Not reading enough

[mtbc]

While I find it difficult to find further books that I want to try reading, partly because of the tendency of modern science fiction and fantasy to expect me to invest in reading many thousands of pages to reach any real resolution, there are still some books on my to-try list, ranging from Stephen King's The Stand to N. K. Jemisin's The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, and I don't even get around to them. I used to read a lot but, in recent years, not so much.

This morning I wondered further about that. After all, I also watch less television, the time isn't going there instead. And, I've worked full-time rather consistently ever since first graduating. One thing I realized is, one factor may be that I am using public transport less. Books or Kindle are excellent for daily bus rides. Now, I don't even borrow from the library for, say, my flight to Manila this weekend. To start with, long-haul travel quickly makes me feel too tired to read, though not sleepy enough to sleep. Further, I am typically away for longer than the library return period for books.

I also realized that my memory has faded enough on a few books that were worth reading that I also have some re-reading to catch up on, they are safe bets as I already know them to be worth it. With luck, the books I own will finally arrive from the US at the end of this week. Still, by the time I have wrapped up the day's work, done the washing up, caught up on the day's news, attended to a couple of domestic or administrative chores, and chatted to R., it's getting about time for bed.

Comments

[anna_wing]

I read the Jemisins years ago. The first one was interesting, though it gave me a rather weird sense of being Lovecraft fanfiction, and a villainess who would make a Flatlander look three-dimensional. The second one was a sort of Semele myth in reverse. And the third was just really rather bad. A general tendency in all of them to give the conceptual framework more weight than the characters, world or plot could sustain. I haven't read her subsequent books because my tolerance for didactic fiction is low.

[mtbc]

Thank you, I appreciate knowing what I may be getting into!

[thewayne]

There's also a contrast between books written as a series where an individual book is not self-contained and doesn't give you good closure. Those are particularly annoying. If the villain gets away, such as Voldemort in Harry Potter, that's one thing. (not that I think the HP series is particularly great YA personally)

[mtbc]

Very true. Especially annoying when I hardly remember the tangled state of things by the time the next comes out.

[wpadmirer]

I've been on a reading bender since I got back from Bouchercon. SO many good books, and just not enough time to read them all.

And I do not read books that spend hundreds, if not thousands, of pages building detailed universes. They bore the shit out me.

[mtbc]

Very glad you have plenty on the list!

World-building is so much better as a gradual, incidental thing.