I've written about writer's block a bit in the past. And as I enter week two of Blog-a-Day month, it starts to hit hard. Ideas that I had during September have all left my brain. But I've been dealing with a similar, but different, problem. I think I have reader's block.
Am I really that slow of a reader? On one level, I want to blame it on the book itself. And I honestly do. The book is a masterpiece. Every line is a poem that you need to absorb. As with poetry, it lends itself to a more deliberate pace. And the plot? There really isn't a plot. Kerouak just tells us everything that happened on these road trips. Therefore, it has a lack of momentum.
I can't even imagine succeeding (or coming close) in a challenge like this. I have started dozens of books over the past year and have finished very few. I've been in a similar reading funk before. A few times, really. For example, during some of my heavier semesters in college, I would try to pick up a book as a distraction and it wouldn't work.
During those times, I always had a backup. Dean Koontz is my go to writer. There's rarely anything too heavy in his books, yet they often have an entertaining idea around them. He's my author equivalent of a home cooked meal. I used to pick up one of his book and fly through it. Following that, I had momentum again to read on.
But this past winter, I struggled to get through one of his books. I can't even remember what it was called. I tried a couple more book, then back to Koontz. This book I couldn't get through at all. How much can I blame Koontz, even though I don't think the book was very good or interesting? How much of it is me?
I always have a book in my car. If I ever go out to eat or to the movies and I need to kill time, it's there. I'm slowly making my way through that book. Once I get moved into my house (not holding my breath), I'll have a bunch more books out from storage. I'm wondering if the best solution might to be to reread some old favorite books. Perhaps that can built the momentum I need to start reading again.
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