of us
i'm betting your reading will pick up a little now that you're in the waiting game. last two weeks you were more motivated to work on your own writing stuff- probably even thinking about it when you were reading (therefore slowing you down)
not that you don't have other stuff to think about now
Too bad you, Hannah, and I couldn't play hookie from work today :-)
@Anne - I know!! It's so nice out! We could just play badmitton for like 8 hours and chill.
If you count ARCs, CP WIPs, and books on tape, I'm reading five books right now.
But I'm not very fast either.
After the books i bought the other day my TBR pile is about ready to overwhelm me. If you hear a landslide of books please save me. :)
Aah. The TBR pile. It never seems to go down, no matter how many I read. I set myself the goal of reading 55 this year and so far I'm just about on target. But December is a bad month for me, so I need to get ahead now.
Don't beat yourself too much though, otherwise you'll take out all the enjoyment of reading.
Ellie Garratt
OMG! Badminton sounds AMAZING right now
alas, i'm stuck at work for another 3 hours- and i'm short 3 staff after 7pm. Lucky me
:-(
Anne - Hooky for all of us would have been AWESOME
Hannah - OMg that would have been BADASS!
Matt - i definitely count ARCs. I don't know if i count the others. I've never given it much thought
Lindsay - check. Landslide of books = save Lindsay
Ellie - yay! 55 books just like me!
Anne - yeah it would have been great. Clearly your staff thought playing hookie was a good idea too
55 books is amazing!! I think it's perfectly okay (and wonderful) if your writing is decreasing your reading by a bit. Not a bad trade off, at all. It sounds like you're doing a lot so be proud!
I had a bit of a panic recently when I realised I'd finished my pile of books! Thank goodness for Kindle.
Sorry I've been MIA lately. I've been on hiatus trying to get stuff done. Unlike you, I feel like I'm going fast but getting further behind. *pouts*
Anywhoodles, I've only been reading that which I'm critiquing, for CPs and friends...I'm just now getting them all finished and back to their authors with my notes and feedback.
Yeah, so now that I have them done and *could* read something off my sky-high TBR stack, I need to get cracking on my revisions on my current project. Thus, NO READING FOR ME. (said in Soup Nazi voice)
Also, the weather fully broke...life is in bloom here (and hot), so I need to get a bunch of yard work done and beds cleaned up, the pool opened, etc.
(No reading for me. *sobs*)
Also, I play epic battles of badminton!
Hugs,
Lola
The TBR list? You mean that thing that's longer than Rapunzenl's braids and would trail off under the bushes if I dropped it off our fourth floor balcony? Weeelll.... one thing drops off.... four more hop on in the meantime. And I downloaded Kindle for PC. *Bad* girl! *Very* Bad Girl!!
Not good I seem to have little time for reading.
Saumya - well we'll see if i hit my goal
Lola - awwww! I wish it was hot here. Hell, i'd settle for warm without snow or rain
Yokohama - Hah! And yes, i mean that pile. Luckily i don't have an ereader yet. It would just make things worse
Al - but to be fair, you also have a pretty long train commute
*cough* Yeah, I definitely read IR so I can feel better about my numbers.
BUT I'm doing WAY better than I thought I would be, because I got sick and read books like a Fiend on a Sugar-High.
And grr to you. Now I have to add Ranger's Apprentice to my TBR pile. *sets books on pile and waits for pile to topple*
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