It's summertime and that means plenty of reading by the pool while my kids play. But just today, I set aside a book I've been reading for the last 10 days. It took me 10 days to get to 55% because, well, I was so bored. The beginning of this book meandered all over the place with no real goals, motivation, or conflict except staying alive, which really is the goal of most human beings so who cares? I kept waiting for the stakes to be raised, and they never were. What's most disappointing about this is it's the third book in a trilogy and I loved the first two books. And I love this author. So I'm not going to say which book it is. I just knew I had to let it go when I was staring into space instead of reading. It couldn't keep my attention.
Moving on, I have chosen another book on my Kindle and will sally forth into a whole new world which will hopefully keep my attention for more than 10 minutes at a time.
In the meantime, I have been listening to audiobooks. Last week, I finished UNWHOLLY by Neal Shusterman, and I really enjoyed it. The plot was moving at all times, and the story was really interesting and engaging. I loved all of the play on “what makes us human” and finally getting some clues as to why the world is the way it is. I guess Shusterman needed a lot of time between Books 1 and 2 to really nail down the world, and though it did take him a long time to get to the 2nd book in the series, it's obvious he worked hard and did an amazing job. I will definitely be continuing on with the audiobooks quite soon.
But in the meantime, I had a few Audible books I wanted to get to first. Right now I'm listening to another John Scalzi book, AGENT TO THE STARS (narrated again by the awesome Wil Wheaton). Coincidentally, he just wrote a post about this book's ten year anniversary on his blog. I didn't realize it was his first book! And it has an interesting history to it as well. I highly recommend you read his post. The book itself is funny, witty, and inventive, like all Scalzi books. It is cementing him in the ranks of my top 10 favorite authors. I love that he entertains me and his books never take themselves too seriously. They make me happy.
So, while one book was a failure, the others in audio form kick ass and take names in the most engaging way possible. Here's to hoping my next read on my Kindle blows me away!
I was actually struggling through a book I couldn’t really give my attention as I just wanted to read Mamachari Matchmaker and Summer Haikus, so I decided to put it aside for now, read those two books first and then read more to see if it get’s better. I just wanted to read your books so badly. And I learned sometimes it’s better just to follow my mood and read what I want.
It’s sad when a series you enjoyed so far suddenly has a book you don’t enjoy as much. If you’re staring off into space instead of reading, that’s definitely a good sign it’s not keeping your attention. I don’t think I have heard of John Scalzi before, I’ll look him up on goodreads. Here’s to more great books!
I think you would enjoy Scalzi’s books. They are funny and sarcastic and full of fun!
I don’t know what’s up with me lately. Ever since I finished Summer Haikus, all I do is stare out into space. Perhaps it’s my brain rebooting so I can write something new? I’m hoping that whatever I read next captures me and keeps me entertained!
(And yes, perhaps I will go back to the book I put down and see if I can finish it later. I will give it a shot!)
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