The last couple of days have been very interesting for me. I've read The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak and The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.
Before I started reading I had already formed an impression of both books over the years since they were released. I have been shown the error of my ways.
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
I thought this wouldn't be that interesting a read. A book about a kid learning to read in Nazi Germany during the war and having to steal books due to a lack of money to buy them. I was also slightly hesitant in case there was any nasty stuff in it about the Holocaust.
I was wrong. It was a fantastic book and I thoroughly enjoyed it, so much so I'm considering going back and reading it again. I couldn't have been more wrong about the plot, the motivations behind the book stealing or how the Holocaust was portrayed. I finished it in 4hrs and 46 minutes and felt that little pang when I realised the end was approaching. I was left wanting more.
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
I thought this would be a bit of an emotional rollercoaster given what I had gleaned over the years and the ads on TV for the recent series, which I didn't watch as I wanted to read the book. A post-apocalyptic America forcing specific women to breed the next generation into a half-dead world for the elite ruling class.
Unfortunately, it generated no emotions in me at all. I fell asleep during the first hour I was that bored reading it. It picked up a bit after about page 65 but otherwise I found it a dull dry read and was glad to finish it. It was a duty read. I felt nothing for the main protagonist or her situation. I've read and watched a lot of post-apocalyptic stuff since reading Z for Zacharia at the age of eleven, so maybe that's the reason that I didn't find the main premise shocking. It took me 4hrs and 6 minutes to read this and I was glad it was over. Into the charity shop for that one.
The last couple of days have provided a lot of food for thought.
I have not been reading fiction in the best way for me.
It's 'normal' to read in small snatches of time, a chapter here, a few pages there, and this is what I've been doing, but I've realised this is the worst thing I can do. I need to keep up with the spirit of the book and the flow of emotions from beginning to end otherwise I put it down and never really get back into it again.
Reading should be given centre stage
What the last few days has shown me is that household tasks should be fitted into small pieces of time, not afforded time at the expense of reading. Normally I do it the other way around, but I've found I can keep up with things quite well in short 2-3 minute spurts throughout the day.
A timer is crucial for focus
Setting my phone alarm in one hour blocks has kept me focused on both work and reading. I'm not clock-watching, thinking about all the things I need to do or drifting towards other thing. This has resulted in me working and reading solidly with better focus than I was before. I do both until the alarm goes off. It's great!
So, the next book for me is Pet Sematary by Stephen King (and no, that's not a typo, that's is the way King spells it)
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