A Little Look into Me

I've never really been good at just sitting down and writing about myself or really anything that I can't tie to something else. This lack of ability of mine is probably what motivated me to begin reviewing books in the first place. There is also, of course, my incredible love of any and all literature. Ever since I was a little kid I knew that I was safe in a book. I can't really pinpoint what I mean by that, but I guess it could be that I could get lost in the oblivion of my imagination. In a sense no longer be here and experiencing whatever is actually in my life. I could be anyone! Do whatever I wanted to do. That was my original allure to reading. Since then it's become kind of a quest. 

In junior high I set a goal for myself to read the entirety of the school library. It worked for a while, I read A LOT. What was really the downfall was lack of time and lack of interest in certain books. Never did I want to make it to the Non-Fiction section. I've never been the type to be able to sit down and actually enjoy reading a book of facts. Although, I could probably read a good deal about history. I'm just talking about not wanting to read about general facts. I also have a problem with poetry. I know that I've mentioned in previous posts how I really like books that take the time to create an entire world for you to associate with the characters. You know what poetry does? It spits a few lines at you and tells you to do something with it. I'm not saying I don't understand it... I'm saying I don't see the point. Sorry to all of my beloved poet friends, but I really don't understand. 

The biggest setback I had while attempting to read the entire library was really just the limit of things that I like. When I was younger I couldn't force myself to read things that I didn't want to. If it didn't interest me I'd just walk away from it. Understandable I think, I was 11-14 years old at the time. This was about the time that I really developed my ability to rapidly read through books, and still absorb what I am reading. I know many people who have tried to teach themselves how to speed read, and that there is probably a right way to do it too. Yet, I developed my own style for accomplishing the tasks at hand. Ever since then I've been able to read through books at a somewhat ridiculous pace, and am almost completely unable to slow down and absorb a book at what could be considered a normal pace. It's sometimes a bummer.

People often times ask me if I've ever thought about writing something myself. Pretty much my answer is usually the same: I've given it thought, but what would I write that someone would care to read? My biggest fear of writing is that I'll end up plagiarizing the hell out of someone else's work because I can't remember if I read it somewhere or if I made it up. How do you be completely unique in a world where people have been writing for centuries? You really can't. Many stories have elements of the same things. Maybe you change the names and the order of how things happen, but I bet that its happened in a book sometime before you wrote it. So what's the point? That's cynical at best. But, yeah, I've thought about writing. Almost certain I've attempted to write something before as well. I just never follow through. Maybe one day I'll decide to give it a try. I'll have to keep you in the know. 

Something that I think is pretty nifty. Did you know that if you post your reviews on Goodreads the authors sometimes actually read them?!? Haha. I'm not surprised, but I am surprised when they take the time to comment of what I wrote. So big thanks to Chrissy Anderson and Harry Steinman for both being really great sports about it. I wonder what the authors think when I give their books not so great reviews? I'm just being honest. Take my Molly Ringwald review for example... I was really tough on that book. Mostly because I really didn't like it, but also because I'm not going to lie about how I felt. Then again, at least she was brave enough to try. 

I recently agreed to review a book for an author who just released it. It's called Waiting with God - A 31-Day Devotional with Bible Verses: Where is God? Welcome Jesus into Your Life! by Suzanne E. Anderson. She gave me the book in exchange for reviews on Goodreads and Amazon. I'll also of course post my review here as well. I'm a little hesitant to do the review itself because I'm reading a book that covers a touchy topic. I've very carefully stepped around my views on religion. I don't really feel like that should affect the way I read or the way I review so I avoid it altogether. I doubt you'll hold that against me. Also, I haven't really looked at the book much since it just got sent to me, but am I supposed to read it over 31 days? That will be incredibly difficult for me. Ha. I've decided to finish the book I've already started and then begin this book in the next couple of days. 

This is enough for today. I'll probably have the review for Spin by Catherine McKenzie up tomorrow if I can find the time with work to finish it up. We'll see what happens. Until then, I wish you all Happy Reading.