Dewey and I are having a slow start to our relationship. I had to give up on the 81 Key Ideas. I just couldn't force myself to read anymore philosophy. My brain cells wouldn't put up with it anymore. So I found a different book in the 001s, but I'm not really getting very far in that one either.
I think I'm about to write Dewey a Dear John letter and end this whole experiment. I really don't care to read non-fiction, even if it will broad my horizons. I like to do research for a book I'm writing, but I don't care to read it for general reading pleasure. Give me a romance novel any day over non-fiction. I even tried reading a memoir and couldn't stomach it either.
So for now, I am saying Farewell, Dewey. Please don't call me, I'll call you.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Free Book Giveaway
Check out Judi Fennell's debut novel “In Over Her Head”, being released on June 1, 2009. Her publisher is giving away a free copy of the book.
“In Over Her Head” is the first in a new fantasy series by Judi Fennell, featuring the mesmeric world under the sea!
To enter go to A Bibliophile's Bookshelf.
Good luck!
“In Over Her Head” is the first in a new fantasy series by Judi Fennell, featuring the mesmeric world under the sea!
To enter go to A Bibliophile's Bookshelf.
Good luck!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Reading with Dewey
Patched-up blog migration complete! Moving on to other topics.
Every book and article I read about becoming a better writer advises reading lots of books. And not just books within the genre I want to write, but across all genres and categories. Fiction and non-fiction.
I don't have a problem reading all sorts of different fiction books, but I've never sought out the non-fiction bookshelves looking for recreational reading. I've only ventured to that part of the library for research purposes.
I started thinking about the vast collection of books I've never explored and I decided to delve into them systematically, starting with 001. So I checked out the very first book on the shelf in the non-fiction section and took it home. It looked interesting - theories on American thinking, titled The opening of the American mind : canons, culture, and history - and I thought I'd enjoy reading it. I put the book in the To Be Read pile on my desk with the others and four weeks later I realized it was overdue and I had never even picked it up.
I returned the late book , paid my fee and thought that was the end of my grand ambition. But a few weeks later I was back in the library picking up more fiction and the non-fiction section started beckoning to me to partake of all it had to offer.
I went back to 001 and grabbed another title off the shelf, Eureka! 81 Key Ideas Explained. Then I thought if I wanted to really make progress on this goal I was going to need to check out more than one book at a time. In the 002 section my library only had 3 choices on the shelf. I chose the tiny 67-page option, Caring for Your Books, rather than one of the 300 page volumes next to it. In the 003 section I had a few more choices so I picked the title that seemed most accessible, Fuzzy Logic, not mine that's actually the title of the book.
Once at home I picked up the smallest of my three selections and skipped through it in an afternoon. And I even squeezed in a nap. This was already going much better than my first attempt. Then a few days later I picked up the next book thinking I'd be able to breeze through this one as well. It was only 242 pages describing 81 key ideas. Short chapters equal fast reading, I thought.
But then as I read I got slowed down by the philosophical ideas being explained. I found it's really impossible to speed-read philosophy. Philosophy is weight-lifting for the brain - slow and painful, but builds a stronger muscle.
I began to ask myself - what constitutes reading a book? Can I skim or is that cheating? How much do I have to read? Every page or three quarters of the book or two thirds or how about just half? Anything less than all of the book felt like 'cheating'. So I started to plod through it hoping to pick up some speed as my brain got stronger.
But what's my rush? Maybe I speed through life too fast and it's time to learn how to slow down. So I'm going to renew my 001 book and read every page before I move on to the next one.
Anyone want to read along with Dewey and me?
Every book and article I read about becoming a better writer advises reading lots of books. And not just books within the genre I want to write, but across all genres and categories. Fiction and non-fiction.
I don't have a problem reading all sorts of different fiction books, but I've never sought out the non-fiction bookshelves looking for recreational reading. I've only ventured to that part of the library for research purposes.
I started thinking about the vast collection of books I've never explored and I decided to delve into them systematically, starting with 001. So I checked out the very first book on the shelf in the non-fiction section and took it home. It looked interesting - theories on American thinking, titled The opening of the American mind : canons, culture, and history - and I thought I'd enjoy reading it. I put the book in the To Be Read pile on my desk with the others and four weeks later I realized it was overdue and I had never even picked it up.
I returned the late book , paid my fee and thought that was the end of my grand ambition. But a few weeks later I was back in the library picking up more fiction and the non-fiction section started beckoning to me to partake of all it had to offer.
I went back to 001 and grabbed another title off the shelf, Eureka! 81 Key Ideas Explained. Then I thought if I wanted to really make progress on this goal I was going to need to check out more than one book at a time. In the 002 section my library only had 3 choices on the shelf. I chose the tiny 67-page option, Caring for Your Books, rather than one of the 300 page volumes next to it. In the 003 section I had a few more choices so I picked the title that seemed most accessible, Fuzzy Logic, not mine that's actually the title of the book.
Once at home I picked up the smallest of my three selections and skipped through it in an afternoon. And I even squeezed in a nap. This was already going much better than my first attempt. Then a few days later I picked up the next book thinking I'd be able to breeze through this one as well. It was only 242 pages describing 81 key ideas. Short chapters equal fast reading, I thought.
But then as I read I got slowed down by the philosophical ideas being explained. I found it's really impossible to speed-read philosophy. Philosophy is weight-lifting for the brain - slow and painful, but builds a stronger muscle.
I began to ask myself - what constitutes reading a book? Can I skim or is that cheating? How much do I have to read? Every page or three quarters of the book or two thirds or how about just half? Anything less than all of the book felt like 'cheating'. So I started to plod through it hoping to pick up some speed as my brain got stronger.
But what's my rush? Maybe I speed through life too fast and it's time to learn how to slow down. So I'm going to renew my 001 book and read every page before I move on to the next one.
Anyone want to read along with Dewey and me?
Migrating Nightmares
Trying to move my blog to a more user friendly blog site. Taking waaaayyy too much of my time. Let's see if I can gerry-rig something.
wish me luck
wish me luck
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