On Books and Reading

Of all the diversions of life, there is none so proper to fill up its empty spaces as the reading of useful and entertaining authors. - Joseph Addison

So... I was going to do Booking Through Thursday today. I haven't done it in awhile, and thought it might be fun. But...

But it asked what the worst book was that I've read recently and I don't like to talk about those, at least not by name. Some author somewhere worked very hard on that book, and it may be loved by many, even if it wasn't something that excited me. I'm not into being snarky like that. Here's the thing: Of the last, oh, ten books I've started, I've probably finished two. I have VERY VERY little time to read anymore, so I refuse to waste that precious time on something that doesn't grab me right off the bat. I'll give it a couple of chapters, but if I still feel a little *meh* about it, I'll quit.

One book I actually "finished" was "Burn" by Linda Howard, and even that one didn't grab me like I'd hoped. There was a hook at the beginning, but then she flashed back for a few chapters, and those chapters bored me. I almost put it down, but I thought "Linda Howard... come on, you always like her." and kept moving forward, albeit skimming now and then.

Truthfully, this was probably a stellar book. Everyone else that I've seen mention they've read it thought it rocked. I suspect my problem was my limited attention span. Also, I've discovered I really hate flashbacks.

I just started a new cozy series (not the scrapbooking one I talked about a few days back, a different one that shall remain nameless at this time) and it starts with a friend/co-worker of the heroine's getting injured and then... you guessed it... flashed back in time to why the heroine took that job in the first place and WORSE, in her flashback there were flashbacks!!

I think the story shows potential, so I'm giving it another chapter to get to the present and prove to me why I should read it (and future books), but it needs to get that business done quickly.

I did finish a Rachel Gibson book the other day, "Tangled Up in You", and thoroughly enjoyed it, but that was sort of cheating: it was a re-read from my keeper shelf. However, I promptly requested all of her other books from my library to read. I hope she keeps up the momentum. I could really get into finding several books in a row that I enjoy!

What about you? What do you like and not like about books? Is there something that completely annoys you or turns you off?

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In other news, it looks like our humidity has broken!! I woke up this morning and didn't feel as though I was swimming in the air. Woot! Just in time for Hurricane Bill to come visit us this weekend. Fingers crossed that he doesn't smack us and/or that we don't lose power. Right now, he's scheduled to hit the Cape in Massachusetts and Down East Maine (that's not you, is it, Groovy?).

My DD said, "It's awful the damage that tornadoes and hurricanes and earthquakes do." And I, in a effort to teach her sarcasm (I said sarcastically), responded, "That's why they're called natural DISASTERS. If they didn't do bad things, they be called flowers or cookies."

At least she giggled.

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