I used to be quite the reader. I read voraciously through out my teen years. Novels mostly, Sci-fi and fantasy were quite high up on the list. I also liked mysteries, westerns, and the Christian novel. Basically if it told a story, I liked it.
Then I went to college. There, reading consisted of textbooks, textbooks, research, and, yes, more textbooks. Since I had to read every word in order to comprehend it, I would spend hours in the library, at Sharis, in the park and anywhere I could find a comfortable chair, reading my books. Usually I'd be ahead in my reading (learned a lot about scheduling and time management back then), but still, my brain would feel stretched and fried by the end of the evening.
My recreation of choice changed from reading a novel to watching movies. Springfield has a lovely $1.50 theater where it was quite easy to see movies for cheap. Most Friday nights would find me and my friends watching the latest action film or comedy or whatever piqued our interest at that time. It was common to hit the theater and meet people you hadn't seen for awhile there. Almost a social networking site without being on the internet and 100s of miles apart.
All that to say is that I've slowly gotten back into reading novels. However, I'm finding it more difficult to be sucked in. I just picked up a book that my wife had, and started reading, yet, even through the first chapter and I wanted to set it down and go do something else. That either means that Francine Rivers isn't as engaging an author as I remember or that I lost my focus... hmmmm...
The other thing I've noticed in my reading habits is that I go through cycles. I've been trying to read a lot of non-fiction, uplifting and educational books lately. Some grab me, make me interested in seeing how the author expounds on his point, others leave me bored and wanting more. Again, is this the author's fault or is it my lack of focus?
Or is it that explosions have become much more interesting than the written word?
I hope not. The worlds that books open up are myriad and filled with a variety of creatures and thoughts. I want to explore them for the rest of my life.
I go through phases with my reading. I read at least one novel most months because I'm in a fiction book club. Some months I read several novels. For example, I read The Hunger Games Suzanne Collins in the last week - in about 24 hours total. Then I just read the second book in the trilogy in fewer than 24 hours! They are that good! But I have to say I like movies too! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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