Cold hands make typing difficult

My day has been unsatisfying, I think because I don’t really like my book.  I like it okay, but I would prefer to like it more.  It’s a collection of steampunk short stories, some of which I like better than others (of course), and I’m just not excited about reading it.  I’m halfway through, and I know that if I finish the story I’m on and put it down, it’s unlikely that I’ll pick it back up.  That seems like a shame.  Like I’m punishing the book for something that isn’t its fault.

This is dumb, isn’t it?

Need more memory

One of the downsides to e-books is that there’s no cover.  You can’t read the blurbs from other others.  You can’t read the back cover of the book (or the inside flap of the dust jacket) to see what it’s about.  Where you bought it from (like Amazon or wherever) has a description, and I guess you could go back there to look at it, but I never do (or it’s not convenient when I think about it), and that doesn’t tell me everything I need to know about why I decided to buy it.

I don’t do a lot of impulse e-book buying.  I usually get a recommendation from somewhere (a tweet, comments on someone’s blog, an actual person talking to me in actual real life), and then I add it to my Amazon wish list.  My Amazon wish list is more of a reminder list for myself, and Amazon added a feature not too long ago that lets you add comments to individual items.  I can add a book to my list and add a note that says “from Bloggess commenters” or “saw in bookstore” or “tweet from Rainbow Rowell”, and when I go back to buy it, I have some context for how it ended up on my list, and I can make the decision about whether or not buy it based on some information.

I run into a problem when I see a tweet (or whatever) where someone is recommending a book and it’s on sale. Like, some crazy-low amount ($.99 or $1.99) that I can’t resist.  When that happens, I just buy it and download it to my Kindle app.  But I’m not reading many Kindle books lately, and even if I were, I’m usually in the middle of one, so I’m not going to read this new book right away, and now I don’t have any notes on it.  Who recommended it? What sounded interesting about it?  Do I even want to read this random book with the completely unfamiliar title by an author whose name doesn’t even ring a bell?  Months later (or some period of time that is long enough for me to forget those details (an hour)), I’ll go back to my Kindle and not recognize ANY of the titles on it.  What’s “Inertia” and why did I buy it?  What’s it about?  Who told me about it?  And when it’s not good (like that one – the writing is bad and the author (and editor) should feel bad), I would really like to know how I heard about it because just maybe I won’t trust that person’s recommendations anymore.  Unfortunately, that information (which existed only fleetingly in my brain to begin with) is gone forever.

This latest experience with that one book (and the sequel that I bought and read ANYWAY) might teach me to use on my many note/list apps and try to keep better track.  It’s (sadly) too late for the books that are sitting on my Kindle right now.

I knew it!

So that book I finished the other day?  The one where I was guessing all the plot twists?  I was totally right.  I mean, my last guess, the one I wrote about, that one was right. Well, it was a little less sensational than I had imagined, but that’s a good thing.  So I was mostly right, but I’ll take that.  All the guesses before it were very wrong, based on not enough information.  Even guessing the ending, I still enjoyed it.  And now, of course, I have to pick another book.  It’s such a burden to live this way.

Predictability isn’t always a bad thing

I have read all of Kate Morton’s books.  Well, I’m a quarter from the end of the only one of hers I hadn’t read, so that’s mostly true.  I have enjoyed them all, some more than others.  They’re very similar, but that’s something I kind of like about them.  They have all these twists and turns.  And with this one, I’m enjoying anticipating the twists and turns.  It’s like watching a movie, when you have to pause and say out loud (it doesn’t count if  you only think it) who you think did it or how you think it’ll turn out.  You have to call it.  I’m doing that with this book (although not out loud – the rules are different for reading), and it’s kind of fun.  I’ve already been wrong twice, but I’m pretty sure I’ve got it now.  I’ll let you know.

Curbing my desire to squee

I mentioned the other day (last week?) that I loved Amy Bai’s Sword SO much that I emailed her to tell her about it.  (Seriously, I really REALLY liked it, and I’m really REALLY glad she’s working on the sequel.)  Then I started following her on Twitter (I follow a handful of authors I like on Twitter – they’re fun).  Then she emailed me back and was super nice.  (Or maybe she emailed me back and then I started following her on Twitter – can’t remember, doesn’t matter.)  AND THEN, she started following ME on Twitter.  I am not cool enough for this.  But I’m trying to act like I am.  🙂  No public squeals of delight. I’m pretty sure the neighbors didn’t hear me.

Luckily, Jess has upped her game on Twitter, and I’ve taken that as a dare to do the same.  Why be on Twitter if I’m not going to use it?  All I do is follow a bunch of people hoping to be amused.  Boring for anyone following me, including myself (not that there are many of those (which is okay)).  So let’s be less boring (at least to me and Jess).

Small dilemma: I was going to start tweeting about the books I’ve been reading that I’ve really liked, but having Amy Bai follow me on Twitter (have I mentioned that Amy Bai is following me on Twitter now?) makes me hesitate (because hers is one of the books I would tweet about).  Does it look self-serving?  Like, “Look at me!  I liked your book!  I’m telling the world, and it’s only coincidence that I didn’t tell the world until after you started following me and would see it (wink, wink)!”  Except that I told you guys before she was following me (but she doesn’t know that), and I told HER before she was following me (she’s following me!), and since I’ve already told you, why even tweet about it?  I don’t want to look like I’m sucking up or starved for attention.  Or a stalker.

Overthinking this?  Probably.

Definitely.  Authors are people who like other people for the same reasons everyone else does, and being nice to people is appreciated (usually) and my insecurities are having a field day.  Just relax already.

I’m usually not that kind of fan

I finished reading Sword, by Amy Bai, Sunday afternoon.  Within three minutes of finishing it, I’d sent her an email telling her how much I loved it.  I’m pretty sure I managed to keep the gushing to a minimum, and it wasn’t a long email or anything, but seriously – I really liked this book.  (Also, I love the internet.  I’m not one for sending fanmail under normal circumstances, and if I’d had to write an actual letter and put postage on it and mail it, I NEVER would have done it.  This way is so much easier.)  I’m pretty sure it’s the opener to a series, but it doesn’t have to be.  It IS her first book, which makes me happy for her and sad for me.  She doesn’t have anything else for me to read!  What am I going to do?

Here’s how I heard of her: The Big Idea: Amy Bai, on John Scalzi’s blog.  I bought the book within a day of reading that.  (It’s only $4.99 for Kindle right now, by the way.)

Picking a book shouldn’t be this hard

Finally read Redshirts (John Scalzi), and I don’t know what took me so long.  It was hilarious.  I read it in about 18 hours, starting Sunday night – it was helpful to have Monday off work, and also helpful to have it on my Kindle app, so I could read it while charging away on the not-exactly-an-elliptical-machine at the gym for an hour.  I couldn’t put it down (and didn’t have to).  Just as well I wasn’t at work.

Now I face the always difficult task of picking my next book.  Will it be as good?  Should I pick something along the same lines or completely different?  I finished A Discovery of Witches Sunday (which I thoroughly enjoyed).  That’s different (as was going to Redshirts right after it).  Should I start the sequel?  Move on to something else entirely?  I don’t know.

No, I do know.  I have a few books already downloaded to my tablet that I haven’t read it, and I’m going to choose one of them.  Just because.

Now, having made that decision, I’m going to watch some TV.

Some thoughts on books and e-readers

Actual physical books!  Remember those?  Those things I love and prefer to decorate with?  I read three in late January/early February (three in a ROW, even), but before that (pause while I check…), the last physical-actually-made-out-of-paper book I read was in November. Turns out I read three real actual books in November. Everything since then (and lot before that) has been via the Kindle app on my tablet, except for what I’m reading now (one of the books I kept out when we packed them up).  It appears I got used to e-reading a lot faster than I thought I would.  Boxing up 99% of our books early last fall helped.  It also helps that I can read on my tablet while I’m at the gym.  My tablet has several (well, two) advantages over books at the gym.  First, it lays flat and stays open when propped up on the machine.  Second, I can enlarge the text so I can still see it even though it’s a bit further away from my eyes than it would be if I were just holding it.  I think making the text bigger helps me read while I’m moving so much, too.

I don’t have any other thoughts on the subject.  Nope.  No more thinking.  Ever.  About ANYthing.  (Seriously, I thought I had more thoughts.  Where did they go?)

Reading should never be this hard

I could have spent all day working on a blog post, but instead I focused on finishing my book.  And it took focus.  It wasn’t bad, not in any way, but it wasn’t the right choice.  I figured that out fairly quickly, but then I got stubborn.  I was going to finish this book, THIS book and now, not put it down and come back to it later.  So reading today felt a bit like a chore.  A chore I have COMPLETED.  Yay me.  Now I can pick out a good one.

Can’t read right now

Mom commented about Eleanor & Park, which reminded me of Eleanor & Park, and I think that’s why all of a sudden I can’t read my current book (detective mystery/science fiction Kiln People by David Brin).  I’m usually a fast reader – I think I skim over the words and take in the meaning and move on.  (I’m not sure how I actually read – it’s not something I can analyze.  It’s like thinking about breathing.  If you think about it, you’re doing it manually.  You can’t think about breathing and continue to breathe automatically.  I can’t think about reading and just do it.)  Just now, I found myself reading every word individually, as if I were reading them all out loud, but I wasn’t taking in anything.  I have no idea what I just read.  Why can’t I read normally?  Am I distracted?  Have I gone off this book?  I’m enjoying it, but maybe it’s not what I feel like reading right now.  That’s not going to change anything.  I know myself – I’m not going to put this book down and go read something else.  I might put it down and go DO something else.  Actually, I did that to come here.  Maybe this was enough.

Can I tell you something?  I really liked Eleanor & Park.  It’s probably not a book I’ll re-read, but I was completely immersed in it.  Then I had to pick my next book.  I wanted it to be something else I’ll really enjoy.  Like, really like.  I have two Robin McKinley books just waiting for me.  But I want to be reading something I really like on my birthday.  If I start something now (or Friday, when I was going through this thought process), I’ll be done with it by then, and what are the odds I’ll pick two books in a row I feel that good about?  So I picked up this one, knowing I’d probably like it fine (true so far) and that I’ll be done with it in time to start something else (something I’m fairly certain I’ll love) before my birthday.  There are a whole lot more books I like than books I love – I’m trying to plan ahead here.  But I’m probably over-thinking this.

I cried all the tears

I did a lot of crying today, all over one book.  I only cried three times, but my eyes still feel tearful and my nose is stuffed up (I think that started before the crying, though).  The thing is, it wasn’t a sad book.  There are sad things in it, but it wasn’t about sadness.  And when I cried the first two times, it was in reaction to someone doing a good thing.  The third time was in relief (I think) at the very end.  Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell.  Good book.

I have NO idea what I’m going to read next.

Missed already

I made a kinda-sorta-quasi-resolution to post every day for as long as I could this year.  I told John about it yesterday, thinking how cool it was that I’d made it 11 days in, and then I went back and looked at the little calendar widget that shows me the days I blogged.  Where was the link for Friday?  Wait – seriously?  I missed the 10th?  But I remember writing something…oh, there it is.  Safe and sound (and unfinished) over there in Drafts.  Damn.  And also whoops.

Now go look at some maps (via Reddit) while I figure out what I’m reading next.  For real.  They’re pretty fascinating maps.

I’m not using my time wisely

Huh.  I only read 44 books in 2013.  That feels like failure.  And I’m not off to a great start in 2014, either.  51 in 2012.  I must make better use of my time.  On the other hand, I can’t think of anything I’ve done lately that I’ve regretted spending the time on, so maybe my time is being spent just fine.  Stop judging me.

I’m feeling much better, in case you were wondering.  Still coughing, but not as much (more at night, like right now, so I kind of wish I didn’t have a throat, which would be weird).  Outside of the coughing, I feel mostly normal.  Yay.  I’m still drinking enormous quantities of water and tea, though.  Running to pee every 30 minutes makes it difficult to get anything done at work, but I manage.  Good thing my desk is fairly close to the bathroom.  I’d hate to have to sprint across the building every time, shoving people out of my way, papers flying – I am not a comic strip.  Or a sitcom.  I have more dignity than that.  (Or so I’d like you to think.)

A day of downtime is the best present

Been reading a lot lately.  Well, I had a day or two where I really didn’t have to do anything else (last weekend, when I wasn’t sick).  I finished one book (The Distant Hours), started and finished another one (The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the movie of which I REALLY want to see), and started a novella (Legion), all in one day.  That’s a good day.  Now that I’m back to work and my normal routine, my pace will have to slow down a bit.  I guess.  Boo.  Also, being sick doesn’t always lend itself to being able to focus on a book.  Double boo.  Also also, liquid Mucinex is really really really disgusting.

It was great

I had a glorious weekend.  So much time to READ.  Tempting as it was, though, I didn’t read ALL weekend.  I did some stuff for others – I spent a couple of hours on Saturday trying on bridesmaid dresses and taking pictures of them (or notes where pictures weren’t allowed) for Emily (no, you may not see those pictures), and I helped John test out his new recording toy.  (I may have enjoyed doing both of those things, but that doesn’t change the fact that I did them primarily to help John and Emily.)  On Saturday afternoon, John and I went for a run together, something we haven’t done in a while.  I think I enjoy it more than he does.  (I’ve heard I sometimes talk too much.  I don’t know who starts these rumors.)  But Sunday?  Yeah, I spent hours and hours reading.  It was heavenly.

Baffled

I’m confused.  The time change, the weather, the fact that Thanksgiving is next week already – all of these things are throwing me.  Also, maybe it has something to do with the fact that I don’t have anything to worry about.  There’s usually something, and given another day or so, I’m sure I could come up with a new thing to gnaw on, but it probably won’t be big.  Why do I feel so weird?  John does, too.  We had a good weekend, fun, even productive: we finally made an appointment to get an estimate for putting hardwood floors in upstairs, something we’ve been talking about for probably a year now.  I’m not that excited about my book – that’s probably part of it.  I haven’t been making the time to read (what is WRONG with me?).  The book I just finished (Sheri S. Tepper’s latest) was okay, but not gripping (definitely not her best).  WAY heavy on the exposition.

Okay, you know what?  I can’t solve the mystery of why I feel at loose ends, but I can go upstairs and put something light on TV and clean up before the flooring guy shows up tomorrow.  He needs to be able to measure, and right now you can’t see where the wall meets the floor.

Book Club is coming

Hey, guys, I have to dive into my book, so I’ll be in hiding tonight (except for yoga class).  Possibly tomorrow, too.  Book Club is this Friday, and according to my Kindle, I’m only 12% into Wild.  Not cool.

Have a video (from The Daily What):

Can you imagine?  I’d like to think I’d turn into Spiderman and be halfway up the elevator walls if I thought the floor was dropping out from under me.  I’d at least be hanging on to that rail for dear life.

It’s not that kind of holiday

Today didn’t turn out quite like I thought it would.  We were out late last night (we met Emily at her new place for dinner), so we slept late this morning, dawdled about breakfast, and kinda puttered around all day.  It’s been a nice day, don’t get me wrong, but I kinda had plans for it that I never put into action.

I did go to Wegmans, though, so I was able to do something productive.  Actual grocery shopping that resulted in real healthy food at home will certainly help us eat right this week.  But it’s not going to keep us from having nachos for dinner.  Because we’re stupid.

Now I have to decide something really important.  For the second time today, since I finished Little Brother last night and read Coraline this afternoon.  What am I going to read next?