I used to read loads. As a teen in the 80s (I know!) I didn't have the internet to distract me, the only friend I had who lived in another country was Costas, a Greek penfriend. Penfriends were all the rage back then, but writing letters and waiting, while fun, was not the distraction that the instant conversations of social media are today.
I'm a friendly soul and so I love to chat online, it makes it hard to break off to read a book. Coupled with the feeling that I don't really enjoy books that are written now. It used to be so easy - I loved horror stories for a while in my early teens, couldn't read enough James Herbert and Stephen King, but went off of those as I grew up. Then I fell for Sci-Fi and I still love science fiction, but rarely like the modern tales, that seem overly moralistic or depressing. I know the classics can be that too, but there was a lot of looking for utopia in science while now distopias seem more common.
I tried reading some YA (young adult) fiction, thinking maybe it would be more cheery...ha! It seems if you don't have a life threatening condition, a major disability, a traumatic home-life, or possibly all three you are not a YA hero. I even asked twitter (that distraction) for some happy YA - no one could name one..."oh it's sweet...but yeah..he dies"
Fantasy kept me entertained, I loved the stories of the Dragons of Pern (is that sci-fi or fantasy?) and Terry Pratchett wrote a world of comedy genius filled with trolls, goblins, witches and elves. But lately I really struggle to find something I can get properly lost in.
Recent books that have captured me have included, The Martian, The Girl in the Red Coat, The Golem and the Djinni, Down Station (hurry up and write part 2!), and The Lollipop Shoes. And the thing all these had in common was that I didn't read them....I had them read to me via audible audio books. It's a great way to consume books while I'm driving, double tasking! With the added bonus of not listening to Radio 4 and their obsessive politics.
So what else should I be reading or listening to? Tell me the good stuff I've missed. Pop over to my Facebook page and comment on this post there, or let me know on twitter. Until next week.
