on my fair weather relationship with reading books
i'm not much of a reader. what i mean is that curling up with a good book isn't something that generally lies in my top ten list of ways to spend my free time. for the most part i've found that this is more due to an inability to find books that carry my attention beyond the first two chapters. i have made many attempts over the years, and friends have loaned me several books, few of which i had managed to read beyond chapter two.
late last summer, as i was walking home one afternoon, i spied a book on the sidewalk next to a few other objects, apparently free for the taking. the book grabbed my curiosity so i took it home with me. i proceeded to read it from cover to cover over the next few weeks. i have the book still, with the intention to pass it along to a friend who had expressed interest in it (and one of these days i'll remember to bring it to him!) anyway... the book is Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction by Kurt Vonnegut.
AHA! that's what i need! i figured it out... i can make it through short stories but full novels are just so... well, as Tim Bisley would say, "Skip to the end!" (good lord, and to think that i once read Les Miserables [perhaps that's what killed my attention span for novels!]) short stories are especially great for my train commute to and from work as i can complete a full story in 4 rides or less.
did i mention i'm a slow reader as well? oh yes, very slow. i shall return to this comment, i'm sure.
anyway... i loved many of the stories in Bagombo Snuff Box. several of them made me smile as i read. a couple may have even instigated audible chuckles. it reminded me of when i read Still Life With Woodpecker by Tom Robbins over a decade ago (the first book i remember which caused me to laugh out loud while reading.)
upon completion of Mr Vonnegut's short stories i headed to my local library to find another collection of short stories for my commute time entertainment. aha! yes! believe it or not, i had never read anything by Neil Gaiman before. lo and behold - Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions was on the shelf. how beautifully purrfect! i didn't know he had a book of short stories, but there it was and it came home with me. i read it over the course of a few weeks and enjoyed a good majority of the stories. the night before it was due back to the library a friend had spent the night on my couch. she offered to returned it to the library for me the next day - and did so after reading the whole thing.
yes, that further supported my belief that i am a slow reader.
so excited by the idea of reading Neil Gaiman and having enjoyed the stories i had just read, i decided to borrow Good Omens from the library. guess what... i didn't make it to the end of the second chapter. what's up with that?
so, having returned that to the library, i borrowed a series of non-fiction books which served practical purposes for the next month or two. during a visit with one of my grandmothers around Christmas she had told me about The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence by Carl Sagan which was followed by her purchasing a copy for me. woah. it's fascinating...and while i made it beyond the second chapter, it was put on hold when i started reading for my class. it's hard [for me] to read heavy science for personal interest while reading philosophical principals for educational studies [and personal interest] at the same time.
recently, having gotten into good study/reading habits, i decided i wanted to read something for fun. so i visited my library and perused the available titles by Tom Robbins. having had the book a good seven weeks already [uhh, yeah - slow reader what?], i am down to the last 25 pages of Jitterbug Perfume and have been thoroughly loving this story!
i think the next book i read for pleasure will be another by Tom Robbins. i really enjoy his style and sense of humor. while there are a few other books of his i look forward to reading, i do think i'd like to revisit Still Life With Woodpecker as well. yep, Tom Robbins books and short stories it will be for me, for a little while anyways. just more than six weeks left of my philosophy class but i don't see myself picking up another fictional tale from the library until class is over [holy cow! in 7 weeks i'll have my first university degree!]
should anyone happen to have read all that i wrote here and know of any other authors that may be of my interest, i would certainly welcome the recommendations!
late last summer, as i was walking home one afternoon, i spied a book on the sidewalk next to a few other objects, apparently free for the taking. the book grabbed my curiosity so i took it home with me. i proceeded to read it from cover to cover over the next few weeks. i have the book still, with the intention to pass it along to a friend who had expressed interest in it (and one of these days i'll remember to bring it to him!) anyway... the book is Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction by Kurt Vonnegut.
AHA! that's what i need! i figured it out... i can make it through short stories but full novels are just so... well, as Tim Bisley would say, "Skip to the end!" (good lord, and to think that i once read Les Miserables [perhaps that's what killed my attention span for novels!]) short stories are especially great for my train commute to and from work as i can complete a full story in 4 rides or less.
did i mention i'm a slow reader as well? oh yes, very slow. i shall return to this comment, i'm sure.
anyway... i loved many of the stories in Bagombo Snuff Box. several of them made me smile as i read. a couple may have even instigated audible chuckles. it reminded me of when i read Still Life With Woodpecker by Tom Robbins over a decade ago (the first book i remember which caused me to laugh out loud while reading.)
upon completion of Mr Vonnegut's short stories i headed to my local library to find another collection of short stories for my commute time entertainment. aha! yes! believe it or not, i had never read anything by Neil Gaiman before. lo and behold - Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions was on the shelf. how beautifully purrfect! i didn't know he had a book of short stories, but there it was and it came home with me. i read it over the course of a few weeks and enjoyed a good majority of the stories. the night before it was due back to the library a friend had spent the night on my couch. she offered to returned it to the library for me the next day - and did so after reading the whole thing.
yes, that further supported my belief that i am a slow reader.
so excited by the idea of reading Neil Gaiman and having enjoyed the stories i had just read, i decided to borrow Good Omens from the library. guess what... i didn't make it to the end of the second chapter. what's up with that?
so, having returned that to the library, i borrowed a series of non-fiction books which served practical purposes for the next month or two. during a visit with one of my grandmothers around Christmas she had told me about The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence by Carl Sagan which was followed by her purchasing a copy for me. woah. it's fascinating...and while i made it beyond the second chapter, it was put on hold when i started reading for my class. it's hard [for me] to read heavy science for personal interest while reading philosophical principals for educational studies [and personal interest] at the same time.
recently, having gotten into good study/reading habits, i decided i wanted to read something for fun. so i visited my library and perused the available titles by Tom Robbins. having had the book a good seven weeks already [uhh, yeah - slow reader what?], i am down to the last 25 pages of Jitterbug Perfume and have been thoroughly loving this story!
i think the next book i read for pleasure will be another by Tom Robbins. i really enjoy his style and sense of humor. while there are a few other books of his i look forward to reading, i do think i'd like to revisit Still Life With Woodpecker as well. yep, Tom Robbins books and short stories it will be for me, for a little while anyways. just more than six weeks left of my philosophy class but i don't see myself picking up another fictional tale from the library until class is over [holy cow! in 7 weeks i'll have my first university degree!]
should anyone happen to have read all that i wrote here and know of any other authors that may be of my interest, i would certainly welcome the recommendations!