Skip to main content

Reader’s block

Ever pick up one book after another, read a chapter, then put it down and start on another, over and over? Ever want to read something, but none of your own books will do and there’s nothing interesting at the library? Ever pick up a book and then decide to watch TV, vacuum the floors, do laundry or go for a walk instead? In short: Have you ever had reader’s block?

That’s me right now. Reviewing will resume once I feel like reading again.

Edit:
Until then, here are some of my old reviews, including the original 52 Books reading project (so far only the fiction - I'm working on the rest).

Comments

Maxine Clarke said…
Hi, yes I have. I find it is associated with depression and/or worry -- the inability to concentrate, to retain information, or to stay awake (if I'm not sleeping at night, reading a book in the day is almost guaranteed to make me nod off).

I guess you need something that has a really compelling opening chapter. Will try to think of something to recommend, but chances are you will already have read it or will have "recovered" by the time I can think of anything.

Good luck! The blog world has lots of interesting distractions!
April 06, 2006 7:52 pm
Erik Buchanan said…
Been there, done that. Have a t-shirt that says "everything I have to read sucks."

I also find it's associated with depression, or with boredom, or the need to start a new project.

Good luck, and let us know when you start something new.
April 09, 2006 2:21 am
Bibliophile said…
In my case it probably a combination of depression and genre overload. I have been reading too many detective stories lately, and my depression is on the downswing. I'm now reading Gulliver's Travels, which should make a nice change from all the murders and mayhem. It's also good for some laughs.
April 09, 2006 10:20 am
Anonymous said…
For me, it has nothing to do with depression! Some books are just harder to get into than others. Sometimes, nothing appeals to me. I switch back and forth between fiction and technical/business books and magazines and journals. But sometimes, TV or a walk are the only real choice.

Steven List
Co-Founcer, Back of the Room
April 12, 2006 1:20 pm
benning said…
Yep! I have had 'reader's block' and I don't think there's anything worse for a lover of reading. I hate it! But, luckily, it's infrequent and never lasts long. *whew!*
April 13, 2006 4:47 pm
Maxine Clarke said…
This new (to me) author John Baker I've discovered via him vistiting my blog wrtites well, or at least, the book of his I have read so far, "White Skin Man", is very good and readable. The writing on his blog is good, too.

http://www.johnbakersblog.co.uk/

Also I am reading Donna Leon's latest which is, as usual, excellent. Have you read her? Highly recommended - they are short and readable, so at your rate of reading, 1-2 hours per book, tops.
April 29, 2006 4:00 pm
Bibliophile said…
Maxine, I've never heard of Donna Leon. Will see if the library has any of her books.
May 03, 2006 9:26 am
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Icelandic folk-tale: The Devil Takes a Wife

Stories of people who have made a deal with and then beaten the devil exist all over Christendom and even in literature. Here is a typical one: O nce upon a time there were a mother and daughter who lived together. They were rich and the daughter was considered a great catch and had many suitors, but she accepted no-one and it was the opinion of many that she intended to stay celebrate and serve God, being a very devout  woman. The devil didn’t like this at all and took on the form of a young man and proposed to the girl, intending to seduce her over to his side little by little. He insinuated himself into her good graces and charmed her so thoroughly that she accepted his suit and they were betrothed and eventually married. But when the time came for him to enter the marriage bed the girl was so pure and innocent that he couldn’t go near her. He excused himself by saying that he couldn’t sleep and needed a bath in order to go to sleep. A bath was prepared for him and in he went...
Post a Comment
Read more

Book 40: The Martian by Andy Weir, audiobook read by Wil Wheaton

Note : This will be a general scattershot discussion about my thoughts on the book and the movie, and not a cohesive review. When movies are based on books I am interested in reading but haven't yet read, I generally wait to read the book until I have seen the movie, but when a movie is made based on a book I have already read, I try to abstain from rereading the book until I have seen the movie. The reason is simple: I am one of those people who can be reduced to near-incoherent rage when a movie severely alters the perfectly good story line of a beloved book, changes the ending beyond recognition or adds unnecessarily to the story ( The Hobbit , anyone?) without any apparent reason. I don't mind omissions of unnecessary parts so much (I did not, for example, become enraged to find Tom Bombadil missing from The Lord of the Rings ), because one expects that - movies based on books would be TV-series long if they tried to include everything, so the material must be pared down ...
Post a Comment
Read more

How to make a simple origami bookmark

Here are some instructions on how to make a simple origami (paper folding) bookmark: Take a square of paper. It can be patterned origami paper, gift paper or even office paper, just as long as it’s easy to fold. The square should not be much bigger than 10 cm/4 inches across, unless you intend to use the mark for a big book. The images show what the paper should look like after you follow each step of the instructions. The two sides of the paper are shown in different colours to make things easier, and the edges and fold lines are shown as black lines. Fold the paper in half diagonally (corner to corner), and then unfold. Repeat with the other two corners. This is to find the middle and to make the rest of the folding easier. If the paper is thick or stiff it can help to reverse the folds. Fold three of the corners in so that they meet in the middle. You now have a piece of paper resembling an open envelope. For the next two steps, ignore the flap. Fold the square diagonally in two. Yo...
25 comments
Read more