1. I have a VERY difficult time giving up a book once I've started it, even if I really can't stand it. People have told me "life is too short to read bad books," but I still get agita over leaving one unfinished. I actually "gave up" my first two books, ever, this summer, because they were both very long and getting quite painful (1Q84 by Haruki Murakami, and Middlemarch by George Eliot).
2. I gave up on Middlemarch by George Eliot. Book connoisseurs the world over are writhing in agony at this confession. In my defense, I tried to finish it for almost a YEAR!
3. I staunchly resisted the idea of an e-reader for a very long time, insisting that nothing could be better than a real, honest-to-goodness, book-smelling book. Then my darling husband gifted me with a Kindle in May 2011, and I saw the light. Real books are still amazing, but my Kindle is basically a third arm at this point.
4. This is my only confession that borders on criminal behavior, but hopefully the statute of limitations is up. In my book collection are at least 3 books that somehow made their way to my home, but may or may not have originally belonged to my high school. What can I say? We had really good reading assignments in high school, and I didn't have a lot of money for books back then. **hangs head in shame** If Mrs. Roth is reading this, I apologize and beg for mercy in the name of good literature.
5. I won't take the Borders Rewards key fob off my key ring. I CAN'T DO IT.
6. If my son grows up and doesn't enjoy reading for fun, I will probably feel a little bit (a lot?) like a failure.
7. I do not care if people have different reading tastes than I (heck, go forth and READ, I don't care if it's a shampoo bottle), but I have made an exception for 50 Shades of Grey. I've read enough excerpts, reviews, etc. to know what I think of it. And if this ranks up there on your list of favorite books, you can rest assured that I am silently judging you. It's not so much the content (though that's part of it)--it's the writing. 'TIS SO BAD. I could go on about this, but I'll spare you my standard diatribe.
8. There are many things that scare me about death, and one of them is the fact that I have 616 books on my TBR list. There are few moments more depressing than when you realize you will never READ ALL THE THINGS.
9. I have had late library fees exactly twice in my life (both times in the months shortly after my son was born--not a fast reading period for me). In each instance, I brought the book back as soon as I could, and paid the fees that very instant. One time the librarian said, "You know you don't have to pay right now, right?" I said, "YES I DO" with a terrified look of shame, and handed over my 50 cents.
10. I have read while driving in traffic before. (Hey, at least it was heavy traffic...) In the same spirit that Mythbusters tells their viewers not to try this at home, I do not recommend this. Audiobooks are an admittedly safer alternative, but you know, I get desperate if I don't have one available.
i was having some big anxiety issues in december and january, and before they were diagnosed, I was like "I CAN'T DIE I HAVE SO MANY BOOKS TO READ!!!!"
ReplyDeleteAnd there are times when I'm reading a book that's really good, I get sad that my mom wont' be able to read them. Then I cheer myself up by telling myself that she's reading over my shoulder and not actually missing the book. :)
In my moments where I decide to worry about things out of my control, I also worry that my future kids will not like to read and that I will never be able to read everything I want. My husband also gifted me a kindle and while I still read more paper books, I actually like reading ebooks quite a bit!
ReplyDeleteInteresting what you say about the Murakami book - I like a lot of his stuff and that one looks interesting, but I do remember one of his other books being unfinishable - I think it might've be A Wild Sheep Chase? And I hate giving them up too =/ Partly because I want another book to add to my read list, and partly because the time I spent on it feels like a waste if I give up.
ReplyDeleteI was the same with e-readers, until I realised how useful they are for promotional copies, ARCs and the like - and books from 'lesser known' authors that I want to read often go for £0.77 on the Kindle, compared to the £6-7 for the paperback. But I do love my paperbacks...
Same for me with quite a few of these - I have read in traffic, but when my (Goodreads) TBR list started getting out of control, I deleted every book. Now I just keep the next 10 books on it that I want to read.
ReplyDeleteTanya Patrice
Girlxoxo.com