I've never read any Christie before, so I thought I'd give her a go. So far, I'm rather enjoying it. Her dry humour is entertaining, her pace is fast enough not to get bored, and I like the main character. I also love that within the first 28 pages, I've already had to consult the dictionary three separate times. (Vocabulary whore, right here.) Finally, I'm greatly enjoying that despite being written nearly 90 years ago, all the details about London are still exactly the same as I've experienced them. A murder at the far end of the platform in Hyde Park Corner Tube station? Timeless.
I've also dubbed myself with a new description: a Fair Weather Reader. I know people that plow through books like its nobody's business, and I'm actually jealous of them. While I adore the written word and consider a new book one of life's greatest pleasures, I am ridiculously picky about where and when I'll actually read.
The full realization of this occurred to me when we'd recently lost electricity during a winter storm. After a full day without power, my husband grabbed Random Book #846 off the shelf and got to it, as there was literally nothing else to do. Yet, while I had just started a new novel that I was eager to sink my teeth into, I pretty much refused to pick it up while the house was cold and dark. I wasn't in my Happy Reading Place. And while I will admit that more than a little silly, there you have it.
When I read, I want to feel free enough to get completely lost in the world of the book. I want to be uninterrupted, not competing with anything else that is trying to steal my attention. When something else is going on around me or unsettling me, I'd simply rather not read. This is why despite always bringing a book with me on long flights or train journeys, I never pick them up, and why it takes WAY longer to finish a book than it should.
My personal favourite Happy Reading Place is right where I am now: my sofa, buried in my fuzzy blanket with a steaming hot cup of coffee and my computer playing songs from my Reading Playlist, usually personalized to enhance the time period of whatever story I happen to be reading at the time. (Told you I was picky!)
Any other Fair Weather Readers out there? Where do you prefer to read? Or are you like most of my friends that can pound out ten novels in a week and have mastered the art of reading while showering or vacuuming?
4 responses:
i read the most at the gym.
I love this about you Lisa :) and I am the exact same way :))
I can't believe that you are reading your first Agatha Christie! How exciting for you!! I have read so so so many of her books, and I actually credit them as a gateway to my own Anglophilia! :)
I definitely have to be in a zone to read; otherwise I get distracted. But it doesn't necessarily have to be in one specific place. I do have a chair in my bedroom that is a particularly nice place to read, but I also like the sofa in the living room.
I also make reading specific playlists!! I usually like to have music on in the background, which actually helps me to tune out distractions. When in a pinch for tunes, I really like the Soundscapes music channel, which is part of my cable package.
This looks good. I've become more interested in reading mysteries after I got started from those Alan Bradley books. SOO good.
And I might start on Sherlock Holmes too after being hooked on the Masterpiece series.
Thanks for the recommendation.
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