What to Read by Elizabeth Alsobrooks

I read every day. Often, I read all day long, mostly professionally, less often for pure pleasure. I also write every day. At the very least, I write a dozen emails every day, and write information text, fiction, and meeting minutes and notes for research. So why is it I have such a hard time finding something fun and interesting and entertaining to read (as in I don’t have to edit this, just enjoy it), or to write about? So today I am writing about finding something good to read.

I read a blog that said the purpose of reading is to enrich your life, gain knowledge, get value by improving the quality of your life—not just to read for the sake of reading. Apparently they don’t read the label on cereal boxes or the text on magazines in the checkout line. That blogger’s take on reading set some lofty goals indeed, I’m sure, but as a fiction writer and someone who already read through thirteen years of college edification, I feel enabled to read just for fun if I damn well please. Literary fiction with a moral thermometer stuck up its bum is fine upon occasion but reading for entertainment and to escape social realism and politically correct fakeness, as in the intended bride in Eddie Murphy's Coming to America, "whatever you want, whatever you like," can be quite empowering in itself, not to mention a huge stress reliever.

So decide what you’re in the current mood to read, and here are a few ways to go about finding what you’re looking for, especially if you’re not looking to read a darker shade of what you just finished reading. People swear by such search tools as amazon’s lists, and their what else people who liked this product purchased feature.  There is the What Should I Read Next search engine, where you literally type in your favorite book of the type you currently seek and it will give you some similar picks. There is also StumbleUpon, that provides you with web pages you might like. You can read book blogs, book review sites, searching for the type of books you like that are being reviewed. Goodreads is a good source. Join a group that’s reading the type of book you are interested in and get some first-hand recommendations and opinions.

Once you generate some book lists, go to amazon or some other book site and read the blurb, to get the gist of the story-line. If that catches your attention I strongly recommend using the look inside feature and reading the sample. Nothing is more frustrating than hating the author’s voice or their chosen point of view and use of narration. I actually read a novel that I like, though it was in first person and that’s not my favorite narrative tense. However, when I got the sequel, the tense and writing style was so annoying that though I read almost halfway through (I’m a fast reader) hoping the story would capture my attention I just hated it and set it aside. The book was on the bestseller list. It was a sequel to a book I enjoyed, but I hated, hated, hated it. I actually no longer cared about either of the main characters and found myself hoping they’d get killed off to put me out of my misery. Should I have read the free sample even though I’d read the first book? Duh! Never again. Though that has never happened to me before, I learned my lesson and this was a big publishing company so the kindle was nearly 12 bucks! [When did paperbacks get cheaper than the digital version?]

So, buyer beware and read on! Read for edification, enrichment, or just good old-fashioned entertainment! Bottom line? Read what makes you happy!