Reading Lots of Lit Doesn’t Always Fit

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When there’s much to do, I’m reminded of the Busytown game inspired by Richard Scarry’s books.

Reading lots of fiction is a wonderful thing, but one major problem with reading lots of fiction is when…you don’t have time to read lots of fiction. 😦 Not ideal when one writes a weekly literature blog. 🙂

For me, reading novels has temporarily taken a partial back seat as I do such things as promote my new book, help with my younger daughter’s expanding college-search efforts, and spend time (texts, phone calls, visits) related to a serious medical situation faced by someone in my extended family.

Consequently, despite having started Anthony Horowitz’s Magpie Murders three weeks ago, I still haven’t finished it. Nothing to do with being bored; it’s a clever, skillfully written page-turner that’s intriguingly a mystery novel within a mystery novel — with characters who include a terminally ill detective, a best-selling mystery writer, that author’s small-press editor who becomes an amateur investigator, and several people who die under puzzling circumstances. Usually, I read at least one novel a week.

Meanwhile, five other books I too-ambitiously borrowed during my last library visit stare at me accusingly. (Yes, not getting enough sleep causes hallucinations. 🙂 ) Those novels include John Grisham’s The Associate, Elin Hilderbrand’s Summer of ’69, Val McDermid’s 1979, Walter Mosley’s Always Outnumbered Always Outgunned, and Iris Murdoch’s Jackson’s Dilemma. I’ll get to them eventually, perhaps in the year 2079. 🙂

Any thoughts about, and/or recollections of, not reading as much fiction as you’d like for a short stretch of time?

In a comedic promotional video for my comedic new Misty the Cat…Unleashed book, Misty speaks for 90 seconds — perhaps hoping he’ll get seconds after his next 90 meals? 🙂 The video can be seen here.

Also, many thanks to Colleen M. Chesebro for including a wryly wonderful review of my new book in a post that also looks at very interesting books by the very talented writers Teagan Geneviene and D.L. Finn, who each have WordPress blogs, too. Greatly appreciated! The post can be seen here.

The part-factual/part-fictional Misty the Cat…Unleashed — not a children’s book — is described and can be purchased on Amazon in paperback or on Kindle. It’s feline-narrated! (And Misty says Amazon reviews are welcome. 🙂 Several are shown here. )

In addition to this weekly blog, I write the 2003-started/award-winning “Montclairvoyant” topical-humor column every Thursday for Montclair Local. The latest piece — about my community’s new (and hopefully improved) Township Council — is here.

79 thoughts on “Reading Lots of Lit Doesn’t Always Fit”

  1. Dave: First, I hope the medical situation in your extended family gets worked out quickly and that the road ahead will be smooth as mist. As for why I get behind in my reading: I’m a slow readers because I tend to rewrite in my head a lot of what I’m reading. I ask, “Why did you say it that way?” Or: “You could have used a good editor on this paragraph.” And pretty soon I’m 10 minutes on the same page. Sigh.

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    • Thank you very much, Bill! And interesting to hear about your reading approach! Unclear writing, or not-as-good-as-it-could-be writing, can indeed make some readers pause. I don’t think that would be a problem for anyone reading your superbly crafted books and other work. 🙂

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  2. Been driving myself to distraction, with much help from the MSM, re the sorry state of Democratic Party politics,after,in previous weeks,having been angry and incredulous re the administration’s Gaza policy. And much of my writing time on the interwebs has been taken up accordingly.

    Then there’s my mother–96, who had a cough she couldn’t shake,and after a short hospital stay, went to a rehab facility for 2 weeks– she’s out today,happy to be going home, and in fighting shape. We fly down to visit Saturday– but it’s been another sector of upset in my life.

    On Monday, I discovered I had become the victim of check fraud– someone had stolen checks out of a US post office on 2 occasions weeks apart, somehow depositing them in a (fraudulent) account at my own bank, and speedily withdrawing the money, and I was defrauded of around 700 dollars– though eventually I should get the money back. Spent Tuesday and Wednesday paying bills again I thought I’d paid, having late fees waived, and getting my new account number (forced on me by the bank) to social security,my (small) pension provider and my supplemental healthcare.

    Oh, and I had a small emergency in my apartment involving a gas stove– crisis averted but, still…

    You’d think this would restrict my reading material,given the time I’ve devoted to other things, to nothing larger than a pamphlet. But somehow– no!

    For the past couple of weeks,I have been immersed in the aulde days of yore when knighthood was in flower, reading that voluminous classic “Ivanhoe”!

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    • Thank you for the comment, jhNY! So sorry about all the stuff you’ve been going through. That’s a “when it rains it pours” scenario on steroids. 😦 Very glad your mother’s out of rehab.

      Being the victim of financial fraud, as you were, is scary and infuriating. Hope you get the money back soon. Happened to my wife and I, too, not that long ago. Someone stole one of her mailed checks, wiped out her writing on it, wrote in a much bigger amount, made it payable to themselves, and it was cashed! Took almost two months until my wife got her money back. Then someone stole one of my mailed checks and used it to somehow get into my bank account. Ugh.

      And, yes, the news in the U.S. political world, in Gaza, etc., is awful and extremely depressing.

      Impressive that you’re still reading a lot! “Ivanhoe” is quite a book — as are a number of other novels Sir Walter Scott wrote.

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  3. Dave, it sounds like you are going through a tough time with much time, energy and emotion for those close to you. I hope your family member’s health issues soon resolve and all will be well soon. Helping child with the crazy application process is demanding and of course one wants to give as much support and advice as possible (plus all the tours no doubt!) In such times I find reading some fiction novels nearly impossible. Last year my mother was very ill and a lot of to and fro to hospital (all better now, thankfully) but at the time all I could read at times was very ‘easy reads’, not too demanding too much time or mental concentration. Wishing you well, Annika

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    • Thank you very much, Annika! Sorry about your mother’s illness last year; glad things are better now.

      And, yes, the college application process — and the lead-up to the college application process — can be daunting. Certainly stressful for the student, but for the parents, too.

      I totally agree that when one does open a novel during a busy, difficult time, an “easy read” can be appealing. A couple of days ago, I started the Elin Hilderbrand book I mentioned in my post. First time I’ve read her, and she’s supposed to be a “lighter” summer read. Actually not, “Summer of ’69” gets into some pretty serious interpersonal and societal stuff, but it’s a compelling novel.

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  4. Hi Dave, I’m in the same boat as you currently. My aunt has been ill for 2 1/2 weeks and I’ve been visiting her at the hospital and the looking after her and now we are back in the hospital. I’ve also been launching my new book so I know exactly how you feel. Huge hugs 💚💐

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  5. Okay, I love the video promo Dave. Left a comment on Youtube.

    Colleen’s reviews were terrific. Your book sounds so great! Will you ever sell on Kobo, or anywhere else?

    Actually, I’m reading The Delta Pearl right now, about 1/2 way through.

    No, no recollections about not reading as much fiction as I want to over a short period of time, BUT many about not sewing or drawing as much as I want.

    This does tend to happen when life fills (includes book promos, family, government unexpected house repairs, etc.) our daily plate, leaving little room for side loves dishes.

    Things will shift again, the pendulum will swing. Next thing you’ll be reading more than your usual.

    📕📚🤗

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    • Thank you very much, Resa! 🙂 Glad you like the video promo, and I appreciate you commenting on YouTube! I replied. 🙂

      At the moment, “Misty the Cat…Unleashed” is just available on Amazon. I don’t have a lot of time right now to try get the book up somewhere else. 😦

      Yes, your not sewing or drawing as much as you’d like is one of the equivalents of being in sort of an enforced reading semi-drought. Looking forward to the time when I read more than usual!

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  8. I become uneasy when I finish reading a book. I have to start a new one right away, like a chain smoker lighting up the next smoke from the butt of the last one. I guess I’m a chain reader. 😄

    Misty has very expressive ears!

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    • Thank you very much, Audrey! Misty is flattered to hear his ears praised. 🙂

      And I love your “chain” metaphor! (Or was that an analogy; I get the two mixed up. 🙂 ) I often feel the same way about starting another novel immediately — when I have a little more reading time.

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  10. Great topic, Dave. I have so many books on my to-be-read pile that it’s in danger of tipping over and killing me. For me, it’s much worse in the summer. In the winter, I clear snow, when it snows. In summer, I mow my part of the yard every week. In the winter, I don’t venture into my workshop often. In the summer, I want to be there as much as possible. I’m also working on a book (and another book).

    I tend to forget that you have to stay awake to read.

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  11. Life intrudes at times Dave and it doesn’t leave us time for anything else. Heavens look at the time you will ahve spent on here reading and answering comments. Okay so it’s not fiction but it is time spent. And even though you may not be reading you are tlaking about literature.

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  12. I went a very long time without reading after I had 6th nerve palsy and though I completely recovered, I am overly-worried about a recurrence. Consequently, I tend to shy away from anything that requires extended eye movements, which is not an actual concomitant factor re this disease, rather it’s become my irrational fear. Having to drive is problematic as well. I listen to audio books much of the time, and only drive short distances. I miss both, esp reading. I might read a page or 2 at most which means a book of any decent length would take me days. As I say, if you can’t get what you want, just think of the things you don’t want that you can’t get. Nice theme, Dave, thanks. Btw stay away from busy town until they fix the infrastructure. Yikes. Susi

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    • Thank you very much for your comment, Susi! So sorry about your health issues that make reading (and driving) much more challenging. 😦 Fate deals out a bad hand sometimes. 😦

      Ha — 😂 — Busytown DOES look like it has some infrastructure issues. Richard Scarry obviously died before “Build Back Better.” 🙂 But he had the whimsical thing going!

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  13. Your book looks great, Dave! The story titles alone are very amusing, so I can just imagine the book! I’m thinking a gift for a cat person I know… As far as reading, I discovered recently that I read MORE when I know I have other things I should be doing. Go figure:)

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  14. I’m very sympathetic, Dave. I don’t think I ever have enough time to read, except when I’m on vacation with my husband. Since he loves to read, too, no matter what exciting places we travel to and how much there is to see and do, we build hours of reading time into each day because that’s what makes it feel like we’re on vacation. I realize this is irrelevant to your post since you can’t go on vacation right now when you’re so busy, but at least you know I understand your frustration.

    One of the worst pitfalls when you don’t have enough time to read is staying up too late with a book. I find that makes me so inefficient during the day that it usually backfires quickly, and I have even less reading time. So I don’t recommend reading until one in the morning!

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    • Thank you very much, Kim! I totally hear you about how difficult it can be to find reading time. Great that you fit in a lot of reading while on vacation! I enjoy that, too, and have fond associations of certain novels with certain places visited.

      I also hear you about the mixed “benefits” of reading late enough at night where one is tired and less efficient the next day. Of course, if a real page-turner is involved, it’s hard to resist. 🙂

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  15. Congratulations on your book and will check it out. I find it difficult to fit a book in a week and have a lot of unfinished kindle books. It also seems important to put a lot of work into promoting our own books. Am hoping your cat book from Misty’s point of view is for adults. Mine was partly put into young adults as mainly from the point of view of wild animals and a young adult. Think we all like a good animal story. I listen to more books and finished the Travelling Cat set in Japan.

    Good luck with the book and your reading.

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    • Thank you very much, Anonymous! The Misty book is definitely targeted at adults. (As a matter of fact, I just added a few words to my post to make that clear; it’s natural to think that a book starring/narrated by an animal might be for kids. 🙂 ) And, yes, marketing/promotion is time-consuming, and it’s hard to read as much as we’d like! One reason I can keep this blog going every week is that I rely on a combination of novels I read recently and novels I read not-recently. 🙂

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  16. I love the Misty book trailer! I’ve liked and left a comment. The writing cuts into my time for reading, but I’ve come to terms with it by thinking they are two sides of the same coin. (That’s what I tell myself, anyhow.)

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  17. Another fun-packed post, Dave. In our fast-paced world, we have tasks/priorities that compete for our limited resource – time. There will be days when we are simply too busy to read books. We know the rhetoric if we don’t read: we miss out on the opportunity to expand our knowledge, improve our vocabulary, reduce stress levels, and enhance our empathy and understanding of others. But even those busiest of days, I have found that reflecting on past stories, revisiting books (in my mind) I have read allows me to recall lessons learned and evaluate the impact they have had on my life. For me, it’s a valuable opportunity to assess personal growth and development through the lens of literature. Despite being preoccupied with urgent matters, these life lessons from these books persist and shape my perspectives even during busy times.

    But like you, I’ve set myself a high bar for summer reading: “Wicked” by Gregory Maguire, “The Rose Code” by Kate Quinn, not to mention “Faust” by von Goethe.

    I LOVED the Misty the Cat…Unleashed’s promotional video. Those 90 seconds deserve his next 90 meals. LOL

    I must leave you with one of my most favourite reading quote:

    “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” Frederick Douglass

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    • Thank you very much, Rebecca! A profound point — even during times when we don’t read a lot, we can reflect on books we’ve read in the past. And of course, as you note, books we’ve read in the past are always there in our subconscious.

      I loved the “Wicked” musical (haven’t read the book) and Kate Quinn is a terrific author. (I’ve read her “The Alice Network” and “The Huntress.”) And continued good luck with “Faust”!

      Glad you enjoyed the Misty promotional video! Ninety meals are being prepared at this very moment. 😂 

      And that Frederick Douglass quote you cited is quite something!

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    • Thank you very much, Rosaliene! You’re so right about other priorities — and about MANY new titles joining MANY older titles. But I’m sure I’ll be reading a lot more again in the not-too-distant future. 🙂

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  19. Yours is the second ‘blog about not really having a blog’ that I’ve read this week, Dave, and I was almost the third–until I fell over an old one that was appropriate for political happenings in the UK of this week. Life happens, as I used to tell my students when they had problems meeting deadlines, and something has to give. Given the list of ‘life happenings’ you’ve put up there, I’d say that reading comes low down the extended list, and that’s okay. I like to put up one book review blog each week, as well as my Sunday blog, so I need to read. There are times when I don’t though–other matters take precedence, or I don’t feel like it, having failed to find a text which grips me. As I’ve been doing this blog for less than a year, and as I’ve been reading and reviewing for much longer than that, I can always dig out an old book review for the blog. I’ve always loved reading, but my attitude to it definitely changed when I became a mature student of English literature in my forties. I had to read four novels each week, sometimes with a critical essay or two thrown in, and that was tough. I managed it, although some ‘speed reading’ took place. Reading became work, and for a few years after I stopped being a student I hardly read at all. I got back to it though, but when it begins to feel like work again–an uninspiring book, or lack of motivation, or I have to squeeze it around other things–I don’t force myself, but do other things. The desire always returns at some point, the higher-priority happenings pass (or take a back seat), so I don’t worry about it. I’m harder now too about not finishing books. I’ll give anything a good go, but if it’s not happening after a certain amount of chapters I DNF with a good conscience. There are too many books out there waiting to be read for me to lose time reading something that I’m not enjoying. May your life issues be settled satisfactorily soon, and a book be seen in your hands once more. 🙂

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    • Thank you very much, Laura, for that varied and interesting response, and the kind words at the end! Yes, something has to give sometimes — and rerunning a piece of writing can be an occasional solution. In fact, I’m planning to rerun my first WordPress literature post next week to mark the exact 10-year anniversary of this blog (started July 14, 2014).

      As I told another commenter, I could skip a week entirely, but I’ve run a weekly post for more than five years straight and didn’t want to end the streak. Cal Ripken Jr.* syndrome or something. 🙂 (*The all-time Major League Baseball leader in consecutive games played.) And I agree with you about not finishing a book that’s not providing enough satisfaction; there are indeed always other, better ones to read.

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  20. why doesn’t it want to acknowledge who I am. Because I am technically challenged. Apologies for multiple posting all of which are anonymous although the LIKE knew who I was.

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  21. Hey you wrote a column and given the circumstances you could’ve just left a photo which Heather Cox Richardson does. We get it. Take a week off bro 

    😎

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  22. Hey you wrote a column and given the circumstances you could’ve just left a photo which Heather Cox Richardson does. We get it. Take a week off bro 😎

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  23. I’ve got a similar experience: had a book launch, am involved in the organization of a festival, a couple of disasters happening on my real estate (weirdly all related to broken water pipes), and then I had a kind of waking dream that kept me turning around in my bed for the whole night about a concept of an art work (it was about the number Pi). I couldn’t focus on anything else anymore till I had it worked out: much to the frustration of my better half who was of the opinion that we had more pressing issues (true). Sometimes you just do what you have to do, and not what you should do.

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    • Thank you very much, Shaharee! That was a LOT of (very varied) things on your plate. Sorry about all those broken pipes. Your comment’s last line is very well stated — and excellent words to live by!

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