Random thoughts...

[TJCams]

Interesting....for me, my commute is whole 11 minutes! Makes audio books pointless pretty much, plus we have a morning show here out of Detroit that is just too much fun to pass on!

I am starting a short story collection by a local author actually. Saw his books review on JournalStone's website, and he happens to work at the local used shop I frequent. It's like a combo of horror/sci-fi/weird fiction from I understand. Maybe the short stories will help things along. If not, after this, I will try a genre switch (have a couple science books I want to get to), and if that fails.....maybe take a small break.

I set my Goodreads goal low this year, as I was nowhere close to my 2017 goal.

I think part of my problem is that I look at my bookshelf and there are so many I haven't read yet.....it's almost overwhelming, yet here I am adding more.

[TacomaDiver]

11 minutes? That's criminal . . . I live 44 miles from work. If I take the bus, it's two buses in the morning and takes about 1:40 from door to door. The evening is three buses and it takes between 2-3 hours from door to door. I carpooled for awhile and it was about 60-80 minutes in the morning, and 70-90 in the evening. Driving alone and minimum of 90 in the morning and 2 hours in the evening. That's why I'm exhausted.

I'm currently reading The Fifth Season - it's going ok - little slow (not a fast Jack Reacher kind of page turner by any means!) but it's going good. The other day I was thinking of some other books I wanted to read this year, but have promptly forgot which they were (thank you head cold!)

[TJCams]

11 minutes? That's criminal . . . I live 44 miles from work. If I take the bus, it's two buses in the morning and takes about 1:40 from door to door. The evening is three buses and it takes between 2-3 hours from door to door. I carpooled for awhile and it was about 60-80 minutes in the morning, and 70-90 in the evening. Driving alone and minimum of 90 in the morning and 2 hours in the evening. That's why I'm exhausted.

I'm currently reading The Fifth Season - it's going ok - little slow (not a fast Jack Reacher kind of page turner by any means!) but it's going good. The other day I was thinking of some other books I wanted to read this year, but have promptly forgot which they were (thank you head cold!)

Actually.....I was off a bit. It's more like 15-20 minutes (in traffic). My house is only 11km from work. I like it, and consider myself pretty lucky. Plus our city isn't really that big (225,000). My wife just started a job out in the county, so her drive is like 30 mins (about 26 km (16 miles).

[Brian861]

Interesting....for me, my commute is whole 11 minutes! Makes audio books pointless pretty much, plus we have a morning show here out of Detroit that is just too much fun to pass on!

I am starting a short story collection by a local author actually. Saw his books review on JournalStone's website, and he happens to work at the local used shop I frequent. It's like a combo of horror/sci-fi/weird fiction from I understand. Maybe the short stories will help things along. If not, after this, I will try a genre switch (have a couple science books I want to get to), and if that fails.....maybe take a small break.

I set my Goodreads goal low this year, as I was nowhere close to my 2017 goal.

I think part of my problem is that I look at my bookshelf and there are so many I haven't read yet.....it's almost overwhelming, yet here I am adding more.

I've pretty much gone over to audiobooks completely. There's always in the CD player in my truck. Even if I'm just out and about running errands or a quick jog to the store. Can take awhile to finish 'em that way but at least I'm "reading" something all the time.

[saginawhorror]

I'm only about a 2 to 3 minute drive from work. Its not even a mile from home.

[Martin]

I have about a 30 minute commute to work and about 45 minutes back in the evening. I have switched to audio books while in the car, I have tried to also listen while at work but I find I am not able to focus fully on the story so it does not work for me. I read physical books while at home so I now always have two books in progress.

[mhatchett]

God Bless Y'all that have those long commutes!

[RonClinton]

I definitely believe in "Readers Block". I've gone years with hardly reading a book. I'd pick some up and just have to abandon them, not because they were bad, but because I just wasn't into it at the time.

My reading pattern tends to go through cycles, ebbs and flows, and there will be times where I just can't seem to get into any work of fiction. At that point, I'll just not worry about even trying for a week or two, then I'll pick up some non-fiction for a while (I usually have one non-fiction book going at all times, but alternate with fiction, with the latter getting the lion's share of reading time), focus on non-fiction for two, three, four books. A few books seem to cleanse the mind, then I'll start off with a book from an author I *know* I will like, and nothing too obscure or challenging, just a simple, straight-forward tale, to ease back into it. Seems to work for me.

[Sock Monkey]

I think diversity is the key to maintaining reading habits. I don’t do non-fiction, but always try to work non-horror into my reading list as a palate cleanser. My lack of reading over the last 18 months is solely attributable to my promotion and added workload. I’ve decided to get back on track this year. Oddly enough I find myself rather at loose ends when I don’t read for long periods of time.

[HumphreyBear]

I use a combination of Audiobooks and reading. But never the same book on both forms. You can do that with Kindle/Audible but I like having at least two books on the go. But I hardly ever read books as such. While I must own them, I don;t often read the hard copies. I buy them and put them on the shelf, and read the kindle version on my tablet. Usually because I do most of my reading while in bed, or travelling (on planes and waiting around at airports). It's more convenient for me that way.
When I have a bit of spare time to sit around and read at home, I will usually go for a graphic novel or picture book - something you can't really do on the tablet or on audible.
Sometimes I get a little confused - at the moment I am listening to Swan Song and reading The Passage - both end of the world books. A couple of times I have found myself thinking about the other one...
This afternoon I spent half an hour on the couch reading Apollo by Zack Scott, which I picked up at my local book shop today. I love the Apollo Missions and this is a lovely book.

[Dave1442397]

How about trying some short story compilations?

I have a bunch of Horror best of 20xx books on my kindle, plus a Time Travel omnibus, a few volumes of Louis L'Amour short stories, etc. If there's ever a time when I just want to read something quick, I bounce back to one of those books and read a story or two. I've been reading the Time Travel stories for at least three years, and I'm still nowhere near done with that book.

I also throw in non-fiction. I have books by cyclists, F1 drivers, Scientists...all sorts of stuff. Sometimes I'll read them straight through, sometimes I'll go back to fiction for a while.

[mhatchett]

Just a heads up, Jerad is opening up the subscription plan for anyone that's interested.

[RonClinton]

Just a heads up, Jerad is opening up the subscription plan for anyone that's interested.

Yeah, I saw that, too. I love his press, but my pockets are not deep enough nor my tastes unerringly consistent enough with Jerad's to allow it.

[Martin]

My thoughts on Reader's Block will echo many already posted. I have experienced it a few times. Usually after reading multiple less than stellar reads in a row. Most of the time I will force myself to complete a book even if I am not enjoying it. When I have had to do that multiple time in a row it removes the joy from reading. The first sign for me is a slow my pace and find myself resisting picking the book up to continue. The next is when I finish I have trouble deciding what to read next. I have walked away form reading for maybe a month but find I feel I need to get back to it. The problem is a part of me does not want to dive back into reading as well. I usually break out of that by reading something I have read before and really enjoyed, often starting with short stories. Once I am able to get my reading rhythm back I am good to go.

[TJCams]

How about trying some short story compilations?

I have a bunch of Horror best of 20xx books on my kindle, plus a Time Travel omnibus, a few volumes of Louis L'Amour short stories, etc. If there's ever a time when I just want to read something quick, I bounce back to one of those books and read a story or two. I've been reading the Time Travel stories for at least three years, and I'm still nowhere near done with that book.

I also throw in non-fiction. I have books by cyclists, F1 drivers, Scientists...all sorts of stuff. Sometimes I'll read them straight through, sometimes I'll go back to fiction for a while.

Nice....a fellow F1 fan!!!!!