I've decided that I need to do something about the way I read. My classic style is get a whole pile of books from the library and read them at the same time. I tend to get sick of books easily, so this is the way that I kind of balance what I read and keep everything fresh.
But lately, I've discovered a problem with that. It keeps things too fresh. When I favor one book over another, by the time I go back to the first, I've forgotten who people are and why they're doing what they're doing. If this happens, I can't judge the book and say it's too confusing because I am the one who's taken too much time away from it. This happened with Fellowship of the Ring. (I finally finished it today. YIPPEE!) I was reading and thinking, "Who in middle earth is Boromir and why is he traveling with Frodo?"
And there's another problem. Reading the way I read doesn't help me to really think about what I'm putting into my head because I'm just thinking about finishing up my current pile of books and going on to the next one. I could be analyzing, learning, taking notes...okay, maybe that's going a bit far. But I want to really enjoy and understand what I read and if I'm only giving a book half of my attention, I'm cheating the author and myself.
So. Since I've finished "The Fellowship(etc.)", I'm going to finish "Player's Ruse"(last in a trilogy by Hilari Bell - questionable content) and Eldest (Christopher Paolini). Then I'll read "Return of Rowan Hood" (Nancy Springer) and I'll be finished with my pile.
If you guys - gals - have any other suggestions for me after that, feel free to voice them here. Otherwise, I'm sure I can find more material in the book world if I don't want to start "The Two Towers" right away. I'd also like to hear about how you read. Are you happy with it? Or have you ever thought about it?
Also, I've decided to go with the polls on my book reviews. I'll start inserting them in here this week.
I'll be flying home from Georgia tomorrow morning. It was a great and true vacation. PA/NJ was a vacation, but it was way more stressful, and that takes out some of the fun.
Blessings!
Ellyn
3 comments:
This is exactly what I am going through right now! I have been re-reading "Fellowship" because I missed middle earth, but I had a hard time enjoying it because I felt like I needed to be reading one of my other new books. Self-inflicted guilt while reading is no fun, so I am learning to let it go and read for fun!
I can't wait to hear about Georgia!
~Margaret Rowena
Hey Ellyn, Would you Post/take/email me some photosof your horse(s) That could be used on the cover of my book it's Title is "Zanzibar" and it is about a wild horse named Zanzibar and a boy named Eli Who tames Zanzibar With The Guidance of a teen age Native American boy named Achi(ah KYE) And By Helping Eli Earns His Feather and the love of the chiefs Daughter. ☺ :)
Yeah, I, er, tend to read the same way:). There's one book on my pile (I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith) that I really like but has been on my pile for months cause I always have something else to read:).
Book recommendations? I could go on for hours.:D My favorite books, though-
The Goose Girl and River Secrets by Shannon Hale (do you like those? I can't remember.)
Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier
The Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope (one of the cleanest books I've ever read!)
The writing quality in each of those is stunning:).
Maybe I'll just post a list of fav books on my blog sometime;)
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