Reading habits, a few nosy questions from me . . .
By Lonnie Cruse
How many books did you read last year? Did you keep count? Keep a list?
MY ANSWERS: I USED to keep a list but didn't this year. It's pretty easy to check what I read on my Kindle because Amazon keeps a list of books I download. Don't know how many paperback or hardback books I read. I know I read a lot. Hope to read more this year.
What are your answers?
What was your fave new read for 2009? Did you pick up any new books by the same author based on that experience?
MY ANSWERS: My fave was PRAYERS FOR SALE By Sandra Dallas. Yes, I picked up her entire set of books (I say "set" not "series" because each of her books stands alone, she doesn't repeat characters or settings) because I love her writing. She's not a mystery author, however.
In the mystery genre, my fave was anything by Donna Andrews, particularly the two I read in '09 that I hadn't collected before, I have a third on my TBR pile, and I'm nagging her on the Internet to write faster. She actually wrote an e-mail response to me saying she's typing as fast as she can. Gotta love that woman.
Did you re-read any books last year? Will you do any re-reads this year?
MY ANSWER: Yes, I re-read some Agatha Christies. They are my comfort read and while I have them all in an air-tight box in the shed (yes, I know I should be ashamed to leave her in the shed) I'm also downloading them to my Kindle from Amazon because they are cheap and I love re-reading Christie. I also re-read WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE by Shirley Jackson (for the third time!) I'm not much into re-reading because I have soooo many interesting looking books in the house, on shelves and downloaded to my Kindle, that I can not possibly live long enough to read them all. I gotta keep plugging away on that TBR pile. But every now and then I need to re-visit an old fave.
What are your answers?
If you hope to read more this year than you did last year, given that you'll have the same amount of days, hours, and minutes as you had then, how will you pull it off?
MY ANSWER: I plan to MAKE the time. I've learned that if I leave anything until I "have" the time, it never happens. I have to MAKE the time, time for family, time for friends, time for writing, time for researching, time for crafts, and time for reading. Using my Kindle, carrying a book with me, reading before I go to sleep, taking time to slip off to the sun porch and stretch out and read . . . those are all part of the plan.
What are your answers?
I hope that all of us find more time to read more books this year, and better books than ever before. I hope libraries find funding to stay alive and provide all of us with much needed services, and I hope all of us remember to support our local libraries. I hope the publishing industry comes to grips with some of the outdated practices of printing and publishing books and embraces instead some newer ways of publishing that save paper (think trees) and costs less. I hope that more and more publishers convert their books to e-books at cheaper prices so Kindle owners (and owners of other e-readers) can afford them. I hope that more new writers find their way into print and that my favorite authors STAY in print, with new books for me to devour. Last of all, I hope your reading experience is even better and more fulfilling for you than any year in the past. And I hope that you will keep reading PDD and sharing your thoughts with us.