April 21, 2023

Reading Update

Today's post was meant to be a library update, but literally nothing has changed on that front since last month, so I'm not doing that.

I decided I want to talk about how I'm reading lately. And by "lately" I mean the last 2 days. A tragic event at my library has given me an unplanned week off work. So I have finished a book a day for three days in a row. Reading is getting me out of my head and out of the spiral of what if's and visualizations that have been occupying my brain constantly.

Up to now it has worked swimmingly.

Now I can't decide what's next. I spent 10 minutes in front of my shelves trying to decide what to pick up next. When I'm in the middle of a book, the books practically leap off the shelves at me, yelling Me! Me! Me! But when I see a book, I think, "No, that's too heavy." "No. I'm not ready for a 600 page book right now." I have started two books that are actually pretty good, but I'm not sure if they have staying power. This sounds crazy, but they may actually be too light.

Is it possible that my stupid brain needs something heavy to kick around so that I don't slip back into my thought spiral? I was gravitating toward nonfiction. The last two books I've read have been nonfiction. They weren't particularly heavy in topic but they were engaging.

I started a book last night. This morning, I got up and picked it back up and decided I couldn't stand the bizarre evangelical Christian cant that was in this book about the reading life. I DNFed it. I don't regret it either.

I read an entire poetry collection today. Loved it. All the stars for that one.

I've read 80 pages of a book on my TBR. It's good. But it's not holding onto my attention.

I started a memoir about a guy who came to love Jane Austen. My favorite subject. And it's good too, but I put it down in the middle of a chapter to check my phone.

Maybe it's time to do another book flight. You know, the thing where I read the first chapter or so of a few books and decide what sticks.

Or maybe it's time to be rotating through a few books. Just read a chapter and move to the next one in a circle until one of them gets its claws in and I can't put it down.

Another consideration is that I'm verging on a flare of one or another of my autoimmune disorders and my hands hurt to hold a big hardcover. One of the books I'm currently reading isn't large, but its spine is tight and its a hardcover. Does that make sense? It's just hard to hold the book open. I need to dig out my thumb holder book device that relieves some of that pressure.

Well, that's where I'm at right now. I'm reading. I'm reading a LOT. I'm not doing a lot of anything else, honestly. But I need to get engaged with a book again.

I'll keep you posted on what happens. Tomorrow is a Friday Reads post, so hopefully I'll figure it out quick. Maybe I'll get a good night's sleep and it will be clear in the morning.
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