All Hail the Reading Slump

Last week, I was on a roll.  I was reading books left and right.  I was diving straight in and not coming up for air until they were done.  I was so excited about the new possible worlds to explore.  I knocked out most of my library books and tackled some TBR books.  And then it all came screeching to a halt.  A few days ago, I started a fairy tale retelling, got 20 pages in, and suddenly found myself in a slump.  I hated the book.  I don’t think it’s a horrible book, it just was the wrong time for it.  I didn’t feel at all connected with the book.  And so I gave up on it.  (This isn’t to say that I won’t read it in the future, but not right now)  Since then I have debated what to read next.  On my Goodreads account, I have listed that I’m currently reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.  I’ll tell you a secret, I’m not really reading it right now.  I’m also not reading Scott Pilgrim.  Those are sitting here staring at me, but I don’t really have a desire to pick them up.  I’m officially in a reading slump.  I think part of the reason is that the boys are coming on Tuesday.  I keep thinking of fun things to do with them and what we need to do before they come.  I am researching travel plans to get to the city and then each of the sites.  J wanted me to look into Fourth of July festivities also.  My mind has been preoccupied with other stuff.  And I haven’t had the desire to read.  So sad.  I started Vampire Academy (library loan), but I’m not totally feeling it.  I’m struggling to pay attention.  Maybe once the boys are here, I’ll be able to get back to some regular reading.  Hopefully…  Until then, ALL HAIL THE READING SLUMP!

  

 

BTT: Replay

 

 

Have you ever finished a book and loved it so much you went right back and started re-reading it again?

(And obviously, if so, we want titles!)

There have definitely been a couple of books I have done with.

The first was probably The Awakening by Kate Chopin.  I had to read the book for an hour long presentation for my 10th grade American Literature/U.S. History class.  We had to choose an American novel from a list.  I picked Huckleberry Finn, but too many others had also picked it.  So the teacher picked for me.  I was skeptical..  But once I finished the book, I went right back and read it again.  I loved it so much.  It has since become my favorite book.  One of those that I reread every other year or so, just to feel it again.

I’ve also done with this Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Twilight, and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.  All from my favorites bookshelf.  Some book you just have to reread and quickly!

 

I’ve Got the Funky Book Blues…

You ever have one of those weeks.  You know, the one where you are just in a reading funk.  the book is interesting, mildly entertaining, but somehow you get stuck.  You just can’t seem to finish it.  It sits on your nightstand (Finally!  I have a freaking nightstand after 8 weeks on backorder!).  It sits there and begs to be finished.  And yet, every time you pick it up and start to read something distracts you, like sleep, or a headache, or J needing something (he’s very needy with his free time).  You put it down after only reading ~10 pages.  All in all, it ends up taking forever to read a 400 page book.  Especially when in the past you have read a 400 page book in a day. Just like that…

I’m having one of those weeks.  I just can’t seem to get over the reading funk.  I contemplated joining a readathon starting this Thursday, but I just can’t get over this funk.  I have so many great looking books I want to get to.  They sit on the bookshelf next to my reading (and everything else) chair and cry out to me: Read me!  Review me!  Pass me along to another deserving reader!  And yet, they’re still there, because I can’t get through this stinkin’ book.  But I’m not ready to give up on it.  I only have 100 pages left.  I am determined to finish.  Even if I only read 10 pages a night…  that’s only 10 days, right?  I should get to reading now…  but there’s that style blog I was reading and my Google Reader is getting a bit out of control.  Damn you distractions!

 

 

Newly Organized Perpetual Reading Challenges

Just a quick note to tell you about some changes around here.

I had committed myself to two perpetual reading challenges (1,000,000 Pages and 1001 Books) but didn’t really have a place for them on the blog.  So, I added another page at the top to collect those stats.  And I added a progress bar on the right hand side.

Finally, I added another perpetual change to the list: NPR’s Top 100 SciFi/Fantasy Books as polled by listeners.  I’m really excited about this one.

My progress currently:

1,000,000 Pages — 3294 down, 967,338 to go

NPR list — 20% done

1001 Books — 6.9% done

Wonder how long these are going to take me? Stay tuned for the results.

 

BTT: Night Owl

What’s the latest you’ve ever stayed up reading a book? Is staying up late reading a usual thing for you?

I’ve stayed up all night to finish a book.  Two come to mind: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows and Eclipse.  I was so into the books that I just kept on reading.  Unfortunately, the day after reading Eclipse I still had to be at work and teaching by 8am.  That was killer!

I am finding that my advancing age is cutting on the ability to stay up reading all night.  Eventually my eyes tire out and I can’t even see the words on the page.  I try not to stay up too late reading.  But it does happen sometimes.

 

Book Blurbs: Love Em or Hate Em?

I just finished reading The Iron King by Julie Kagawa and absolutely loved it. I read it based off of the raving enthusiasm from Book Bloggers everywhere. So I picked it up at the library and sat and read, and read, and read, and shooed my kids away to read some more. I finished it. It was awesome. I grabbed The Iron Daughter so I could continue my reading. But before I did, I glanced at the back of the book. And here’s what it said:

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny–one she could never have imagined.

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan’s life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six.  She has never quite fit in at school… or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she’s know is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth–that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war.  Now Meghan will learn just how far she’ll go to save someone she cares about, it stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face… and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

And my initial reaction was…. Way to give away the spoilers.

Are we putting too many spoilers in book blurbs?  Do they give away just enough to entice readers to read books?  I’m torn on this.  On one hand, I definitely think this blurb gave away the spoiler of Meghan being a fey princess.  However, I also see the need for publishers to try and encourage readership.  If I was browsing at the book store and had never heard of this book, the blurb would have caught my eye.  As it is, I didn’t just find this at the store.  Book bloggers that I follow have been raving about this trilogy since it came out last February.  I didn’t read their reviews (I don’t like to spoil my views on the book while reading), but I did register that everyone gave it rave reviews.  So I decided to read it.  It seems like that’s how I’ve been finding books lately.  I skim through my GoogleReader notating when a reviewer loves a book and put it on my TBR list.  All in all, book blurbs matter less to me now than they did two years ago.  But does that mean we should be giving away “secrets” (truthfully I figured out Meghan parent issues in the first chapter, but nevertheless, I like the dramatic reveal) or being oblique to pull the reader?  I’ve definitely been pondering this today.  I imagine it’ll be stuck in my brain for quite some time now.

Any thoughts on the subject?  I would love to her comments.

 

I’m a Book Nerd, What Can I Say?

1. What author do you own the most books by? 

Definitely Anne Rice.  I’m pretty sure that I own the entire Vampire Chronicle series.  Diana Gabaldon comes in second with the entire Outlander series.  (Gearing up for my author readathon for July!)

2. What book do you own the most copies of?

I actually don’t think I own multiple copies of any book.  I used to have many copies of Persuasion by Jane Austen, but I gave many of those away to friends and family.  So, I’m back down to just one.

3. What fictional character are you secretly in love with?

Of course that has to be Captain Wentworth from Persuasion.  I would totally wait eight years for him.

4. What book have you read more than any other?

Persuasion, without a doubt.  Notice a nice theme here.

5. What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?

Probably From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg.  I absolutely loved the adventure and mystery.  Plus, like every 10 year old, I wanted to run away to somewhere exotic.  A museum is definitely exotic and I loved going to them.

6. What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year?

Notes from a Spinning Planet: Ireland by Melody Carlson.  Read why I couldn’t read it from my review.

7. What is the best book you’ve read in the past year?

I’m going to have to go with At the Scent of Water by Linda Nichols.  Amazing book!  I ran the gauntlet of emotions while reading the book.  There were times that I even had to put it down because everything got too overwhelming.  But that’s a good thing.  The book had a large affect on me.

8. If you could tell everyone to read one book, what would it be?

I’ll have to go with my favorite book of all time: The Awakening by Kate Chopin.  It’s not beloved of all people I meet, but it completely changed my life.  The story is so sad, but there’s a flicker of hope in the story.

9. What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read?

For the sheer density of the story, I would have to say Shakespeare.  Yeah, I know, not a book, but every line of his plays have multiple meanings.  It has taken me years to really truly appreciate him, but now I do.

10. Do you prefer the French or the Russians?

Russians, I guess.  I couldn’t get through much French literature, but loved the Russian playwrights.  For the record, I’ve never gotten through Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky, but they are on my TBR list.

11. Shakespeare, Milton or Chaucer?

Shakespeare all the way, especially the comedies.  Milton is too pompous for my tastes.  Chaucer’s fun, but not something I read again and again.

12. Austen or Eliot?

Umm.. Austen.  Have you read my blog?  I think my love of Austen comes across loud and clear.

13. What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?

Contemporary fiction.  Those best-selling “high fiction.”  I have pretty much covered the classics.  I have been on a romance kick lately.  I’ve always loved horror.  Been reading a lot of young adult stuff lately.  So, I’m going to have to go with contemporary fiction.

14. What is your favorite novel?

The Awakening by Kate Chopin, beloved since my sophomore year in high school.

15. Play?

Lysistrata or Much Ado About Nothing.  It’s really a toss up between those two.

16. Poem?

Anything by Emily Dickinson.  Her morbid, isolationist view of the world fascinates me.

17. Essay?

Common Sense by Thomas Paine.  Turned the tide for the rebel cause.  Heart changing.

18. Short Story?

Anything by Edgar Allan Poe.

19. Non Fiction

You Don’t Know Much About U.S. History...  really the entire You Don’t Know Much About series.  They are awesome little books to gain more knowledge.  Or if I was going more serious, The Federalist Papers.  I’m a U.S. History dork, it just seems appropriate.

20. Graphic Novel?

Fables: Legends in Exile.  Combined comics and fairy tales.  My two new favorite things.  I loved it!  And now I need to read the rest of the series.

21. Science Fiction?

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams — funniest book ever!

22. Who is your favorite writer?

Jane Austen for classics, Rick Riordan for contemporary fiction

23. Who is the most over-rated writer alive today? 

Couldn’t think of one, so going with an over-rated dead guy: John Steinbeck.  I just can never get into him.  I think I’ve read four of his novels and still can’t see the appeal.

24. What are you reading right now? 

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell.  I’ve really been meaning to read this for my Page to Screen and 2011 challenges.  I absolutely love the mini series.  So far, the books is reminding me of Jane Austen (but not as awesome).

25. Best Memoir?

I don’t really read memoirs, so can’t think of one to put here.

26. Best History?

I’m going to go with the classic Herodutus for history.

27. Best mystery or Noir?

Not really a big fan of mystery or noir.  I’m found only a few that I like, but should read more from the genre.  Nothing really jumps out at me.

28. What is in your pile of books ‘to be read’?

Good graciousness… where do I begin?  I have way too many books laying around my room and packed in boxes waiting to be read.  It’s just a bit crazy around my room.

29. Do you prefer to own books or to borrow them?

I would prefer to own my books, alas, I am poor.  I am very choosy when it comes to my book purchases.  (Except when it comes to the Borders closing sale and $1 clearance rack at Half Price Books.  I just can’t resist.)  I absolutely adore my local library, one of the best in the nation, and frequent it at least once a week.  I think I might have an obsession with my library.  But it says me money and I still get to read my books.

30. Do you write in your books?

Very rarely.  I have nothing against writing in the books, but I just really don’t do it very often.

 

BTT: Rut

All things being equal (money, space, etc), would you rather own copies of the books you read? Or borrow them?

I would definitely buy them.  I have a book buying addiction.  I love just looking at them all lined up on a shelf.  Surounded by a nice reading chair, a soft glow lamp, a cup of tea, and a comfy pillow, I would reveal in the beauty of the books.  Rarely, I would give away a very special book to a friend, but most would stay pretty on my shelf until I reread them.

Alas, I have neither money or space to buy books.  I borrow, and borrow, and borrow some more.

 

BTT: Rut

Do you ever feel like you’re in a reading rut? That you don’t read enough variety? That you need to branch out, spread your literary wings and explore other genres, flavors, styles?

Most definitely.  I get on reading kicks and can’t stop.  A couple of months ago, I started reading Christian historical romance and just kept reading.  Even after I stopped enjoying the genre.  I also go through different life phases.  In high school I read basically the classics of literature.  In college, I turned back to horror (Anne Rice mostly).  I tend to pick up a book and if I love it, I get more by that author and/or more just like it.  Sometimes this can be turn tiresome.  I find myself not really paying attention to what I’m reading.  Maybe because it’s the same style or even the same story.  I have to break myself out of the rut.

That’s why my blog and reading challenges are amazing; they are helping me branch out.  Sure I’m still reading a lot of what I already love, but I’m learning to try new genres and new authors.  Without the reading challenges, I would not have picked up The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff.  But I did, and I loved it!  It’s also turned me on some great books within the genres I love such as The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (zombies).

Now I just need to fix my time rut.  I never feel like I have enough hours in a day to read.  And when I schedule time to read, sometimes I feel like it’s a chore instead of a joy.  Need to work on that rut!

 

Reading Challenge Finished!

Today I finished my first big reading challenge!  I feel like I have hit a milestone…  it’s a great feeling of accomplishment.  You ask, what reading challenge?  Zombies, of course.  I didn’t think it would take me long to read 10 zombie books, but I thought it would take longer than this.  I tried to pick up a mix of genres for my weekly reading.  Yet, I somehow always ended up with a zombie book in there.  So here’s my list…  the first ten were my original picks way back in December.  As you can see, I picked up some others to ultimately finish the list.

1. The Undead World of Oz — Ryan Thomas
2. Zombies for Zombies — David Murphy (2/5/11)
3. Flip this Zombie — Jesse Petersen (2/13/11)
4. Zombies vs. Unicorns – Larbalestier
5. The Forest of Hands and Teeth – Carrie Ryan (5/17/11)
6. The Dead-Tossed Waves – Carrie Ryan (5/23/11)
7. You are So Undead to Me – Stacey Jay
8. Undead Much – Stacey Jay
9. Zombie Blondes – Brian James
10. Generation Dead – Daniel Waters
11. A Zombie’s History of the United States – Dr. Worm Miller (3/2/11)
12. Autumn – David Moody (3/6/11)
13. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dreadfully Ever After – Steven Hockensmith (4/10/11)
14. Autumn: The City – David Moody
15. Hungry for Your Love – Lori Perkins (4/21/11)
16. The Living Dead 2 – John Joseph Adams (5/9/11)
17. Once Bitten, Twice Dead – Bianca D’Arc (5/16/11)

I read some really good ones in there.  I think my favorite so far is Autumn by David Moody.  Very disturbing book, but not your typical zombie gore fest.  I still have the sequel Autumn: The City to read.  But I want to take a zombie break.

There’s still a question hanging in the air: Should I increase this reading challenge to 20 books and keep going?  Or just keep it here and focus on the other challenges?  Keep in mind that I will still read zombie books throughout the rest of the year, I just won’t have them count for a challenge!