I love reading. I’ve been reading since I was two and it’s always been my biggest obsession. I can’t not read- if there are words, I have to read them (this can cause problems when I’m meant to be concentrating on something else). I used to be able to memorise everything I read, which was brilliant but I lost that ability as a teenager.
Until I got M.E reading two or three books a day was perfectly normal. I loved both nonfiction and fiction. I’d go from reading a favourite children’s book to an encyclopaedia to a text book or a classic novel. A lot of my love of the internet is because of how much there is to read, with wikis, fan fiction and blogs as well as traditional websites on any topic I could think of. Even my use of Twitter is mostly reading, as it’s my best way of finding out what’s happening in the world and with those people I’m friends with or interested in. Reading is what I do best.
Despite my love of books and reading, I don’t like writing book reviews most of the time. At school I’d only review as few books as I could get away with (in one class reviewing two when I’d read more like twenty). I don’t like analysing books, picking them apart for hidden meanings, thinking about the quality of writing instead of what the message actually is. When I try to write a book review I always feel I can never quite do it justice. Some of this because I can’t always identify my own thoughts and feelings or put them into words. Mostly though it’s just because most writing doesn’t interest me anywhere near as much as reading does.
I’m glad book reviews exist. As I’m not well enough to read everything now (and can’t read normal books as they hurt too much) they enable me to choose what ebooks to buy, and I enjoy reading them just for enjoyment as well. I’m amazed at how other people are able to write so well about something they’ve read. I guess it’s a bit like how I’m always impressed by writers telling stories in such a way I can be there, something else I can’t do.
I love books, stories and reading. I’m just not very good at writing about them.
I don’t read much fiction for pleasure, although I spend a lot of my free time on here which is reading, I suppose. So, never had to do book reviews – it would take me ages to get through a book as I can’t skim read, so I’d be no good at it! But I thought of doing album reviews when at college, but decided against it as I could never put into words how the music affected me, and if it didn’t, it was no good.