Tag: #amreading

On Not Reading…Again

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I could search through the archives on here and find several posts about not reading. I started the year on an all-time high. I’d finally reached my goal of 50 books in a calendar year. There was no stopping me. Fast forward two months and I haven’t read a single page since mid-January.

At first I was pacing myself. No need to fly through every book in sight. Then life happened. February gave me some phenomenal memories. Then things fell apart. I became distracted by every possible thing, besides my books. But I’ve made a recent decision that will hopefully give me lots of free time in the coming days, weeks, and months. What better to do than get back into a reading groove?

Just have to round the corner and get back into it.

A Scramble to the Finish

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I think just about everyone is ready to turn the page into 2021. Who knows what we have in store after this to tumultuous year?

Tonight I’ll finish my 40th book of the year. Simple math tells me I’ll have this month to read 10 books in order to reach my annual reading goal for the first time ever. Is it possible? Sure. Is it likely? No idea.

I entered October needing to read 24 books to reach the goal. Yes, I realize I was well behind with nearly half the books remaining. But eight in October and five in November have all led to this final, glorious month of December to finish. The problem won’t be the number of books I have left. The problem is really the books I have on my shelf to be read. As you can imagine, I’ve spent some time these last few months thinking about which books will get me to the finish line. But so many of the books I have are either lengthy, not interesting, or both. Now is not the time for a 550 page brick.

This may cause me to make another trip to my local Half Price Books. I actually went this past weekend, but didn’t want anything. Would it be cheating if I read the next 10 Wimpy Kid books? 😂

I’ve Hit the Wall

John Guillen8 Comments

I’ve been really open about my reading slumps. I always know one is lurking just around the corner. It doesn’t matter how much or how little I’m reading. There will always be periods during which I simply will not read. I’m in the midst of my first one of 2019 right now.

I’ve finished one book in the last month. Even knowing this I just haven’t had the desire to read recently. My current book is on my coffee table. A few nights ago I started it and only read about 30 pages before deciding to sleep. I haven’t picked it up since.

I don’t have a plan or something specific I do when this happens. And y’all know that sometimes one of my reading slumps can spread out over multiple years. I don’t think that’ll be the case this time around. Here’s to hoping it isn’t.

What do you do when you experience a reading slumps?

A Kinda Sorta (Most Definitely) Review of Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep

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Spoilers ahead (but who cares, it was published 80 years ago.)

It happened again. I may need to lay off books published before 1970 because clearly I have issues with just about every one I read.

I decided to read this after playing around online and looking up detectives I’d never read before. It didn’t hurt that Raymond Chandler is something of an icon in mystery circles. But, oh boy.

Philip Marlowe is a PI in LA. The book was published in the 1930s, so I guess the assumption is that it takes place during the same period. There are a number of mentions of prohibition. He’s hired by a rich guy who’s getting blackmailed.

I’m going to start with some of the positives:

NONE.

I’m not exaggerating or trying to be silly. There is nothing I can point to in this book that I really enjoyed. But don’t get me started on the negatives.

The writing style made me want to claw my eyes out. How many times can one person say “you’re cute” in a single work? My goodness. No creativity whatsoever.

There are two women who have prominent roles in the story and both of them (they’re sisters) separately are throwing themselves at Marlowe. Ugh. But he’s got the moral compass of Jesus and takes neither of them up on their offer.

Multiple times during the story he slaps women across the face.

There is absolutely no action throughout the story. I kept thinking at some point something would have to happen. Nope.

Twice he went into bad situations without a weapon of any kind against fully armed guys. And twice he got out just fine. Okay, fucking Zeus.

His wit and humor are awful. He’s not funny. Clearly he influenced later detectives, but they’re much better written.

Everyone was smoking the whole book. I have cancer now.

I rated it a 2 star read, and it was just above 1984 and Fahrenheit 451. Honestly, it was shaping up to be a 1 star rating from me until the last 5 pages or so.

Definitely do not recommend to any reader, ever. I can come up with several modern detectives much more intriguing than this bozo.

February Reading Recap

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In February I only read 4 books. Down from 5 in January. But still well on pace to perhaps hit my goal of 50 for the year. But there’s a long way to go.

In February I read 1 fantasy novel, 2 young adult novels, and a mystery. Not bad. I read 3 authors for the first time. I rated 2 books as 5 stars, 1 as 4 stars, and the final as 2 stars. So far in 2019 I’ve yet to rate any of the 9 books I’ve read as 1 star reads.

I do have to admit that I was a little disappointed in the fact that I didn’t finish a book in the second half of the month. But so long as half a month doesn’t stretch into a full month into several months, then I think I’ll be okay. And I’ve already finished my first book in March.

We’re roughly a sixth of the way through the year now. How is your pace so far?

Stepping it Up

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I’ve been telling more people around the office about all my book stuff. I work for a large company with a few hundred people in my building. I don’t know anything about most of them and the opposite is also true.

But lately I’ve been telling more of them about this or my channel or even my IG. I was talking to someone yesterday about trying to expand my channel and guess what he tells me? He reads about 4 books a week! 😂 I’m excited about my 9 through the first two months and then he gives me a kick to the head and puts me in my rightful place. Ha!

I already knew he reads a bit. I didn’t know it was so much. So I need to step it up!

Another New To Me Author

John Guillen2 Comments

I started my 10th book of the year last night and it’s by another new to me author. It’s the 4th one so far this year. There’s no way I can stay on that kind of pace of reading new authors. Can I?

I get in my head a bit because when I start a new book I’m excited, no matter what. But when it’s written by someone I’m not familiar with there’s an extra level of intrigue. But there’s also the thought of “what if I don’t like something everyone else seems to love”. I know it’s silly, but I’m not the only one thinking it. I mean, there are plenty of titles coming to mind as I write this I simply did not enjoy.

How often do you start reading a new author for the first time?

New Video! February 2019 Book Haul

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I know what you’re thinking. Didn’t I JUST post one of these videos recently? Well, yes. But everyone knows one can never have too many books! Right? RIGHT? Anyway, I picked up a few more books recently from my local HPB because they gave me a bed in back where I sleep now. Ha.

Also, special shoutout to Die a Stranger by Steve Hamilton, The Little Sister by Raymond Chandler, and You by Caroline Kepnes. I bought all of these over the weekend and I already had the video edited and uploaded. Whoops.

Now watch and tell me which books you’ve picked up recently!