Fear in Writing: Musing Mondays - Holidays Hitting Your Reading Hard?

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Today in Literary History...December 14, 1907: Rudyard Kipling receives the Nobel prize for literature, the first English-language writer to do so.ud

Monday, November 30, 2009

Musing Mondays - Holidays Hitting Your Reading Hard?

Rebecca asks: How does your reading (or your blogging) fare in the holiday months? Do you read more or less? Do you have to actively make time to read?

I read every night religiously. I cannot fall asleep without devouring a few pages. Be it eight p.m. or midnight: I. MUST. READ. So I don't let little things like endless shopping, interminable parties, rivers of spiked eggnog and excited children stand between me and the smell of book glue.

As for blogging...This is my first year as a blogger. I truly enjoy the interaction and exchange of ideas. I think I will take Christmas Day off, and probably any days we use to travel, but that is just out of pure necessity.

I look forward to your answers on this question...

9 comments:

  1. I'm the same way in that I HAVE to read before I go to sleep. I find more time to read during the holidays, particularly Christmas time because I have about a month off between semesters for the holiday break. Although, then I do have to work a lot more hours too... lol

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  2. Oh, I have a huge problem with this topic.
    Since I work as a literary translator and I translate books for the readers in my country, I spent most of my working day doing that. So when I get some free time, it's not that I'm too tired to read something again, but while reading I constantly view the book with my translator/linguist eyes which means that I just can't focus on the plot and the story itself, all I see is sentence structure, words, expressions, mistakes ... :))

    That's a huge problem for me, since before starting this career I had studied literature and read at least 1000 books before I was 25, so I really miss on all that reading :((

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  3. I don't feel right if I don't read--though it's not always the same book. If I'm not that into a novel, I'll snatch pieces of it here and there during the week and fill in my reading time with some interesting non-fiction (it took about 3 years to finish Herodotus that way).

    As for blogging, this is my first year too (more like 6 months), and I haven't settled in yet. I don't mind journaling my writing progress or expounding at length on some idea that's inflamed me, and I enjoy it. But, when I find myself thinking up blog ideas rather than ideas for my next novel, I stop. I'd rather invest my effort in my current wip. Holidays are usually when I take time off the day job to focus on writing, so my blogging has been cut back. I hope in future I'll find a better balance between the two.

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  4. I love to read and will read a few minutes before going to sleep. I'm planning to take a few days off around Christmas, but will probably run a couple of older posts while I'm gone.

    Elizabeth
    Mystery Writing is Murder

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  5. I don't believe I've gone a day without reading since kindergarten - don't plan to start any time soon :)

    It's also my first year as a blogger, so I'm not sure what my pattern will be. I tend to blog 2 or 3 times a week. I think that will probably remain the same - but we'll see :)

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  6. I totally agree with your attitude. One must make time for the essentials, like reading. I mean, one's very sanity may hang in the balance.

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  7. Steph- Aaaahhh, you make me long for school days...Ok, I'm over it!

    Dezmond- I know what you mean about work interfering in your loves. I am by training a broadcast journalist, so rue the day you have to watch a newscast beside me! I am a true Editor and I am usually editing your sentences as you speak them to me...I finally had to stop watching the news, or at least find another way to get it. But that is easier with news than with books! I suppose movies does it for you!

    Lorel- I, too, find myself thinking too much about my blog at times. But for me it has become a daily exercise in writing. It may not be all part of the same train of thought, but at least my words are making it to some sort of audience, right? Ha, keeping dreaming, Michele...

    Elizabeth- I love the schedule to post aspect of Blogger! I discovered that by paying attention to your blog. You have taught me so much!

    Jemi- I wish we had kept journals of all we had read since kindergarten. Wouldn't that be interesting to look back on?

    Caite- Nice to have you here! I'm not claiming sanity, just complete dependence on books!

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  8. Thank you for following my blog! Nice to find another NC blogger.

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  9. I hadn't even noticed you were NC! Just liked your blog, and found you through Mystery Writing is Murder. Welcome to mine! You make 30! Yay!

    Michele

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