Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Reading Cycles

I don't know how true this is with other folks, but I have always found myself reading in cycles. In the past, a month or two would pass by and I would read very little, then in a furious assault on my library, I would speed through a dozen books before taking a break. In more recent years I had found that those non-reading periods were getting longer and longer. This bugged me because the books that I wanted to read began piling up rather fast. However, I just didn't have the time to read as much as I did in earlier periods of my life. I would always have to sacrifice time from one activity to gain time to read. That changed last year when I changed positions at work. Where before it was almost impossible for me to even get a break during the day, I now find that my job provides lots of time that requires me to just sit and wait, which make excellent opportunities to read. I've read more books in the last year than I did for the two years before that combined. So not only am I working my through my books at a steady pace, but I don't have to make time to read any more.

Another reading cycle is topic. I go through periods where I will only read certain genres. For the last half of 08', it was horror. Right now I am back into fantasy with a series by David and (the late) Leigh Eddings. After a few more fantasy books, I have some Star Trek books I want to get to as well as some other Science Fiction which as been on the shelf for too long. As I am addicted to buying books, I have hundreds that I have yet to read, so who knows which way I'll go next.

5 comments:

Josh Reynolds said...

I do the same thing. I go through cycles where I'll read mystery, then sci-fi, then horror, then adventure, thriller, etc.

Luckily, I have yet to go through a paranormal romance cycle. Despite my wife's encouragement.

K.C. Shaw said...

I'm the same way with the on and off reading cycles. Currently I'm on, but for a long time I was mostly off. It took some effort to make time to read more, but I'm glad I have. My to be read pile was getting ridiculous too.

Rob Brooks said...

I go through genre-cycles as well. When I start reading science fiction, I really get into it. then it fizzles one day, and I'm reading mysteries for a couple months. Eventually, the whole cycle starts over and repeats.

Cate Gardner said...

I'm never officially 'off', although sometimes it will take me weeks to read a book and others I'll read three or four books in the same amount of time.

Jeremy D Brooks said...

I cycle, but my peaks tend to be several months apart. I'm trying to stay more consistent by loading up at paperbackswap and keeping my TBR pile where I have to look at it sitting at my computer.