It was awesome. Not just the book (which has its flaws but also a fascinating character in Lisbeth Salander) but taking the time to read it. Time I could have spent doing other things -- things I get paid to do, things I've signed contracts to do, things on my to-do list, things not remotely leisure-oriented.
But that's just it: reading is no longer just for leisure. The most repeated advice I've read for writers (besides "Write!") is to read as much and as widely as possible. Reading informs our writing. Reading a great story with compelling characters can inspire us to create our own worlds and characters. Reading a master of the craft can change how we put our words on the page. Reading allows (or forces) our brains to work in a different way from writing, the way a short run before/after a long run acts as warm-up/recovery. So we gotta read.
Cool. I love reading. When I finished GIRL/FIRE, I tweeted about it and said I need to treat reading as part of my job now. In other words, I need to schedule reading into my work hours, not just my free time, and feel comfortable doing so. I start today.
Writers, how do you approach reading? Leisure? Job? Do you make time for reading, or fit it in when you can? Do you take advantage of different platforms (like audiobooks) to read more?
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7 ate pie:
I do a little of both. I read something I think I should and then something I want to. So often, the "shoulds" turn out to be great, so it's win-win.
I have it easier than you my dear cousin. I write short witty (debatable, depending on the reader/listener) remarks or philosophical statements that make no sense in order to elicit an immediate response in the form of guffaws.
But I'm reading everything all the time. Newspapers, Books (Fiction and Non-Fiction mostly Comics and history), internet news readers (I prefer Digg.com), IT Technical Manuals/Programming Manuals (gotta make money till the funny pays off) and then all the other articles and items of interest friends and cohorts post to the social media I use.
I'm reading all the time it seems either hard copy or online.
I agree with you, it's stimulation to get me brewing. I'm not usually happy in the morning till I've had coffee and thought of at least one joke (lame or not).
I find that rereading books that "work" is especially helpful because it's much easier to focus on craft the second time around (instead of reading to find out what's going to happen next). I've also been listening to more audiobooks recently which has increased the number of books I can get through, but it also makes me focus more on language since that comes across even more clearly in an audio version. Happy reading!
I read so much nowadays, with blogs and online news and personal emails. That's all leisure. Yet when it comes to sitting down with a book in my hand, it feels like work since I'm taking books out of the library more for research.
Shaun - isn't it great when the shoulds turn out to be awesome?
Ed - With the stuff going on in the world, there must be joke fodder left and right. :D
Anna - Interesting point that audio can emphasize the language - gotta try an audiobook on my morning walks to work.
Michelle - to some extent, it's habitual, right? You're researching, so books feel like work. It took me so long after college to stop reading as though I were going to be tested.
I'm constantly reading. Well, when time permits, at any rate.
When I first started writing again, I realized that aged advice of read if you're going to write.
I'll still read for pleasure, but I'll find myself pouring over certain passages to study how the author crafted a scene or a character or a patch of dialogue. I don't want that kind of analytical thinking to detract from the overall reading experience though.
Gef - I'm with you: I'd rather keep the analysis and enjoyment separate.
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