#reading | Take It Easy

Ahead of her time?

I haven’t had a go at John Holton’s Writer’s Workshop recently but I think it is about time that I should. His post gives you this week’s prompts, and I’ve decided to go for two of them: I’ll start with #6:

Write an essay entitled “Why You Should Get Back Into The Habit Of Reading”

and then go on to #3:

Next month is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Do you plan on participating? Why or why not?

I’m not sure about this being an ‘essay’ though: I haven’t written one of those since I did my MBA in 1980! But I think I know John’s intention: i.e. ‘write something!’

Like many these days my reading, as such that it is, is done on an electronic device. I have lots of proper books but it always seems easier somehow to just pick up a bit of plastic and go from there. Again, like many, I use a Kindle. I first bought one of these in 2008: that one was bequeathed to one of my daughters when I got one of the earliest mini size Kindle Fire tablets, which I thought would be a good way to read on a manageable small device with a colour screen, which would also double as a real tablet. Little did I know that this would be my first introduction to the Amazon Appstore: though it may be based on the Android system it is severely limited in relation to what is on offer in Google Play. In short, it’s crap.

When that device breathed its last – isn’t built-in obsolescence wonderful? – I carried on using the Kindle app on iPads. These have the benefit of colour, but even an iPad Mini is twice the weight of a proper Kindle – a particular concern for doddery old gits like me whose poor arms might get tired. I know, the iPad Mini is just shy of a pound weight, in old money, but that is more than enough for me! Over that 16 year period I have acquired more than 4,600 Kindle books, many of which were free (cheapskate!) and the majority of the rest were bought from Amazon’s regular deals of books for 99p. I rarely pay more than that, and always begrudge it when I have to do it! How many of those have I read? No idea! A lot of them are ‘classics’ acquired for nothing, as I felt that being an Eng.Lit. graduate I ought to have them, but in the five years of commuting which led to my retirement I probably read three or four a week, and have had occasional bursts of similar activity since then as well as a steady regular trickle.

What do I read? Mostly crime and spy novels, if I’m honest. That first degree seems like a distant memory, and I concentrated on the mid 19th century, which was a time when there was little entertainment available other than writing and reading inordinately long novels or creating exceedingly large families. The thought of re-reading a Jane Austen these days tends to make me look for the movie version instead! But I really should get back into a reading habit, as I always enjoy it when I do. As a spur to do that I bought myself a new Kindle last year, which is a delight and much lighter to hold than an iPad, and it has helped. I’ve read quite a few novels since then but have been on a bit of a hiatus of late: Amazon have stopped sending me their ‘you’re on a roll’ messages!

I’ve recently finished the fabulous Slow Horses series on Apple TV+ – highly recommended if you have access. And I now have the full set of the books in my Kindle library – all bought for 99p each, of course! If they don’t get me back into the habit nothing will. But then yesterday Amazon launched their first ever Kindle with a colour screen… hmm, maybe one of the girls would like another hand-me-down? It’s a bit pricey though. Maybe it will be in their Black Friday deals? If so I could be tempted! And I know ISRM – I Should Read More, if you were wondering – and perhaps a new toy would help with reducing the size of my TBR list.

If you recall from the top of the page, I also said that I would be picking up John’s prompt about writing a novel in November. As I have never written one before, maybe this is the time I should start? But first I would need an idea for a book, and creativity was never my strong point. I did try the other November series – NaBloPoMo, National Blog Posting Month – a couple of times around eight or nine years ago, but the pressure of finding something to write about every day for a whole month was a bit much for me, and I found myself posting just for the sake of it, with a corresponding reduction in quality. I already had that bar set at a low level, and didn’t really need to take it further down to a level that would challenge a champion limbo dancer! That was then, but times probably haven’t changed…

So I think I’ll pass over the thought of writing a novel, for this year and no doubt several more to come. And anyway, I’ll be spending all my time reading books by people who know what they are doing, won’t I? Mick Herron, here I come.

In closing, and just to prove that this is me, here’s the most appropriate song I could play to accompany this: