A Simpler Time

I’ve been trying to get back into reading regularly. Over the past few years, I’ve focused so much on writing, editing, and self-promotion that I let that passion fall by the wayside. I remember when I was younger I would always have a book in hand. At the dinner table, I had a book, at a family gathering, I had a book, and even when I climbed up onto my bunk bed at night, you guessed it, there was a book in my hand; though to be fair I did have a game boy tucked beside my mattress as well. More recently I’ve been trying to make a conscious effort to find time to sit down and read. I don’t know if it’s just me, but books don’t seem to hit home the same way they used to.

That’s not to say I don’t like reading anymore, I very much still do, it’s just that after I’ve gone through the process of editing my own novels, I notice every single problem that a book has. I pick up on when a different word should have been used, when the author should have described something differently, and even when a character doesn’t act the way they should. To be fair, I’ve always been a bit of a stickler when it comes to books and movies, but the problems just seem to stand out more now. I don’t know, maybe I’m just growing more cynical with age. I even recently started reading the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, and it’s just a slough for me to get through. It’s a series that I’m sure I would have loved more in my younger years, but now that I’ve had to be critical with my own writing, the weaker points in other novels stand out all the more.

I don’t mean my writing is just so much better than other authors that I can’t even stand reading their works, I’m just saying once you’ve had to try to search for problems, you see them everywhere. I still love reading, and I know I always will, but sometimes I just wish I could go back to when I saw the wonder in books without my nitpicky mind ruining it for me. I still remember the first time I read the Door Within Trilogy, the Darth Bane books, the Chronicles of Narnia, and so many more. You couldn’t get me to put them down with a bribe. I hope one day I can return to that childlike sense of wonder. Who knows, maybe I just need the right book to open my eyes once again. As always, happy writing out there.