The other day I was swapping books with my friend Kevin. I
brought him Game of Thrones because
everyone should read it, and I was perusing his book options and grabbed Ender’s Game. I then found another book
I wanted to borrow, but instead of giving it up immediately Kevin wanted to
know if I was currently reading something.
For people that read in a linear fashion, this question was
appropriate. The issue was that Kevin had not yet read the book I wanted to
borrow, so he was trying to determine if I would get through Ender’s Game, this book, and another
book if I was reading one before he would finish his current book and Game of Thrones. I don’t really think of
books that way, so it was a new concept for me. I’m now wondering if that’s how
most people read: one book after another in the order you get them.
As for me, typically I’m reading around 3 books at a time.
This is a large part of why my house always looks cluttered.
As I glance around my living room there are currently 11 books sitting around.
I long ago started running out of space on my bookcase, so I now keep various
stacks of books. Some are meant to go back to friends, some I’m just getting
rid of, and I currently have a stack of books I’m debating whether or not to
keep.
How many of those books am I currently reading? Well, not
all 11. That would be excessive.
This week, I find myself in the midst of several books. I’ve
been reading Les Miserables since the
end of December. Unfortunately I have it on my iPad, so I rarely read it at
home. I’m still torn on the e-reader debate. There are definitely some
benefits. I actually downloaded Les
Miserables while stuck in an airport. When traveling, it is convenient to
be able to take my iPad with several books on it and not worry about finishing
them and running out of reading material. However, it drives me insane that I
can’t read while a plane is taking off or landing. Inevitably I end up taking
both my iPad and one regular book.
It’s a very rare case where I can bring myself to read off
the iPad at home. I prefer the feel of a real book. I can make exceptions for
book club selections when I’m trying to read something by a specific date, but
otherwise I just find myself waiting until the next time I travel.
So while I am currently reading Les Miserables, I have no plans to finish it in the near future.
I have two other books that I’ve been reading for quite
awhile. In This Skin, by Simon Clark,
and Dead City. Both are horror
stories, and I’m about halfway through both. I stopped reading for now though
because they were FREAKING ME OUT. I do like a good horror story, but
eventually I get to this point where I have to stop or I won’t be able to sleep
at night.
Back in college, I could more easily finish these kinds of
books because I was constantly living with other people. It was perfectly okay
for me to sit and read while everyone else watching tv or played a video game.
I don’t really have that opportunity much anymore. What am I going to do, call
my friends up and say “hey can you come sit around my house while I read a
scary story?” Nope. I’m holding both of these books until the summer. I do much
better out by the pool. Warmth and sunshine are still very acceptable methods
of keeping the boogie men at bay.
What am I actively reading in the house? About four books.
One I’m actually re-reading, and that would be The Lady of the Forest. Since I’ve read it many, many times before
there’s no sense of urgency. Another book I just started is Neverland. I’m finding it hard to read.
Typically I like to read while I’m snacking, or eating dinner. This book has
been quite descriptive, and there’s a hardcore ick factor to it. I may end up
saving it for the summer as well. Then I have The Forest House, which I think I started Wednesday after finishing
Sex, Lies, and Online Dating. It’s
good so far, but will probably take a bit to get through. The last book I’m
actively reading is The White Queen
by Philippa Gregory. I’m a little over halfway through but they’ve killed off
some of the characters I like, and I can’t decide whether I’m invested enough
in the main character to finish or not.
That’s why besides those four, I have two other books you
could say I’m “reading.” I started both The
Needle in the Blood and Mona Lisa
Awakening in the last few weeks, but I haven’t gotten very far in either,
and at this point I’m pretty sure I’m just not going to read them.
There are many books in the world I have started, but never
finished. This can happen for various reasons. If I don’t like the main
character, if I heartily disagree with something they do in the book, if I
don’t like the writing, or if at the end of the day I’m just not sucked in.
In Mona Lisa Awakening
and The Needle in the Blood I like
neither the characters or writing. I haven’t yet firmly decided to give up on
them. Again, I’m not very far in either book. Maybe it gets better? But with so
many other options I haven’t felt like devoting the time to books I don’t
particularly like.
Surely this is how other people read as well?
So I guess I can understand Kevin’s concern that I might not
finish a book before he’s ready for it. On the other hand, I borrowed Ender’s Game on Friday, and I finished
it yesterday. Why? Because it was AWESOME. When I focus on a book I get through
it very quickly. That at least must be the same for everyone that reads.
So I have five books on my coffee table that need to be read. I just bought two more actual books not less than an hour ago because I went to a bookstore and couldn't help myself (who puts a bar in a bookstore?). Yesterday I downloaded two free books on my Kindle. Le sigh...However, I will probably have all of these books read before most people read a book.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar issue with the book Telegraph Avenue over the holidays. It was a hard book to get into and I hated all the characters at first. I gave it a chance and ended up being pleasantly surprised that I liked it at the end. Now if someone else would finish reading it so I could talk about it with someone...That's my problem. No one reads the same things so I can't talk about them with anyone.
I read an article at the beginning of the year that said that most Americans read 4 books per year. I read 6 in January. I'm keeping track now because well, I need to know what my deal is. If reading was a sport I'd be a champion.