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Have any of you read "One Thousand White Women". . . can't remember the authors name at the moment (I'm at work). . . one of the best reads of the year for me, so far. . . .highly recommended for women and men that care about womens issues.
2 questions for all of the voracious readers out there. Do you work full time (or even part time)? Do you watch T.V.? I LOVE to read, but find myself so busy with other, necessary activities that it is only when I am sick or on vacation that I get to indulge. Usually very tired when I come home from work, and after "at home" chores, find myself being lazy and turning on the T.V. rather than picking up a book.
I find your questions interesting. Define voracious. Without sounding like a smart-aleck, it is the superlative, isn't it? and not something like being a little bit pregnant. . .
In order to read voraciously, I have to make the time for it, which generally means less tv watching. As much as I read, I find television somewhat boring to be honest, and have never understood how people can sit, night after night, hour after hour, watching some of the shows that strike me as just inane (and not really worthy of my time). I DO watch tv, but I suppose I am more selective about what I watch, and when.
When I was teaching full-time, had a child still at home, I admit it was difficult finding the time to just sit and read, for my own pleasure, but it was still my favorite thing to do. I did find myself carrying books with me -- to the dentist's or the doctor's, and the like. I could not get way with it on the soccer field, while my daughter played, and really, that would have just been most unfair to her. But, when we traveled to matches, I always carried a book with me, and when she was doing something with her teammates and/or coach, I could easily get 20 minutes to an hour's worth of reading. I recall combining a warm soak in the tub with a good book, just to relax at day's end, and always kept a stack of books beside the bed -- something frivolous, something less so if I could follow the storyline.
Still, I was doing an incredibly amount of reading -- related to my coursework, which was HS English (lucky, lucky me!) -- so that seemed to sustain me. It also let me look for, and often find, different authors and works. Teaching 10th grade World Lit forced me to read world authors, and because I wanted to include contemporary authors, I stumbled onto some great authors and works, and developed a real interest in world lit. Ninth grade literature is often an intro to literature, and I wanted my students to leave the classroom with an interest in reading, which often meant foregoing some of the classics they might have moaned and groaned about. So, I was always on the lookout for something more contemporary there, too, that would still let me cover other aspects of the curriculum. Even with my Seniors, and the Brit Lit, I tried to incorporate newer works, authors, so my teaching benefited me too in that I was reading quite a bit.
Now that I am retired, I have to force myself to put a book down, and do other things. The poor dogs will nudge my elbow to remind me that, at some point, they really n-e-e-d to go out. I still read before bed, most nights, and I can lie on the sofa while my husband watches the boob-tube without being easily distracted.
If one has a genuine love for books and for reading, I think they steal the time to read from wherever they can -- even if it's only reading for five to ten minutes, or until their eyes are just too tired to let them.
As for being lazy, as you say, and turning on the tv -- UNPLUG it, and pretend it doesn't work. Surround yourself with some titles that intrigue you, and make yourself read to get back into the habit. Eventually, you'll find you don't even miss the tv, or want to watch it.
I find your questions interesting. Define voracious. Without sounding like a smart-aleck, it is the superlative, isn't it? and not something like being a little bit pregnant. . .
In order to read voraciously, I have to make the time for it, which generally means less tv watching. As much as I read, I find television somewhat boring to be honest, and have never understood how people can sit, night after night, hour after hour, watching some of the shows that strike me as just inane (and not really worthy of my time). I DO watch tv, but I suppose I am more selective about what I watch, and when.
When I was teaching full-time, had a child still at home, I admit it was difficult finding the time to just sit and read, for my own pleasure, but it was still my favorite thing to do. I did find myself carrying books with me -- to the dentist's or the doctor's, and the like. I could not get way with it on the soccer field, while my daughter played, and really, that would have just been most unfair to her. But, when we traveled to matches, I always carried a book with me, and when she was doing something with her teammates and/or coach, I could easily get 20 minutes to an hour's worth of reading. I recall combining a warm soak in the tub with a good book, just to relax at day's end, and always kept a stack of books beside the bed -- something frivolous, something less so if I could follow the storyline.
Still, I was doing an incredibly amount of reading -- related to my coursework, which was HS English (lucky, lucky me!) -- so that seemed to sustain me. It also let me look for, and often find, different authors and works. Teaching 10th grade World Lit forced me to read world authors, and because I wanted to include contemporary authors, I stumbled onto some great authors and works, and developed a real interest in world lit. Ninth grade literature is often an intro to literature, and I wanted my students to leave the classroom with an interest in reading, which often meant foregoing some of the classics they might have moaned and groaned about. So, I was always on the lookout for something more contemporary there, too, that would still let me cover other aspects of the curriculum. Even with my Seniors, and the Brit Lit, I tried to incorporate newer works, authors, so my teaching benefited me too in that I was reading quite a bit.
Now that I am retired, I have to force myself to put a book down, and do other things. The poor dogs will nudge my elbow to remind me that, at some point, they really n-e-e-d to go out. I still read before bed, most nights, and I can lie on the sofa while my husband watches the boob-tube without being easily distracted.
If one has a genuine love for books and for reading, I think they steal the time to read from wherever they can -- even if it's only reading for five to ten minutes, or until their eyes are just too tired to let them.
As for being lazy, as you say, and turning on the tv -- UNPLUG it, and pretend it doesn't work. Surround yourself with some titles that intrigue you, and make yourself read to get back into the habit. Eventually, you'll find you don't even miss the tv, or want to watch it.
and a big thanks to all who have responded. . . .seems I may be in the minority here, but then again, how many 65 y.o.s out there are still working a full time job that involves many hours of actual physical labor per day. No, it's not really a discipline thing. . . .and the T.V. for the most part is used either as an educational tool or a lullaby (it puts me right to sleep). I do have a well stocked in home library (no TV in there), carry a book with me most places except to work, do all of the maintainance on my home, including the gardening and other agricultural pursuits, and am absolutly sure that one can be "too tired" to read. . . .but I expect that my story will be different when I can put away the day job. . . .
I didn't know Betty Smith wrote another novel! I so enjoyed A Tree Grows in Brooklyn that I will be looking for a copy of Joy in the Morning. Thank you!
Thanks for the reminder, haven't read those 2 since I was a teenager, but loved both of them.
My Family and Other Animals, by naturalist Gerald Durrell.
I've been to Corfu and saw his villa, but am just now reading this book.
His descriptions of man or beast are both humorous and vivid.
another fav. . . devoured all of Durrell's stuff while in college
I just started Edgar Sawtelle.Anyone have an opinion on it? Just don't give to much away.
definatly worth the read.. . .a re-telling of one of Shakespear's, modern and updated, of course, but the basic story. . . . won't say which one so as not to "give away". . . a worthy read. . . .very interesting book8
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To read, or not to read -- never a question. . .
http://www.britgo.org/files/shibumi.jpg (broken link)
