Thursday, November 29, 2007

Booking Through...Yes, It's Still Thursday!



Do you get on a roll when you read, so that one book leads to the next, which leads to the next, and so on and so on?

I don’t so much mean something like reading a series from beginning to end, but, say, a string of books that all take place in Paris. Or that have anthropologists as the main character. Or were written in the same year. Something like that… Something that strings them together in your head, and yet, otherwise could be different genres, different authors…


Hmmmm...this is a good question to which I will answer yes and no. I get burned out really easily when I read too much of the same thing at once, so I would say no, I don't really get on a roll in that sense. I try to mix up my reading so everything's a little new and fresh so I don't get bored and fall into the dreaded reading lull. I find myself wanting to join all the sparkly reading challenges in the litblogosphere and then quickly second-guessing myself because I don't know if I'll have the attention span to stick to any one theme because of this whole "variety is the spice of reading" thing I've got going, and I fear that I'd miss my reading being a bit unpredictable.

On the other hand, though, if I read something I really love about a certain topic or decide some random topic is wildly interesting to me this week as a result of something I'm doing, something I'm thinking about, somebody I met who has an interesting job that I happen to know almost nothing about, I'm very prone to going on crazed wish list addition fests. For example, I read two really great books about circuses, found that was something that really interested me and combed Amazon all night to find more ideas for books about the circus. No, I didn't want to read them right then, but I did want to file them away for the future while I was thinking about it, so I'll have no shortage of circus books when I decide I'm ready for another. Last year in January I took a road trip from Pennsylvania to Montana (yeah, I know, some time for that road trip, right?) and decided I just had to read more about the American west/ranching/Native Americans and found myself wandering the bookstore in Wall Drug with a notepad writing down titles of books to read about the west which have been deposited on my wish list for, again, future enjoyment.

So, no. But, well, yes.


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In other news, I just finished my 53rd book of the year which makes this year a record year of reading in terms of quantity since I've begun keeping track of what I read. I think it's been about 5 years that I've kept track, so it's been awhile since I've read this much in a year...and it's not even over yet. Yay me!

6 comments:

  1. It is bit of yes and no, for me too. I do go on a roll. I don't!

    LOL!



    reading room

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  2. I'm kinda similar. I like to mix it up and keep my selections random, but if I really like a subject or author, I will seek them out for future reading. And sometimes I read things that are connected, without really meaning to.

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  3. I'm a bit of a yes and no too. Happy BTT.

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  4. Yay, you, indeed, Megan! You go, woman!!

    Two books about the West for you -- anything by Dan O'Brien, who owns a cool ranch in South Dakota and who we order our bison meat from (Wild Idea Buffalo -- dot com) and a woman named Lori... shoot. I forgot her last name, but she just signed a deal for two mysteries set in South Dakota. Keep your eyes open for them!

    Glad you like Springer; so far, that's all I've got of him. But it sounds like you guys all like him quite a bit. You'll see more of him!

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  5. Good job! I'm just a couple ahead of you, finishing my 55th book last week.

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  6. Glad to see I'm not alone in my ambiguous answer!

    Susan, thanks for the rec! I've looked up Dan O'Brien's books and a few of them will definitely be going on the old wish list. If Lori's last name occurs to you, let me know, and I'll keep an eye out for hers as well!

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