I used to read for pleasure, then I read to develop my craft. Now I read for the blog and website. Is this how it was meant to be?
Of course, the three aims aren’t mutually exclusive, I can read as a writer and blogger and still enjoy it, but it does affect the content of my TBR and TBrR (to be re-read) piles. In fact, I think I should re-label my book mountain as my TBB (to be blogged) pile.
Reading for the blog definitely requires a higher level of concentration: Do I love this debut enough to invite the author to my Q&A? Would this aspect of plot/setting/ character help bring one of my posts alive? Because it’s not just for me, I’m more accountable and, while I’m not complaining, it sometimes leaves me longing for one of those sand-spattered novels that requires the reader to switch off her brain.
Of course, the three aims aren’t mutually exclusive, I can read as a writer and blogger and still enjoy it, but it does affect the content of my TBR and TBrR (to be re-read) piles. In fact, I think I should re-label my book mountain as my TBB (to be blogged) pile.
Reading for the blog definitely requires a higher level of concentration: Do I love this debut enough to invite the author to my Q&A? Would this aspect of plot/setting/ character help bring one of my posts alive? Because it’s not just for me, I’m more accountable and, while I’m not complaining, it sometimes leaves me longing for one of those sand-spattered novels that requires the reader to switch off her brain.
Above, for your amusement and edification, is my TBR/TBB pile as of the last day of September: debut novels; novels featuring therapists or set in psychiatric hospitals; one for the Hungarian slant; one with a quirky take on pronouns and a book that isn’t a novel at all.
Anyone want to hazard a guess as to how many of these will get a mention
here in the coming month?
So how does this compare with your own TBR pile? Anything here you’re already raving about? Anything you’ve sampled and thrown across the room?
While we’re on the subject of questions about books, remember the quiz
I set when I blogged about my new header at the beginning of last month? Three simple questions, and my apologies for the absence of prizes, but I’m sure you’re all grown-up enough not to hold it against me. The answers are below the line so, if you didn’t do the quiz before, you’ve still got a chance to go back and test yourself before clicking on Read More.
Anyone want to hazard a guess as to how many of these will get a mention
here in the coming month?
So how does this compare with your own TBR pile? Anything here you’re already raving about? Anything you’ve sampled and thrown across the room?
While we’re on the subject of questions about books, remember the quiz
I set when I blogged about my new header at the beginning of last month? Three simple questions, and my apologies for the absence of prizes, but I’m sure you’re all grown-up enough not to hold it against me. The answers are below the line so, if you didn’t do the quiz before, you’ve still got a chance to go back and test yourself before clicking on Read More.
So now for the answers:
1. There are 4 debut novels are represented within the original header (left picture) and 6 in the current one.
2. One of the novels in the previous header feature a psychological therapist as a main character compared with 4 in the current one (and, surprise surprise, they’ve all been or are about to be featured in my series).
3. The question on how many novels have predominantly British settings proved to be slightly dodgy as there were a few that were set in Britain but with significant scenes elsewhere (identified by the brackets in the list below), but by my judgement it’s only 4 in the original and a whopping 9 (out of 17) in the current.
If these numbers don’t match yours, you can check how I’ve classified each novel in the list below. (A 1 beside the title indicates a debut novel, 2 a psychological therapist, etc.) Feel free to correct me if I’ve got anything wrong!
1. There are 4 debut novels are represented within the original header (left picture) and 6 in the current one.
2. One of the novels in the previous header feature a psychological therapist as a main character compared with 4 in the current one (and, surprise surprise, they’ve all been or are about to be featured in my series).
3. The question on how many novels have predominantly British settings proved to be slightly dodgy as there were a few that were set in Britain but with significant scenes elsewhere (identified by the brackets in the list below), but by my judgement it’s only 4 in the original and a whopping 9 (out of 17) in the current.
If these numbers don’t match yours, you can check how I’ve classified each novel in the list below. (A 1 beside the title indicates a debut novel, 2 a psychological therapist, etc.) Feel free to correct me if I’ve got anything wrong!
| Notes on a Scandal 3 The Book of Daniel Room Bel Canto Small Island (3) The Corrections After the Fire a Still Small Voice 1 Unless Middlemarch 3 Hope: a Tragedy 1 The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter 1 We Need to Talk about Kevin Gulliver’s Travels The Other Hand (3) The Other Side of Silence Those Who Save Us 1 | Hide and Seek 1 3 Brick Lane 1 3 The Spire 3 The Lighthouse 1 Pure The Other Side of You 2 (3) The Lifeboat 1 Harmattan 1 The House of Sleep 2 3 The Orphan Master’s Son The Rapture 2 3 Jubilee 1 3 Disgrace Bel Canto The Crimson Petal and the White 3 Regeneration 2 3 Quarantine |
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