I am going through a rough reading patch - this has happened to me before but not for a while now and I want to find a cure! My problem is that I can't seem to find one book and just stick to it - I have started about 10 different books in the last week and none of them are grabbing me and making me want to go on - HELP!!! I definitely have the itch to read - I just can't find the right book to scratch that itch.
I am still reading Gone With The Wind, slowly but surely, and I am enjoying it - but it has lost that new book sensation for me and I think I need something else to inspire me.
I have picked up a few new selections over the weekend - both purchases and library pickups. I bought The Marriage Bureau For Rich People by Farahad Zama - I had read lots of great reviews of it in some magazines so when I saw it in a local independent bookshop I snapped it up. I also picked up Drood by Dan Simmons and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson from my library yesterday - just not sure they are the books to pick me back up and throw me into my reading swing??
I would love some help - if you have read the books I have listed I would love to hear what you think of them - or I would love to hear of any great books you have finished lately that have made you forget about everything else and have just made you read, read ,read!!
14 comments:
I know exactly what you mean about Gone with the Wind - I'm reading it too, but it is just so long and daunting. I love reading it, but keep feeling I should be reading other things, so I can actually write a few blog reviews!
I haven't read the other books you mention, but Dragon Tattoo is a chunkster too, so I imagine it has the same effect as GWTW.
Have you read The Hunger Games yet? If not, I'm sure that will cure your reading blues.
Good Luck with whatever you decide.
Hi Farmlanebooks - thanks for your support - it's always nice to know others are feeling the same way! Who is the author of The Hunger Games? I haven't heard of it before...
I hate it when the reading mojo seems to be gone. I was struggling to settle down with one book last night. I finally had to add a new one :)
I get these too and they are really hard to get over, at least that's what I find. I have no idea what to suggest to get over this except maybe trying something that easy and doesn't require much to thought, mindless reading.
ha! i just wrote a post this week about 'literary polygamy' and how i bounce from book to book to book. :) don't fret...it happens to the best of us.
That happens to me ALL THE TIME! And I have so many books that it's just so easy to throw one down and begin another one.
I'm reading Peter Carey's His Illegal Self at the moment which is awesome and I recommend.
I read The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield at the beginning of last year - it was unputdownable, and I think it's guaranteed to cure your short reading attention span :)
The Hunger Games is written by Suzanne Collins. You can read my review here: http://www.farmlanebooks.co.uk/?p=618
I've been in a bit of a reading slump as well lately, so I don't think I'll be much help to you, unfortunately. I did just read "The Ghost In Love" by Jonathan Carroll, which was a pretty quick read and a story that I was sucked into almost immediately, so you might want to try that (although it is quite fantastical, so if that's not your kind of thing, then you should not read it, obviously!). Also, I read Gentlemen & Players by Joanne Harris earlier this year, and I would read it for hours on end, because I couldn't stop turning the pages. It's about someone who sets out to destroy an all-boys school in England that they were excluded from when young. It was quite sinister and dark, but was punctuated by moments of wit and humor; I really enjoyed it, and Harris plotted her thriller impeccably. So many twists!
I too am reading Gone with the Wind right now, and I agree--it has lost that new book feel! I was going through my shelves last night the same as you, reading through first chapters and trying to decide. I think I am just going to do a poll!
Sometimes reading short stories or some nonfiction helps me when I can't pick a novel. Just going away from the form a bit seems to help...and sometimes re-reading an old favorite will do the same. Sounds like you have some great options, at least!
Diane Setterfield's The Thirteenth Tale helped pick my reading spirits up a while back. I think it's the perfect pick-me-upper, but I'm not sure if maybe you've already read it. I want to finish GWTW this month, to start afresh in April. :D
Oh and how can I forget.. Nicole Krauss's The History of Love just made me believe in contemporary fiction again!
Hi Iliana - it is very frustrating - it makes me feel unlike myself which is always a yucky feeling!
Hi thatsthebook - I think that is a good suggestion - I don't have the energy for too much at the moment which I think is one of the problems.
Hi booklineandsinker - I loved that post of yours!
Hi Megan - thanks so much for the suggestions. I was going to read that Peter Carey book when it first came out but never got around to it. I have read The Thirteenth Tale and totally agree with you - a great read.
Hi farmlanebooks - thanks! I did check out your review and the others you had linked to - sounds like a very interesting story.
Hi Steph - thanks for reminding me about Joanne Harris - I think I have read all of her books except that one so I will definitely check it out.
Hi eveningreader - thanks for those suggestions - I do have lots of non fiction lying around that I could pick up and a book of Alice Munro's short stories that have been waiting for me for ages.
Hi Claire - I think it might be wishful thinking for me to believe I might finish GWTW this month - but I will give it a go! I remember your review of The History of Love and I thought it sounded fabulous so I will look it up too - thanks!
I just found your blog via Jackie's Farm Lane Books award post - and I first have to tell you that I LOVE your header picture!! I have had the wonderful opportunity to visit Bath twice (for about 2 hours each time) and would love to spend some real quality time there some day.
I have also had reading slumps and totally understand how you feel. I just recently read The Help by Kathryn Stockett (not sure about international availability) and found it delightful. I think I read the 400 page book in about 2 days.
I look forward to following your blog.
Hi Molly - welcome to BookBath - so glad you found me! I'm looking forward to checking out your blog now. Bath is the most gorgeous place in the world to me - I'm hoping I will get to go back there when we are in England later this year.
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