Halfway through October and I have not completed a single book.
This has not happened in a very long time. While I always have a few books on the go at any one time (four right now), I can usually rotate at least one of them within a day or two. Granted, all of my current reads are each over 400 pages (Cutting for Stone, Grand Pursuit, The Woman in White, and In My Time), and for the most part I'm enjoying them (or at least they are holding my attention), but I feel so ..... unproductive.
Which is stupid, I know, because there are people who probably don't read four books in a year. And reading is supposed to be pleasurable and something done for quality instead of quantity. Yet when I see all of the books on my to-read shelf, patiently waiting, and those books I've received and committed to review, I get anxious. Yes I'm a bookaholic and my head knows that I really don't need to bring any more books into the house for a very (very, very) long time, but don't we all want to participate in conversations about new books, books discussed on blogs and in other media, and/or books we just plain want to read?
*** ACK *** I feel my head is about to explode. Ah, well, the best remedy for that is to go back to my reading.....
How do you handle reading overload? Can you strike a balance between quality and quantity, or does quantity even matter when it comes to reading?
Glad its not just me. Last month I read 9 books. Its now Oct 13 and I have completed 1 - The Fellowship of the Ring. I have started plenty of others, but haven't got anywhere. I have finally started the second book I will finish this month, Jasper Fforde's The Big Over Easy, and I am enjoying that a lot.
ReplyDeleteI am about to go on a 2 week holiday, and I have packed 4 books - hopefully I will get through those.
I have also been in a reading slump for the past few months, and the only way I have gotten anything done is by forcing myself. You are right about it being anxiety producing when you see all the books that are slated for review, and you can't get the motivation to read them. I think the best thing to do is to find something that you know will be a comfort read for you and go with that. It may just jolt you back into reading again.
ReplyDeleteI know the feeling although I haven't read that little myself for a long time. But any time a book takes me longer than 3 days I get a bit irritable. Four days or more and I go mad. I like to finish my books in 2 or 3 days.
ReplyDeleteI guess you'd better concentrate on one book and get that finished to have a sense of achievement.
The Woman in White was actually one of those books that got me irritable for taking so long. :-)
Suzanne, don't fret over it. Just enjoy the reading that you do, when you are able to do it. I guess what I'm trying to say is don't force it. You'll find yourself back in rhythm again before you know it. Have a wonderful weekend! Cheers! Chris
ReplyDeleteI went into a reading slump because the book I was looking forward so much was in tiny print!!
ReplyDeleteCarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com
I would tackle whichever book you are the closest to the end of as it will both make you feel more accomplished, and shorten your list of books you are reading, giving you more time to tackle the rest. Book slumps suck and my remedy was to A) get RID of the book that caused the bad juju (and that meant get it out of my house) and B) read only my very favorite kinds of books (memoirs). Also if you are worried about the number of books you've read, throw a YA or middle reader book in, or an audio book as those always help me with keeping my numbers up. Normally I don't worry too much about my numbers but I am trying to hit 100 this year.
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