Time to read

MrsFairfax · Joined: 27 Mar 2007 Posts: 1065

An anthology I have and love is called First Loves: Poets introduce the essential poems that captivated and inspired them. A number of contemporary writers and poets were asked to name the poet or poem that inspired them to write their own. Each entry is a short essay on falling in love with words, introducing the representative poem chosen. It's edited by Carmela Ciuraru, if that helps to find it.

dick · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 2248

As to reading in general, I make time for it. If I don't get a daily dose of prose, I can't sleep, so it's either find the time or overcome insomnia by supplying the daily dose. But, you know, I find poetry a far more time-consuming read than fiction; it requires more intense concentration and more time to savor.

xina · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 6627 Location: minneapolis

I enjoy poetry too, but don't make the choice to read it as much as I used to. I love Leaves Of Grass by Walt Whitman however, and have several copies I have picked up over the years. Speaking of readings that take a short amount of time, I am now reading (on and off) When You Are Engulfed In Flames by David Sedaris. The short offerings are only 4 or 5 pages long and they are wonderful. He writes about the mundane, things that happen to everyone and things we think about in a light and amusing way. It's a nice break to sit down and read one, if I'm not in the mood for any of my books I've got going.

EC Sheedy · Joined: 14 Oct 2007 Posts: 8

Elizabeth Rolls · Joined: 26 Mar 2007 Posts: 1026 Location: Australia

Lynda X · Joined: 05 Apr 2007 Posts: 1249

Addicted to reading, I really have no choice. I must read each day, but I find that if I read a book in dribs and drabs, I never really get into it. It's better than nothing, but. . .

I've thought about parents' difficult position when they want a non-reader to read. Often, they tell the kid he/she must read X number of minutes a day, hoping that the story will grab and more will be read. It's certainly A LOT better than nothing, but for me, I'd never really get involved with a book if I did it that way. On the subject of non-readers, one essential ability many of them lack is that they don't picture the book in their minds. When I told a class of non-readers that to me, reading was like watching a movie, they were amazed. Without that ability, it's hardly a surprise that so many kids don't like to read. And with fewer and fewer kids playing "let's pretend," it's a wonder we have ANY readers at all. Enough of my rant. . .

xina · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 6627 Location: minneapolis

I've thought about parents' difficult position when they want a non-reader to read. Often, they tell the kid he/she must read X number of minutes a day, hoping that the story will grab and more will be read. .[/quote]

I've known and have heard parents tell their non readers that they MUST read 1/2 a day, as if it is some kind of torture. I know they are hoping the reading bug bites them, but it seems like when something is forced it might backfire. Possibly, they will stay as far away from reading as possible when they are out of mom and dad's lives. Pity really. I know adults...smart and successful ones, who never read anything other than a newspaper or an occasional magazine. I can't imagine that for myself. It's funny how readers really connect with one another and how there is an instant bond with that person.

Audrey · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 186 Location: Alberta, Canada

This is such an issue for me right now and I hate it. Last year I read about a third of what I usually do, and I don't think I enjoying books as much as when I used to be able to read in chunks of time. My concentration is shot and it takes me a while each time to relax enough to just read instead of my mind jumping away from the story to think of things I need to remember or do or whatever.

I remember one Christmas I had a houseful of company for several days and a book by one of my favorite authors came out. I left it in the bathroom and read a couple paragraphs at a time! Needless to say when everyone left I had to start over.

RichMissTallant · Joined: 06 Jun 2008 Posts: 148 Location: Washington, DC

I do all of my reading during the summer or during breaks. I have absolutely no time to read for fun when I'm at school...hell, I don't even really have time for my assigned reading, to be honest! :?

As for time of the day, I definitely prefer reading at night. When I am on holiday, I'm usually with my family, since I only see them a few times a year. Nighttime is when it's quiet enough for me to relax and get to the reading. Plus, I have this weird thing about reading romance novels during the daytime... I find there's a big difference between a romance and other kinds of fiction in that sense. At the beach, I wouldn't read a romance - it's just not a beach read to me (well, maybe some of the funnier authors). With romance, it's like a dramatic or suspenseful movie - it's gotta be dark out and completely quiet!
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