I devoured books like no one else I knew when I was younger. At times I would go through as much as a book a day, or more. I don’t really read books as much as I used to.
This isn’t to say I don’t read. I read the equivalent of pages and pages of material. I have the contents of blogs and news sites delivered to me via RSS feed. I read Twitter and Facebook several times a day. I read forum posts and web articles about things that are of interest to me.
None of those are as satisfying as reading a book. Taking a science fiction or fantasy story from cover to cover used to be one of my favorite things to do. Reading up on a subject I’m interested in is always fulfilling. Somehow though I don’t read the way that I used to.
It’s probably a matter of timing. Reading a book is an investment. To get from one cover of book to another is an undertaking of hours if not days. Reading a blog post is a matter of a few minutes. Both have valuable content, but the book takes considerably more to get through.
It might be a matter of environment. Today we are bombarded by all sorts of media. I go through hours of media a day, in the form of podcasts, video reviews, and blog posts. I still get content from television and radio. All of these require attention to get anything from the content.
It certainly isn’t a matter on convenience. I carry a smartphone with me now everywhere I go. On this smartphone I have several reader apps that allow me to carry a virtual library with me consisting of dozens of volumes. I can get e-books with a few clicks of a mouse, either by paying to get them from a source like Amazon or Webscription, or for free from sites like Project Gutenberg or the Baen Free Library.
I started this blog in part to teach myself to write. Ultimately I would like to have the attention span and discipline to finish a work of novel length. May if I am very lucky I might be able to have a short story or novel published some day.
Because of that ambition I feel like I am somehow failing by reading full-length books less than I used to. By my count it has been over a month since i read my last book (the wonderful Stealing Speed). I have now been stuck a few pages into E. E. “Doc” Smith’s Triplanetary for at least two weeks. It’s time to get reading.
Special Thanks to Derek the Bard, who’s show has continued to show “Warning: Reader’s Advisory” has continued to show me the best and worst that books have to offer.
This isn’t to say I don’t read. I read the equivalent of pages and pages of material. I have the contents of blogs and news sites delivered to me via RSS feed. I read Twitter and Facebook several times a day. I read forum posts and web articles about things that are of interest to me.
None of those are as satisfying as reading a book. Taking a science fiction or fantasy story from cover to cover used to be one of my favorite things to do. Reading up on a subject I’m interested in is always fulfilling. Somehow though I don’t read the way that I used to.
It’s probably a matter of timing. Reading a book is an investment. To get from one cover of book to another is an undertaking of hours if not days. Reading a blog post is a matter of a few minutes. Both have valuable content, but the book takes considerably more to get through.
It might be a matter of environment. Today we are bombarded by all sorts of media. I go through hours of media a day, in the form of podcasts, video reviews, and blog posts. I still get content from television and radio. All of these require attention to get anything from the content.
It certainly isn’t a matter on convenience. I carry a smartphone with me now everywhere I go. On this smartphone I have several reader apps that allow me to carry a virtual library with me consisting of dozens of volumes. I can get e-books with a few clicks of a mouse, either by paying to get them from a source like Amazon or Webscription, or for free from sites like Project Gutenberg or the Baen Free Library.
I started this blog in part to teach myself to write. Ultimately I would like to have the attention span and discipline to finish a work of novel length. May if I am very lucky I might be able to have a short story or novel published some day.
Because of that ambition I feel like I am somehow failing by reading full-length books less than I used to. By my count it has been over a month since i read my last book (the wonderful Stealing Speed). I have now been stuck a few pages into E. E. “Doc” Smith’s Triplanetary for at least two weeks. It’s time to get reading.
Special Thanks to Derek the Bard, who’s show has continued to show “Warning: Reader’s Advisory” has continued to show me the best and worst that books have to offer.
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