But I have a stack of books from the library I want to read. I have friends putting out new books nearly every week I want to read. My son bought the first two books in a fantasy series I'm dying to read. And yet there's the guilt of all those hours with my nose in a book instead of my fingers on the keyboard. We all feel it when we indulge when work awaits. But we also all know that to be a good writer, we need to read.
I believe we need to read alot and widely. I write epic fantasy and fantasy romance, yet I read all kinds of stuff. I love suspense. I'm a bit of a science nerd so I like to delve into scifi. I really want to travel to the stars especially since I read in the paper today that scientists are pretty sure there are lots of other worlds out there capable of sustaining life as we know it. I like historical fiction. Some of my favorite authors write mystery and keep me up to all hours reading.
I know reading these various genre, reading famous authors and newcomers, reading YA and adult, all this will help me in my own writing. So put the guilt away and think of reading as a form of study and education, making you a better writer.
So how big is your TBR pile and will you be pulling a book off of it anytime soon? Do you feel guilt when you read during your writing time?
11 comments:
Hello, stranger! How are you? I've been neglecting my blogging buddies for a while...
I, too, love to read; however, until recently, I was failing in this category even worse than with blogging. Now my routine is to read at work during breaks and then again just before bed.
Other than that, it's the 11 hr day job and as much networking as I can fit in thereafter. Soon I will need to start writing project #3... *sigh*
-Jimmy
I know how you feel - it seems that I have a never-stream of books to read, and little time in which to do so. I often pull books off my TBR pile for various reasons, but usually because they don't really fit the genre for my blog. I still tend to read them (eventually) but only when I want a break from 'review-reading'. I think I need to set myself time every day in which I read solidly, so I make sure I get some of the pile down!
I read while waiting for my husband to get ready to leave the house for work in the morning from 5.30 to 6.10 and then from 8.00 in the evening to 9.00 before bed. I go to bed early because I'm up at 4.00 in the morning to write. During the day while cooking, cleaning and doing housework, I listen to talking books, which help me 'Read' more books. I know it's cheating but I like listening to how a good book sound read aloud as well as seeing how one looks on a printed page.
I still manage to read, but not as much as I should. Yes, I have dozens of my blogger buddies' books waiting on my iPad.
Yeah it is a delicate balance trying to fit everything in, can be very tough at times.
I definitely can get derailed from my writing when a good book gets my attention. But I agree, reading widely is a good education - period. Not just for a writer. The learning curve ends at the grave.
Good luck with all your busy life stuff. You'll get it done. (Says the woman who still doesn't have her Christmas tree up.)
Make that TBR piles. One in this room, one in that room... Never enough time but we have to read. It's the water that primes the creative pump.
My problem is that I don't just read books, I study them...I analyze them...I annotate them. It's almost as hard as writing!
I planned on reading more biographies this year and only managed two. Maybe I can get more in next year.
Ann
I do the same thing, Jan. LD, I only have two piles of TBR and they're both in the same room.
I don't read many bios, Cozy, but I know they are big business. Stores are full of them.
My TBR list has become unmanageable. Now there's not only the physical pile toppling over beside the bed, but the Kindle's stacking up with ebooks. I'm trying to do what John F. Kennedy did - squeeze in reading while doing mundane tasks (though I can't read and get dressed at the same time like he did!).
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