Picking Up A Good Book

It's something many take for granted though I suspect none of my fellow gamers and readers here do.  I love reading a good book but I've noticed an unfortunate trend in my own life the past year and a half... the amount of reading I do has dropped dramatically.  I began noticing the pattern months ago actually and it's something that I have been aware of in my passing years.  Ever since I graduated High School, the amount that I read is no where near the quantity that I used to and a lot of this has to do with time.  But not just time... time and energy.

Back in my high school days, I would sometimes polish off a 300 page novel anywhere from a couple of days to just under a week.  Obviously summer was a time where I got more reading in and I didn't actually work back then so my time outside of school involved reading... playing video games... and playing D&D.  I also traveled, loved watching movies, and spending time with friends but a good book was always close at hand.

Now, I guess I would have to say that I need a lot more sleep than I used to and one of the best times to get some reading in is now a challenge -- just when I get to bed that night.  I would used to read for upwards of an hour before turning off the lamp to sleep.  But now I sometimes have problems reading more than 2 or 3 pages before I'm too tired to continue.  Shamefully, this is what is causing to be still reading 'A Clash of Kings' -- a books I've been reading (more or less) for the past several months.  The book is good and I've been watching the Game of Thrones series on HBO (and enjoying it) but, not matter how good it is, it's been a struggle to do any sort of reading in the past couple of years.

Which brings me to my resolution for the year... to read more.  To read a lot more.  It was apparent that I wasn't getting the sleep I needed and, as I get older and as I have to be even more mindful of my health, I need to adjust a few things.  To that end, I've been catching up on some sleep the past few weeks (despite the busy holidays) and have already noticed a difference with how much I am able to read the past few days.

What I will be doing is keeping a tally of the books I read in 2013 along with their titles -- I encourage my fellow bloggers to do the same  Not counting gaming related books, I think I read all of 4 or 5 books in 2012 (not including 'Clash of Kings') which is pretty unacceptable IMO.  I mean, reading is what helped propel me towards so many of my interests and hobbies I have today.  Better yet, my significant other will be also reading some classic Sword & Sorcery books this year which may be a great excuse to revisit some old favorites!

In any event, I will update the blog (side panel) once I finish the 'Clash of Kings' to reflect the books I have read or am currently reading this year along with any other books I am currently going through besides the novels.

Now I need to finish off a few things before I head off to bed (another early evening) and read a bit.

Good night!

M