The Joys of an Almost 3 Book Weekend by Debra H. Goldstein
Have you ever had a weekend when the plans you carefully made fell through? That’s what happened to us this past Labor Day weekend. One set of kids and grandkids were planning to visit, but a stomach bug on their end canceled the trip. Joel had no problem filling our sudden free time with football, but I didn’t know what to do.
That’s not quite correct. I had a long To-Do list, but the question was where to start. I could write this month’s blogs, read the two ARCs I’d promised to blurb or review, send out queries for other projects, write the two short stories for which I have deadlines, play numerous jigsaw planet puzzles, watch a marathon of TV shows, or catch up on exercise and sleep. Overwhelming!
Friday night, I went to bed fretting what to do with my now free Saturday. I woke early and it hit me – do what you love: Read.
Two ARCs, People magazine, and beginning a book for fun later, the day had flown by. My eyes were tired, but I was more satisfied than I have been in a long time. Somehow, although I try to sneak reading in when I can, it doesn’t happen the way it used to. There simply are too many things that I commit to do. Plus, I don’t read the same way I once did. Since I started writing, I tend to read with a more critical eye. It is truly a good book when I lose my analytical side and become immersed in the story.
Much as I love writing, I miss the purity of being a reader. Those of you who are writers, do you ever have the same feelings? Readers, have you ever lost your joy in reading because of the pressures of life?
As I finished writing these thoughts, a friend sent me the cartoon below. I don’t know who created it, but it certainly reflects how I celebrated Labor Day weekend.
I completely sympathise with your indecision. I often find myself with a Saturday where I don't know which of the things I have to do I should tackle first. And then before I know it the day is half gone and I'm still trying to figure out what to do first.
ReplyDeleteI'd probably vote for catching up on sleep.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about circumstances that change reading habits. Mysteries and crime fiction has always been my favorites, but I didn't read them much the years I worked in a state prison. Somehow, having a "tough guy" tearfully explain how he came to kill his best friend over a petty dispute over the sale of Christmas trees took the enjoyment away.
I read a bit every night before I go to sleep, often short stories. And I glory in the long afternoons bundled up in an afghan when I can lose myself in a book.
I find it's more rare now for me to set aside hours to sit and read, as I used to do before I was a writer. I think it has to do with compartmentalizing my day. When the job called for my ten or eleven hours, I was done with it until the next day. Taking the entire evening to read was a destressing pleasure. Now, I do things throughout the day. Although I read more books than in the before-time, I don't have multiple-book-reading weekends.
ReplyDeleteLOL, Debra, congratulations on a reading weekend. I agree with you about reading as a writer. It’s difficult to put the internal editor away and allow yourself to be swept away. It's a joy when it happens.
ReplyDeleteI read a book a day when I'm felled by a virus or head cold. In fact, I have a shelf of comfort books as well as a TBR pile.
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