This week’s musing
from MizB at Should Be Reading, asks...What’s at the top of your must-buy list, right now? (or, if you don’t wait — if you’re more impulsive — what books have you recently purchased?)
Yes, I love to read.
Yes, I love to share some knowledge about books I have read with others.
But my discovery of these books seem a little haphazard compared to many of my fellow bloggers.
I have no Big Plan. I have no idea what books are coming out next month..or this month for that matter. I have no books, except on the rare occasion, that I am looking forward to, at least in part because I have no idea what is coming out.
"But don't you have some favorite writers whose next book you are looking forward to?" Awww....not really. Don't get me wrong. There are a number of writers I love, whose previous books I have enjoyed. But you know, there are so many great writers out there, some of whose books I have read in the past and may well read more of in the future, and there are also so many I have not read yet and would like to. Sometimes I read something by an author and look forward to reading some more by them and may search out another they have out or maybe get excited about a new book they have coming out soon. But honestly..I don't usually keep track of things like that and then I read some reviews about another book 'everyone' is talking about...and I forget all about it. There I am, once again, distracted by the shiny object someone is dangling in front of my eyes.
Then there is the issue that I often don't like to read too many books by one author.
Is that weird?
Well, maybe but true.
You love one of their books, but often, in my experience, the others are not as good. Even with someone you really love, maybe a great series, it has a certain lifespan and then it starts to be not quite as good. Not bad maybe, but same old/same old. You love the first, look forward to the second, the third was pretty good but..and then I am off to something else. I think it is hard to keep a series interesting and really fresh. Maybe you have to be willing to kill some central characters off, make some drastic changes, shake things up and I guess authors get a bit scared readers will not like that and often don't...and I get a little bored.
There are just so many authors out there, great writers, whose books I have never read. It seems a week does not go by that I don't read about a new to me author who I would love to check out. It is like a Giant Buffet of Books and while the steamed dumpling may be great and I love the steamed dumplings, I should go over and try the garlic chicken! I like the smorgasbord of books...one of these...one of those...a little of this... and look, they are bringing out a new tray of something tasty looking that I need to check out!
Remember, you can always go back and get another dumpling!
You're spot on, there is so much out there to read, and it's more than we can fit into a lifetime.
ReplyDeleteAs for you're not reading too many books by the same author, I don't blame you. Certain authors you can stick with, but too many have that one book that's fantastic, but then it ends up outshining all the other books they write, which takes away from the experience because you're comparing the two books the entire time.
I am alot like you I think. I will get all excited about the next installment of a trilogy, or the next book by a beloved author, but then I get distracted. I mean, at any given time I have three dozen books I feel I need to read right at this very moment. There are a few exceptions. I do REGULARLY check up on Tana French and Sarah Waters. They can't write fast enough for me.
ReplyDeleteI will go on author jags for quite some time though IN SPITE OF getting bored, because my OCD outweighs it all! But yes, and then there was the time we went to a Chinese restaurant and ordered pot stickers for an appetizer and steamed dumplings for dinner and they turned out to be IDENTICAL. Now that can be irritating. One author pretending to write two different books, or two authors pretending to write separate books, when they're all just steamed dumplings!
ReplyDeleteI very often feel the same way. I don't usually know what's coming out soon/next, and feel very much like I'm lacking in the book-blogging department.
ReplyDeleteIt was only recently that I started to read other blogs more, and therefore find books that are "coming soon" that I want to read -- others have just done the work for me! LOL.
Mind you, browsing through Amazon's "Customers Who Bought This Book Also Bought..." feature also helps... I've found lots of upcoming books that way, too! :D
But, yeah... most of the time, I just feel like I don't know what's going on.
~MizB
I like your answer, I sometimes just buy a book because I like the cover. Sometimes they turn out to be a good book and other times a bit slow. I like reading the other book blogs, it helps me decide if I think a book will be one I would be interested in reading.
ReplyDeleteI don't always keep up with what's coming out soon either. I'm usually an impulse buyer when it comes to books anyway.
ReplyDeleteI get like that most of the time believe me you are not the only one :-)
ReplyDeleteI tend to bounce around a lot with authors, too. Right now, I'm searching for more short story collections. My summers are soooo busy. A short story is about all I have time for at the end of a long day.
ReplyDeleteyep...sometimes a short story is ideal...
ReplyDeleteI love your dumplings metaphor. It is good to sample many types of food...er, I mean books. I don't pay much attention to what is coming out soon either. Sometimes seeing a new book that I really want to read is an unexpected treat.
ReplyDeleteand I love steamed dumplings..
ReplyDeleteWow, instead of thinking I have reading ADD I will look on it as the Giant Buffet of Books from now on! That is a stupendous idea!!
ReplyDeleteI have to keep myself from reading too many blogs and adding to my towering mountain of things I want to read and instead I need to go with what grabs me at the moment. Sometimes it's the current Book Group book that I must finish, or a recommendation from a student or something I want to challenge a student with. Sometimes it's just a title that grabs me or the smell and feel of the book in my hand. Ah, yes, Book ADD - no, I mean "the smorgasbord of books"!! Yep, you nailed this one!
I use to devour books by the author and then I started blogging
ReplyDeleteSorry didn't finish that... I started blogging and received ARC's that I wouldn't have normally picked and have found some treasures.
ReplyDelete