Reading for Pleasure

  • By: Jessica Faust | Date: Apr 16 2015

I hate that term. It implies that the reading I do for work, reading my client’s work, is not pleasurable, which is not the case. If reading my client’s work wasn’t pleasurable they never would have become my clients in the first place. That being said, Reading for Pleasure, is what I do when I don’t have to think about the book at all. I’m never going to have to edit it, think about what an editor might say, or worry about reviewers. I can just mindlessly read.

Having just returned from Spring Break, I was thrilled at how much Pleasure Reading I got in. I mean thrilled. I’m constantly asked if I still enjoy reading for pleasure and the answer is always a resounding yes. It’s so rare I have the time to just sit and read that I appreciate every moment I get when I get it.
During this trip I read 4.5 books (my iPad died during the 5th so I’m working to get that one finished too). 
Here’s a taste of my Spring Break, in the order it all happened.
This book isn’t yet published and was passed on by a colleague. I was surprised and thrilled that she thought of me and couldn’t wait to get to it. It’s always fun when someone just sends you something because they think you’ll enjoy it. I think fans of Gone Girl will really like this psychological suspense.
This is a book I picked up at BEA last year. Yes, I’m very slow to get to my books. This is a suspense set in Ireland with all the elements I love in a good mystery/suspense, a dark and damaged hero/cop protagonist, a grizzly murder and strong female characters. I’ve never read Stuart Neville before, but I would again.
Another book I first discovered at BEA, but since I didn’t get the galley for it I bought it for my Nook. This one is YA, but a mystery/suspense YA. It had a great plot: Girl lost in the wilderness with murderer/kidnapper. Who wouldn’t love that kind of story?
The Fifth Wave was a huge hit in our office. I think we all read it in a day and couldn’t wait for #2. As far as I was concerned Rick Yancey delivered again. My only suggestion is that if you haven’t yet started this series wait until they are all out. I found this book difficult to follow since I waited a year between books.
A great recommendation from Shelley Coriell. I’m not sure if this is officially categorized as YA or adult, but I think it could go either way. This is the book I haven’t yet finished, but am planning to do so asap. I’m really enjoying it. It’s the kind of book that keeps you on the edge of the seat.
It’s rare that I’m ever going to be able to share a list this big again, but I will try to keep you updated on my reading more frequently.
–jhf

3 responses to “Reading for Pleasure”

  1. Avatar Colin Smith says:

    Interesting comment on THE INFINITE SEA. I read and enjoyed THE 5TH WAVE a while ago, and I have THE INFINITE SEA on my shelf waiting to read. It's often my fear with sequels that come out a year later that I'll forget what happened without having to re-read the series so far. Some sequels are good at reminding you of the plot so that fear is somewhat mitigated. I was hoping that would be true of this book. We'll see… 🙂

  2. Avatar AJ Blythe says:

    When I used to have more time (note: age of kids = years since free time) I had no problem with the year gap between books in a series – I'd just reread the previous books first. Now being time poor I often save them up and read them back to back.

    I haven't read any of these, but a couple sound intriguing – my to-be-read pile is scarily big as it is, but I guess a couple more won't make a difference *grin*.

  3. Avatar DLM says:

    You make a good point about the phrase "reading for pleasure" – but, though writing is my unpaid job, I actually use that one myself to make the distinction between reading and researching. Writing historical fiction, I adore the research – to the point I must actually force myself not to go too far down too many rabbit holes – but that pleasure is almost the point in the distinction. With research, I have to discipline the work no matter how pleasurable it is, but when I am "reading for pleasure" there is no limit, no guided experience, just perfect freedom.

    So the phrase is useful, though I would agree with you: it does have its problems. Maybe I should just begin to say "reading for the WIP" instead?

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