I am not in the book reading mood anymore, but i want to be.

[bushy]

In jail i read everything i could, magazines, and even some spanish magazine about mexican bands, but i haven't taken spanish for 7 years, so i tried to piece it together as best i could, and came up with a pretty good translation.

I like to read, but i find myself not reading as much anymore, i think because i am always busy now, and in jail i had all the time in the world, and nothing to do. so, what are some tips for actually finishing books i start now that my time is filled more. also i wrote a lot of love/erotic stories to my girlfriend, and i want to write more. how can i do both?

I was thinking i could make myself sit down read 20-30 pages, then sit down and write a little. when is the best time to make time for this, 20-30 pages for me is around 30-40 mins, but it was alot faster in jail. i could read twice as fast. when is the best time to sit down and read, in the morning, afternoon, or night?

[Alejandro Calvert Gálvez]

Different times must work for different lifestyles, I suppose, because we're doing different things throughout the day. I read on this bus around lunch time on my way to work (I work in the afternoon).

Try reading a funny book, like one of the Joseph Heller books (eg Catch22).

[bushy]

Different times must work for different lifestyles, I suppose, because we're doing different things throughout the day. I read on this bus around lunch time on my way to work (I work in the afternoon).

Try reading a funny book, like one of the Joseph Heller books (eg Catch22).
yea, i read on the bus going to court, and things. but i don't ride the bus often anymore. i thought about just riding the bus around after work to read.

[Sir Cornwell]

Yeah. Sometimes it's cool to read where there are a lot of otherwise boring distractions. Do you have a light rail system in your town, as there's less bouncing.

Do you go to used book stores? There's less selection than a big new book store but there might be a thing or two that might just excite you enough to get right into it.

I usually go for the SF and Fantasy or Elmore Leonard, but the quite vibe of a used book store makes it cool to hang out for a long time.

[bushy]

Yeah. Sometimes it's cool to read where there are a lot of otherwise boring distractions. Do you have a light rail system in your town, as there's less bouncing.

Do you go to used book stores? There's less selection than a big new book store but there might be a thing or two that might just excite you enough to get right into it.

I usually go for the SF and Fantasy or Elmore Leonard, but the quite vibe of a used book store makes it cool to hang out for a long time.

i am working on childhoods end, but i have read it before, and find myself not getting in to it as much,

[trickster]

I don't read too terribly often anymore, but when I do, I go on a reading storm. Between December 20th and January 14th-ish I read Jovah's Angel, The Difference Engine, To the Vanishing Point, Glory Road, Glory Lane, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Princess of Landover, Magic Kingdom for Sale, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, and started the Belgariad and Neuromancer again, but just sorta stopped one night. I tend to read 3+ books at a time.

The thing that helped me make time to read was just having my room closed at night, no TV or computer, just a book and maybe some music.

[Sir Cornwell]

I used to be big on Clark. I prefer William Gibson or Bruce Sterling now. Michael Swanwick and other stranger than strange types move me more.

Though I must admit that although I read a lot of novels and the SF mags like Asimov's and Analog, lately it's all computer and shit. I'm more trying to get ready for the future than read about it. I've read/watched so much shit that I'd rather read and watch just about anything rather than actually get ready.

If I'm a voyeur on life I'm just too ready to believe that I'm actually getting something/anything done. As if. :lsd:

One thing I've done while trying to get around to shit is reread a lot of books that I've loved. Heinlein/Asimov/Swanwick/Sterling/Lois McMaster Bujold. Nothing like reading something again and seeing how it all unfolds.

There's nothing like reading when it's snowing and -20c outside.

[Mr.Happy]

^ You should check out Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space books (in order; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revelation_Space_universe#Main_series) and Iain M. Banks' sci-fi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iain_Banks#Science_Fiction_as_Iain_M._Banks). We've got similar tastes and I love the aforementioned (especially Banks, he's my favourite author, I've got everything he's written).

A decent chunk of Banks' non-sci-fi fiction also fits neatly under the definition "stranger than strange" and has some sci-fi elements, although you have to pick and choose (Walking On Glass, The Bridge, maybe The Wasp Factory, almost definitely Transitions although I've not started it yet, perhaps A Song Of Stone). And do you happen to like Jeff Noon?

Bushy, if you like sci-fi/out-of-genre fiction, those recommendations go to you as well. Banks' non-sci-fi books I mentioned are all pretty short and lend themselves well to reading in bursts (they get kind of hard to process if you try to plough through them all in one go).

[PirateJoe]

You gotta check out Jorge Louis Borges, specifically Labyrinths. His main body of work is in the form of short stories so perfect for just a quick read on the bus.

[Lanny]

I always work my up from the lightest/funnest books to the real heavy stuff. For example, I sandwiched the Iliad and the Odyssey with the first three Ender's Game books. If I try to just go at the heavy stuff I tend to get worn out and never finish it.

Also, it always takes me forever to get to sleep so I always read then, because otherwise I'm bored staring at my ceiling.