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Sometimes we have a big break from writing.
Do you find you stop reading for a few days or weeks as well?
I used to read one book per week. For some reason it has recently been taking me one month or more to complete reading a novel.
Alana
The funny thing I have is if I am really enjoying a book. In the past I would devour it , reading through as fast as I could. Now I take a lot longer to read the books I truly love reading. I don't know if this is due to writing a novel and learning the craft as well. I seem to be learning so much when I read a novel now that I have a better understanding of the mechanics, so maybe that is part of the problem.
Same here. I read most nights but mainly books I've read before, so that I am gently lulled to sleep. If I pick up a new book at night, I'll want to finish it. Did that a month ago and went to sleep at 4 am! These days, I need to plan an afternoon off to read a book, though I seem to want to spend what spare time I have writing. But, must make more effort. To improve as writers, we should try to read regularly and widely.
MDD, I do the same as you - I save my novel reading for when I have a day off or a holiday at home. I like to read a big chunk of a book at a time, as it enables me to really get into it and not, literally, lose the plot by taking weeks to read it. Likewise I can't read a novel on the Tube, as there are too many distractions - I need peace and quiet.
My boyfriend reads in bed every night, but only for a few minutes, and always turns down the page corners as a bookmark. I recently borrowed one of his paperbacks and the corners were turned down every 2-3 pages! I couldn't read a book like that, as the best part of reading for me is being able to absorb myself fully in it. It's the best therapy and escape from your own worries that I know.
If I've read quite a few books in a row, I need to have a break, I might listen to cd's that I haven't heard in ages or I might read something short like a magazine article.
Yes, I tend to have reading and non-reading phases too. In a reading phase, I'll read obsessively for a couple of months - perhaps anything up to 4 books a week - and read into the wee small hours. And then I'll stop reading books altogether for a similar period and so on. Tend to read non-fiction almost exclusively, although I do enjoy a good crime novel as my (rarer) fiction choice.
Comments
Do you find you stop reading for a few days or weeks as well?
I used to read one book per week. For some reason it has recently been taking me one month or more to complete reading a novel.
Alana
My boyfriend reads in bed every night, but only for a few minutes, and always turns down the page corners as a bookmark. I recently borrowed one of his paperbacks and the corners were turned down every 2-3 pages! I couldn't read a book like that, as the best part of reading for me is being able to absorb myself fully in it. It's the best therapy and escape from your own worries that I know.