BTT-Speedy Gonzales

What do you think of speed-reading? Is it a good way to get through a lot of books, or does the speed-reader miss depth and nuance? Do you speed-read? Is some material better suited to speed-reading than others?

The average person reads 250-300 words per minute. I read 100 words a minute. When I concentrate on speed I can make it to 150 wpm but I worry about missing something. This means I can read about 25 pages in an hour if I work at it. No, I am not a speed reader. But my son is. I haven't tested his speed but he can make it through a 1000 page book in 3 days. Then he can spend half a day telling you everything about the story. He has lost nothing in the reading just because he has done it quickly. In fact, I sometimes think I lose something along the way because it takes so long for me to get from cover to cover. But my speed has improved with practice. The more I read the faster I read. I didn't know that was possible until it happened to me. It takes time but it does work.

BTT: It's That Good

What’s the most enjoyable, most fun, most just-darn-entertaining book you’ve read recently? (Mind you, this doesn’t necessarily mean funny, since we covered that already. Just … GOOD.)

Enjoyable? Fun? Just-darn-entertaining? And how far back is recent anyway?

Okay. Enough of the over analysing(for the moment). Because I actually refer to it as enjoyable, funny and enthralling, my choice is Homer & Langley. It was all of those things and more.

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BTT FYI

What’s the most informative book you’ve read recently?

Right at the moment I'm reading a non-fiction called Pay Attention, Say Thank You: Seven Rules & Practices for Joyful Living by M. Gail Woodard which is informative but very small. It really just tells you the rule and how to practice it. It motivates but it doesn't go into why it works.

Actually I found Sacred Hearts to be tremendously informative. It's an historical fiction with a lot of information about convents and medicine in the sixteenth century. I learned a great deal and it was not at all boring.

BTT: Recent Best

What’s the best book you’ve read recently?

The two books that I would say I've enjoyed the most were both audio books so I couldn't strictly say I read them but I will share them with you just the same. One was Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas. I have not yet written a review for it but I really liked it a lot. The characters were great, the stories within the main story were fun (unless they weren't meant to be), and the place and setting were expertly drawn. Plus she includes quilting in all her writing. As a quilter I usually connect better when the characters share my fondness for the hobby.

The second book was The First Part Last. The genuineness of the characters and my emotional reaction to them by the end of the story made it a standout for me. Highly highly recommended.

Before I go I will share that I am also thoroughly enjoying my current book, which I am actually reading, Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant. So well researched and wonderfully written. I'm almost finished and I can't wait to see what happens next.

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BTT: Let's Get Serious

What’s the most serious book you’ve read recently?

It depends on what you mean by serious. If what you mean is the absence of humor then I'd have to say The Walking People but I thought it just plain boring. If what you mean is the one that should be taken the most seriously then I'd have to say The Blue Notebook but only if you can stomach the subject matter. But if you mean the most serious book that I enjoyed then the answer would be The Well and the Mine.

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Booking Through Thursday-Hot!

Now that summer is here (in the northern hemisphere, anyway), what is the most “Summery” book you can think of? The one that captures the essence of summer for you?

(I’m not asking for you to list your ideal “beach reading,” you understand, but the book that you can read at any time of year but that evokes “summer.”)

The book that evokes that summer feeling for me is Child of My Heart by Alice McDermott. It is about a teen-aged girl who is left in charge of her cousin for the summer. The sense of summer is clear throughout the book and I loved it. It brought back memories of summers spent visiting my dad who worked all day and left my sister and I to explore in the evenings. It is one of my favorite books.

BTT-Manual Labor

Writing guides, grammar books, punctuation how-tos . . . do you read them? Not read them? How many writing books, grammar books, dictionaries–if any–do you have in your library?

In elementary school, my favorite subject, that I earned consistently good grades in, was English, which really meant Grammar. But as I teach my own children how to write properly, and as I write in this public forum regularly, I come to realize just how lousy my early education was in this area.

I cannot say that I read writing and grammar manuals but I have been collecting them for the last year. Besides the dictionary which I use monthly, not to mention Dictionary.com which is a weekly stop, I have glanced through only one manual so far but I keep picking them up and setting them in my reading area for the right moment. I hope to participate in the NaNoWriMo again this year but this time I'm going to complete the challenge so I need to prepare as much as I can. Maybe I will make it my summer reading goal to get through 2-3 of these books while lounging by the pool. These are the titles that I found on my shelves:

• The Elements of Style, 3rd ed.
• The Art of Creative Writing
• Woe is I
• Building Fiction
• Writing about Literature
• Writing Without the Muse
• The Lively Art of Writing
• The Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus
• Encyclopedia Britannica Dictionary

Spring Reading

Do your reading habits change in the Spring? Do you read gardening books? Even if you don’t have a garden? More light fiction than during the Winter? Less? Travel books? Light paperbacks you can stick in a knapsack? Or do you pretty much read the same kinds of things in the Spring as you do the rest of the year?

Springtime means taking the kiddos to the park frequently, which causes me to choose smaller books that can hold up to the constant interruption of looking up to count little blond heads. I do read thicker and more involved books in the spring, just not at the park.

And now that Carl V. hosts the Once Upon a Time Challenge every spring, I am making associations in my mind with springtime and fairy tales. They seem to fit together naturally.

But, Enough About Books...

Okay, even I can’t read ALL the time, so I’m guessing that you folks might voluntarily shut the covers from time to time as well… What else do you do with your leisure to pass the time? Walk the dog? Knit? Run marathons? Construct grandfather clocks? Collect eggshells?

Most of my time is spent homeschooling my three kiddos, cooking and cleaning but occasionally I like to spend some of my time with other hobbies. I like to always be creating something. When I've gone too long without making something I start to feel backed up inside. I love crafts of all kinds but my biggest passion is for quilting. I love the patterned fabrics and the patterns I can create with the fabrics. It's like putting a beautiful puzzle together that is soft and cuddly.

My Butterfly Quilt is the last one I completed. It was for a quilting contest 3 years ago. I was supposed to make something that reminded me of home. In the town we were living in there was a large butterfly mural downtown. I created the pattern myself and worked on it nonstop. When I finished it I realised that the contest had ended the day before so I wasn't able to enter it. But I am so glad that I worked on it. I learned a lot about my own abilities and the importance of quality.

A Character with Character

Sometimes I find eccentric characters quirky and fun, other times I find them too unbelievable and annoying. What are some of the more outrageous characters you’ve read, and how do you feel about them?

The best examples I can think of for quirky characters are those found in Charles Dickens' novels. There is no denying that Mr. Guppy (Bleak House) is a fantastic character. Or "the Riverside Character" from Our Mutual Friend.

Another author with great quirkies is Jane Austen. Her characters have so much quirk they spill all over the pages. These example are the kinds that I love encountering.

Booking Through Thursday

Today’s question comes from Conspiracy-Girl:I’m still relatively new to this meme so I’m not sure if this has been asked yet, but I’m curious how many of us write notes in our books. Are you a Footprint Leaver or a Preservationist?

I have never been the type to write in any book. When I started reading The Well-Educated Mind I was surprised that Bauer recommended taking notes in the books. She says it's a sign of ownership. To me it just looks messy. If I spend money on the book I want to preserve it. Instead I write my notes in journals and writing pad.

Another reason I don't write in my books is because when I buy a used book, it really bothers me to find someone else's scribblings all over it.

With Reckless Abandon

Today’s suggestion is from Cereal Box Reader
"I would enjoy reading a meme about people’s abandoned books. The books that you start but don’t finish say as much about you as the ones you actually read, sometimes because of the books themselves or because of the circumstances that prevent you from finishing. So . . . what books have you abandoned and why?"

Well, what a co-winkiedink! I decided yesterday to abandon a challenge book. I've been reading Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell for at least two weeks and am barely halfway through it. I can see that it is a very cute book with lots to recommend it. For whatever reason I am not getting into it. And I've heard that it has a slump in the middle, right where I am. And I would need to finish it in a week for it to count for the RIP II Challenge, which is just not going to happen. So I decided that it is time to give up on it in hopes that I will pick it up in a couple of months. I want to give it all the credit it deserves.

There are many readers out there that shamelessly toss a book aside if it doesn't grab their attention within the first 50 pages but this is generally when I find a book of most interest. It's a fresh new story that I am unfamiliar with, or at least in this specific form. There is a little something in me that says I must finish something I have started. I hate to quit something that I voluntarily chose to do. Somehow I feel as if I have shirked my responsibility or something.

I have of course set books aside to finish "just after this one" only to never be picked up again. When this happens it generally is with a non-fiction. I have an extremely hard time getting through instructional books. If it doesn't have a plot I lose interest quickly.

Avert Your Eyes

Do you have “issues” with too much profanity or overly explicit (ahem) “romantic” scenes in books? Or do you take them in stride? Have issues like these ever caused you to close a book? Or do you go looking for more exactly like them? (grin)

When I was a kid my mom never had to worry about the love scenes on a movie with me around because I would get so uncomfortable that I'd leave the room or cover my eyes and plug my ears. I am still pretty uncomfortable with them but not to the same extent as I used to be. But books are different. The writing makes all the difference. That and my imagination. I can handle love scenes just fine while reading as long as no one else is in the room with me. If someone is present I feel like a pervert.

As far as profanity goes, I don't speak it often and I don't like to hear it. It is the language of the unintelligible. I don't see the need for it in movies or in books in most cases but I don't really have a problem reading it.

Two for the Price of One

I missed out on last week's really good Booking Through Thursday but since this week's question is connected to it I'll answer them together.

Okay . . . picture this (really) worst-case scenario: It’s cold and raining, your boyfriend/girlfriend has just dumped you, you’ve just been fired, the pile of unpaid bills is sky-high, your beloved pet has recently died, and you think you’re coming down with a cold. All you want to do (other than hiding under the covers) is to curl up with a good book, something warm and comforting that will make you feel better.
What do you read?

When life is rough I need a good cry. I read something that says, "Yea, life hurts. It beats you to a bloody pulp. But the reward at the end is worth it." I don't often reread but here are some titles that would be good for a bummer day: Jane Eyre, House of Mirth(she dies but he loves her), Mansfield Park, or Persuasion. Abusive but life affirming.

Imagine that everything is going just swimmingly. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and all’s right with the world. You’re practically bouncing from health and have money in your pocket. The kids are playing and laughing, the puppy is chewing in the cutest possible manner on an officially-sanctioned chew toy, and in between moments of laughter for pure joy, you pick up a book to read . . .
What is it?

When I'm ultra happy I want the good guys to cream the bad guys. I want something all life affirming. Humor is good too. This is where Pride and Prejudice or Little Women would come in. Old childhood classics that are fun like Wind in the Willows or Robin Hood. Something fantastical and full of magic. Stardust or Princess Bride. And I think I'd be much more able to handle scary when I'm on cloud nine.

Goldilocks Kind of Reader

–are you a Goldilocks kind of reader?
Do you need the light just right, the background noise just so loud but not too loud, the chair just right, the distractions at a minimum?
Or can you open a book at any time and dip right in, whether it’s for twenty seconds, while waiting for the kettle to boil, or indefinitely, like while waiting interminably at the hospital–as long as the book is open in front of your nose, you’re happy to read?

The things I require in order to read are as follows:

• a comfortable seat, preferably a couch or recliner


• a decent light nearby


• a drink and a snack within reach, hot tea and something salty are best


• no noise, not even instrumental music or excessive bird chirping


• a chunk of time, I can't stand reading for only a few minutes here and there


• absolutely no TV nearby, if there's a TV I will be watching it, no matter how stupid the program

When written out this way I sound like a Goldilocks type of reader. But reading is important for my sanity so I have created a space in my life that fits these requirements so I may read almost everyday. But it does make it difficult to read outside of my home. I read on a recent vacation during the long drives but I couldn't read in the hotel rooms or at the pool. And I never read while visiting Mom. She owns at least 3 TVs.

The reason that I think I require so many stipulations has a lot to do with stimulation. I become overstimulated easily, and being a person who has always struggled with reading, it is the first area of activity that shuts down if there is a lot of commotion. With instrumental music or nature noises, they just bring about an emotional reaction in me that interferes with the emotions in stories. I will lay down my book, close my eyes and listen with a contented smile.