Need to read slower or buy larger books

nutrolori · Nov 6, 2010

I admit that ever since I had my children, 3 of them, in the last 9 years I wasn't reading as much I as I used to. Who could find the time!! Anyway, I have picked back up again over the last year or so. I am reading short books, fiction mostly. My problem is once I start them I can't put them down and I read it in one day, sometimes two at the most!! I really need to slow down!! I already have read the Sookie Stackhouse Series (10 books)by Charlaine Harris THREE times already. I started reading another book series written by her and I just got the most recent one in paperback, which I read in a day & a half!

I just had to share my frustration. If anyone has suggestions on good books I am open to anything.

(Of course Chester Cheetah enjoys my reading again because that means more lap time for him.)

catsallaround · Nov 6, 2010

adding fuel to the fire...
GOODWILL!!!

Or any decent thrift store books are dirt cheap and where I go VERY good shape
Just smell them to make sure (i have asthma so dont take books with smoke or i do and keep outside)

I go often(have MANY good ones here and near mom in another county) walk out bags full for the cost of one or two new books

I read all non fiction. and luck of the draw

tigerontheprowl · Nov 7, 2010

If you like Stephen King books, you might want to check out Under The Dome. It's only 1074 pages

. That should keep you busy for a while.

kailie · Nov 7, 2010

I COMPLETELY understand. Dana calls me his little book worm.

I have a lot of friends at work who I'll trade back and forth with. Also there is a used bookstore uptown here where you can trade in your books for credit towards other's.
I also bought a discount card for Chapters/Indigo because I spend a LOT of money there.

Thrift stores, yard sales, flea markets are also great places to find cheap books.

otto · Nov 7, 2010

I love my library. I can go on line and order any books I want and they call me when they come in. I have a choice from over 70 libraries this way.

I always take out a huge stack, that way even some are duds, there are still plenty to read.

Winchester · Nov 7, 2010

I was going to suggest the library, too.

Stephen King has a new book coming out on November 9. I think it's called Full Dark, No Stars and is a collection of four stories. I'm a big King fan.

Have you read anything by Janet Evanovich? Her Stephanie Plum series is a hoot. Stephanie is a wanna-be bounty hunter who, with the help of both Ranger and Joe, manages to get the job done. I love her grandmother, Grandma Mazur, who makes me laugh out loud.

Diane Mott Davidson has a Goldy Bear series out, about a caterer who gets involved solving murder mysteries.

Joanne Fluke writes about Hannah Swenson, who owns a cookie shop called the Cookie Jar and who has a tendency to find dead bodies. All of her book titles mention pastries: The Sugar Cookie Murder, The Fudge Cupcake Murder, etc.

I like Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt series about the National Underwater & Marine Agency (NUMA) and also his Oregon Files are intriguing, too. Cussler in truly one of my favorite authors.

Linda Fairstein writes the Alex Cooper series, about an assistant D.A. in New York. And, if you like that genre, check out Kathy Reichs, Lisa Gardner, James Patterson, and Patricia Cornwell.

If you enjoy reading about cats solving mysteries, there's always Lilian Jackson Braun (The Cat Who.....) and Carole Nelson Douglas (Midnight Louie series), etc. Rita Mae Brown's writes the Sneaky Pie Brown series.

Other authors that I like include: Earlene Fowler (Benni Harper), Carolyn Haines (Death on Demand, Henrie O., etc.), Nancy Atherton, Dorothy Cannell, etc.

I could go on and on, but you get the idea.

Oh, and here's an interesting link for people who like to read. Check out http://www.literature-map.com/ . You simply type a name of an author whose books you enjoy and it will give you names of other authors who write in a similar genre. I've found a lot of good ideas from that link. It's really interesting.

Have fun!

larussa · Nov 8, 2010

I belong to the local library rather than buy books. Most anything by James Patterson or Jodi Picolt are very good reads. I read mostly fiction but also bio's of people I am interested in. Also like Danielle Steel a lot and for trash

I read Jackie Collins, always good for mindless reading.

strange_wings · Nov 8, 2010

My library system is next to useless. But I like a particular type of sci fi/speculative fiction. The most they have from any author in that category is Koontz.

If you want to go through books slower simply read more complicated books. Harris's writing is... simple? (and what books I read before getting fed up with her style were poorly edited). Many other books in that sub genre are simple quick reading, too. Read some classics or some non fiction, that should slow you down.

ut0pia · Nov 8, 2010

No need to want to slow down!! I am the same way, at the moment I'm kind of busy so I don't read as fast, but I've still read 2 books in the past 4 days. There are ways to get books for cheap.
For me it replaces television- I rarely ever watch TV anymore, and the books I read are pure entertainment, takes no more energy for me to read them than watching TV would. But reading is a much more fun experience, brings you much closer to the story and characters than shows or movies (unless it's a really good film and those are very rare to come by these days)

ETA: One suggestion from what I've liked recently: Lucy by Laurence Gonzales.
It's not a series, just a single novel and it's science fiction. It's about a girl who is half human, half bonobo ape

I thought it was really interesting.

frankthetank · Nov 8, 2010

I have about 45 books checked out from my library right now. Some are childrens books for the daycare, but most are mine and DH's. He is more into short books that he can skim through (adhd bad, he can't sit through stuff too easily!) but I can start a book and finish it the same day...I have books anywhere from 200-500 pages...the longer ones take me about two days typically, depending on how busy I am and my schedule. I HATE when I buy a book and love it, and read it the same day bc I can't put it down. It makes me mad when a book I loved reading is over.
We have 5 bookshelves in our home, all are completely full.

We need more but have no room for any more! If i love a book, I will read it over and over again.

adriana · Nov 8, 2010

Try your local library! I haven't been reading for quite some time, because our library was down for renovations for what seemed to be forever. It opened up like a week or two ago and I got so excited!

I brought my nerdy butt down immediately. I just finished a book called Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella. It was really good! It's about a women who experiences amnesia and loses memory of the last 3 years of her life after an accident. I thought finishing it in a few days was an accomplishment, but compared to you guys, it's nothing!

nutrolori · Nov 8, 2010

I live in a small town and our library isn't too big. I usually go there with the kids to get books by the time I get their books checked out I forget to look for myself.

I did read the Lovely Bones and then I saw the movie. The book in my opinion was much better. But again I read that in less than 2 days.

Thank you all for the great suggestions. I think I will be taking a trip to the bookstore or library tomorrow.

natalie_ca · Nov 8, 2010

I'm the same way. If a book is good I devour it. Which is why I rarely buy books and instead make use of the public library. It's just too expensive for me to buy books because when I set my mind to it, I can read a book in a day or 2.

nutrolori · Nov 8, 2010

Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

I'm the same way. If a book is good I devour it. Which is why I rarely buy books and instead make use of the public library. It's just too expensive for me to buy books because when I set my mind to it, I can read a book in a day or 2.

I like to buy them so I have them on hand in case I ever want to re-read them. Especially with how fast I have been reading them. When I read the Sookie Stackhouse series I hated having to wait for the next book. It was nice to have them all and just go from one to the next.

lauren_miller · Nov 8, 2010

Mercedes Lackey is my favorite author, my favorite series of hers is The Heralds Of Valdemar. The genre is fantasy. Her books are really good.

jcat · Nov 8, 2010

You sound like a good candidate for an e-reader. There's an incredible number of free e-books available online, and you can buy a lot of the latest bestsellers and not have to worry about running out of room for your books.

emrldsky · Nov 9, 2010

Have you thought about an eReading device? They're really coming down in price and some even have features that will work with libraries for loaning ebooks.

Another cool thing about them is that you can own as many books as you can possibly afford, and they won't take up space in your house.

Oh, and often Amazon and other retailers will have a large section of freebies. I usually peruse those when I run out of money on my gift card (had to start budgeting each month by getting a gift card for myself).

And I'm a HUGE reader. The reason I needed to start budgeting is because on month, I had a lot of extra cash on hand, and spent nearly $200 in Kindle books, and many of them were only $2-3 each!!!

nutrolori · Nov 9, 2010

That sounds like something for me. I will definitely look into it. Thanks!

Originally Posted by jcat

You sound like a good candidate for an e-reader. There's an incredible number of free e-books available online, and you can buy a lot of the latest bestsellers and not have to worry about running out of room for your books.

spudsmom · Nov 9, 2010

Originally Posted by Winchester

I was going to suggest the library, too.

Stephen King has a new book coming out on November 9. I think it's called Full Dark, No Stars and is a collection of four stories. I'm a big King fan.

Have you read anything by Janet Evanovich? Her Stephanie Plum series is a hoot. Stephanie is a wanna-be bounty hunter who, with the help of both Ranger and Joe, manages to get the job done. I love her grandmother, Grandma Mazur, who makes me laugh out loud.

Diane Mott Davidson has a Goldy Bear series out, about a caterer who gets involved solving murder mysteries.

Joanne Fluke writes about Hannah Swenson, who owns a cookie shop called the Cookie Jar and who has a tendency to find dead bodies. All of her book titles mention pastries: The Sugar Cookie Murder, The Fudge Cupcake Murder, etc.

I like Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt series about the National Underwater & Marine Agency (NUMA) and also his Oregon Files are intriguing, too. Cussler in truly one of my favorite authors.

Linda Fairstein writes the Alex Cooper series, about an assistant D.A. in New York. And, if you like that genre, check out Kathy Reichs, Lisa Gardner, James Patterson, and Patricia Cornwell.

If you enjoy reading about cats solving mysteries, there's always Lilian Jackson Braun (The Cat Who.....) and Carole Nelson Douglas (Midnight Louie series), etc. Rita Mae Brown's writes the Sneaky Pie Brown series.

Other authors that I like include: Earlene Fowler (Benni Harper), Carolyn Haines (Death on Demand, Henrie O., etc.), Nancy Atherton, Dorothy Cannell, etc.

I could go on and on, but you get the idea.

Oh, and here's an interesting link for people who like to read. Check out http://www.literature-map.com/ . You simply type a name of an author whose books you enjoy and it will give you names of other authors who write in a similar genre. I've found a lot of good ideas from that link. It's really interesting.

Have fun!

Thanks for that link...it's awesome.

Right now I'm working my way through Oprah's Book Club. Some are really good, some are difficult to get into. But I've learned something and enjoyed reading each one so far. I've still got LOTS to read to get through it all but I have found some authors that I really love and that link will help me find similar authors!

Winchester · Nov 10, 2010

Originally Posted by spudsmom

Thanks for that link...it's awesome.

You're welcome. I like to check out authors, too, and the link has helped me out quite a bit.

Need to read slower or buy larger books

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In the kitchen with my cookies

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Mo(w)gli's can opener

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In the kitchen with my cookies