52 in 52: Week 7/8

I am still working on Graceling, which shouldn't be a surprise because it is, after all, fiction, and we all know my problems with fiction. But also this week has been insane in the realm of personal life decisions and doing the scary thing and jumping headfirst into the deep end without really remembering if I know how to swim.

Anyways, week 7's book shall be

for a bit of light humor. Also its sort, so I'll get through it asap to catch up a bit, since FAIL week 7.

Week 8, I think will be:

Cause it seems really interesting. Its not as long as "Emperor of all Maladies" either.

Plus, I'm supposed to have been working on Great Expectations... which I haven't. WOOPS. Oh well, I think this catches me up on books per week.

a calendar

52 in 52: Week 6

Finally finished with The Emperor of All Maladies, which was excellent! I fully approve of the writing and the research. It was engaging -- though it totally makes me freak out about cancer...

Anyways.

Week 6 shall be:

YES I AM DOING FICTION SHOCK AND HORROR. Let's see how this one goes though. I may have to change it up again...

52 in 52: Week 4/5

Week Four was actually done really fast. Julia Sweeney is one of my favorite monologues  She's sweet and funny and this book was totally worth it. Plus, it means I get to keep going with Emperor of All Maladies, which I'm still getting through.

Luckily, David Sedaris has a new book, which shall be week 5:

Memoirs are actually great for me to read because they blur the border between being fiction and non-fiction. MAYBE I'LL PICK FICTION AGAIN SOON. I really do want to read more fiction, but its slightly harder to motivate myself to read. Weirdly, since I love good stories.

Anyways, thus far this is going pretty well.

52 in 52: Week 3

Woops, forgot to add in my book for the week. 

Based on last weeks disaster at actually getting around to reading fiction, I'm staying non-fiction this week. The Emperor of All Maladies. Thus far its interesting, though not as well written as The Disappearing Spoon. I am finding it fascinating though. The history of science is so so so intriguing. There's so much there, and it turns to all the other disciplines in interesting and unexpected ways.

Okay, done being nerdy. I maaaay not finish this by Friday, but I didn't finish the last one on time either. I'm just going to keep plugging though. I can go through books really fast if I want, but science and history reading is slightly harder to examine like that. I'll just have to figure out a book I can devour in order to get back on track.

52 books in 52 weeks: Week 2 UPDATE

Heads up, I'm changing from Great Expectations to The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean.

Apparently non-fiction is king, cause I'm ripping through this book. Its HIGHLY excellent writing about the periodic table. LOVE IT.

52 Books in 52 Weeks: Week 2

I finished last week's early, and since Kat and I have been discussing reading "great classic books" lately, I'm putting up the book for next week:

Yeah, I've never read it. But I think it'll be good to have someone else reading with me. Also, gotta get back into fiction man... or I'll end up like my dad.

Anyways, with 10 days to read it, I only have to do about 40 pages a day (10% a day, since my kindle edition doesn't tell me how many pages it "is")

Onwards and upwards!

Oh and notes on Screenplay? Good, interesting. Gave me ideas on how to create and structure my novels. Kind of made me want to write a screen play, but FOCUSING on novel first.

We'll see what happens.

52 Books in 52 Weeks: Week 1

I've been thinking about reading and how I'm flaily and bad at it. Carolyn posted this link on her facebook, and there were some parts I liked. Like, how dividing a book up by how many pages you have to read a day to get through it in a week gives you a tangible goal for a day. 

So I think I'm going to do it. Decide on the book on Friday, post it here, and see if I can get through it. 

I was going to re-attempt Game of Thrones, but I picked it up this morning and... man, am I the only person who finds the dialogue in this book to be stilted and... wrong? I mean, what is with fantasy novels and their need to sound like they're Tolkien (who also had this problem). Anyways, everyone says it so great and totally the book you should read, blah blah blah. And fantasy is my genre, and how can I have not read this very important book in it? 

I just... meh. I suppose I shouldn't start out on the side of not finishing a book. 

So basically I want to read a book that I can finish in a week (the week isn't the hard part, its the focus and attention needed to read, because let's face it, I have lost the ability to drop into a book properly unless its completely engaging, and I think there's so much to learn and explore in books I don't find engaging). I think the solution is to start out non-fiction. 

Its easier to read something non-fiction that I know I'll be able to drop in and out of. Screenplay by Syd Field is going to be my first book. Mostly because I'm having problems with plot and ideas for it, and this is it -- the famous book about screenwriting, which at its heart is about story telling. 

Its 320 pages long -- and I'm doing 6 days a week, making it 54 pages a day (rounded up, cause its easier that way). 

I'll "start" tomorrow, but let's be honest, I'll sneak in a few pages tonight probably. 

Let's see how this goes.