Sunday, April 3, 2011

Woe is Me

(Trivial, whiny post alert! You've been warned.) 

Belmiro de Almeida - A má notíciaI need help. 

Lately, I haven't been reading much. (Hence, the reason I changed my review request page to indicate that I'm no longer accepting review requests.) 

Funny thing, I've read a lot of older Marion Chesney books but reviewing them takes almost as long as reading them; they're so short. I read them because they're funny, lighthearted, short, and I have TONS of them. They don't require an emotional investment but they promise a good laugh or two. Sometimes, I forget them the day after I've read them.

I still have a pile of half-read books that I either lost interest in or never really got interested in the first place. I'm coming to the swift conclusion that even though I prefer a cleaner read, I don't care much for young adult books. Why? Not sure. I have a copy of Poison Study and a copy of Uglies, both of which I'm afraid to start for fear of a monumental letdown. Perhaps the YA books I've tried have not lived up to the hype?

Then there's the eBook situation. I don't own a Kindle or Nook and I have to say, I do NOT like reading books on a computer screen. I have a huge "pile" of eBooks, some I actually paid money for (and no, the others are NOT pirated) and I can't even bring myself to read them with the nifty Kindle for PC app I use. 

*sigh* 

Tell me, what do you do when you get the reading woes? Do you take some time off, find other things to interest you until your reading love rekindles? Do you read anything and everything you can get your hands on in an effort to force yourself through the slump? Do you even get the reading woes? 

Signed, 
Desperate for an escape into fiction

P.S. I know that in the grand scheme, all this is trivial. However, I'd still love any advice you, my lovely readers, might be willing to share. 

4 comments:

Rachel Rossano said...

I am sorry to hear about your reading woes. I can completely relate right now if you add in limited free time and too much to do. ;)

My usual solution is to go back and reread favorites. Another solution (depending on the kind of woes I am having) I usually try is burying myself in writing or watch something I am almost guarranteed to enjoy. Have you tried Little Dorrit, the BBC miniseries? I think you would enjoy it. Or Bleak House? Having read half of Redemption (the reason I haven't finished is no time, not lack of interest) and reading the descriptions of your other books, I am certain you will enjoy them, if you haven't already.

I know I was having a major case of feeling bland and detatched when I watched Tangled with my hubby last night. Yes... it is light, sweet, perdictable, and girly, but sometimes I need a bit of that. ;) Back to my point, the climax gave me a great idea for Wren. Now I am hopefully off on a running start to tackle the ending. We shall see.

Boy! I am rambling. Sorry. I hope I helped. :)

- Rachel :)

S.M. Carrière said...

I've been there! When I graduated University, it honestly took me an entire year before I picked up a book again. When I did start reading, I chose a much-loved already read book to get me started. I devoured it, and soon was into reading new stuff. I read two books a week for several months before I slowed down.

Rachel is right, go back to the favourites. Failing that, read out of your genre... pick up some classic Sci Fi (may I suggest Frank Herbert's Dune?) or some epic Fantasy (Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen series). At worst, it will remind you why you like reading your preferred genre so much. At best, you might stumble across a series/book you find you absolutely adore.

If it's any consolation to you, there are very few YA novels I can handle either. I'm much more into books written specifically for adults.

The Heartless Gamer Girl said...

Very good advice from both of you! Thank you so much! :o)

Rachel, I love Bleak House and I've seen bits and pieces of Little Dorrit (hubby LOVES it). You definitely know what I'd like. lol I wish you the best in your writing endeavors. Ironically, lack of interest in reading makes me want to write. That doesn't work so well when research is required...

Sonia, I'm actually taking your advice and before you ever offered it! Too funny. I started reading Jeremy Robinson's Kronos (thriller) a few days ago. It's interesting and it helps that hubby read it in less than a week. (He usually takes months to read a book that he likes so the fact that he couldn't put this one down means it's REALLY good.) I'm not sure what my problem with YA books is. Oh well.

QNPoohBear said...

I'm sorry you don't like the YA books you've read. You can check out my blog for some suggestions for good books I've read. I prefer kisses only or just a hint of romance (in children's books). You might want to try out some books published 100 years or so ago. The romances are sure to be clean.

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