Finding Time to Read

The last few days have been really difficult for me. My reading time has been cut down to almost nothing, and I'm really eager to get to reading Divergent and several of the other new novels that I've picked up the last two weeks. My To-Be-Read stack is growing at an astronomical rate and I can't seem to stop buying books (since I'm a very naughty library user and tend to forget to take them back, therefore forcing me to purchase everything I want to read). 

Every time I pick up a book in the last week, somebody starts to talk to me. I don't get alone time almost at all; there are three adults and a child living in my home and finding time to be alone is nearly impossible. Not that I want to be alone when I'm reading. I enjoy the company just fine, but I am inclined not to want to be interrupted by the constant chatter of the family around me.

It's worse because I'm reading Beautiful Creatures, which is a novel that I'm enjoying, but because it is so atmospheric (not quite like reading Anne Rice, but atmospheric enough that the setting is a key component in the book) it's difficult to become immersed in the world of Gatlin, South Carolina, when there are people trying to carry on a conversation with me. For this reason, I've been reading the book in short bursts, and have been finding it very difficult to "get into" the book.

This is a new problem for me. It's very rare that I enjoy a book that I can't get into. Usually if I enjoy a book I can't put it down and I read nearly constantly until I've finished it. I carry my Kindle with me all over the place because I read in the moments that I have available, devouring fiction like it's the bread I need to survive. I'm not getting that with this book, and I can't help but to wonder why.

I'm curious; How many of my readers have had this kind of problem before? Do you find that you enjoy a book that you can't get into, for whatever reason? Leave me a comment!

Photo is courtesy of Simon Cocks on Flickr.

Choosing a Favorite Fiction

I'm sitting here tonight drinking (something that I almost never do, so the rum is a rare treat) and contemplating books, wishing that I had more time to read them, and finding myself a bit lost and sad that there cannot possibly be enough hours in a day in which to read. And, truth be told, I'm also contemplating why it is that Beautiful Creatures just isn't doing it for me. 

By rights, I ought to be very interested in this book. If horror was the genre that I enjoyed growing up, and the paranormal genre seems to have grown out of that (thanks to Anne Rice and others), then I ought to be devouring paranormal romance. After all, I read a Nora Roberts paranormal or fantasy romance novel in just a few short hours of rapid reading. So what's my problem with this, and other novels like it?

Alright, so I don't hate paranormal fiction, and I'm certainly a fan of romance. After all, I recently admitted on Tumblr to being a Twilight fan (I know, I know. . . But it's still my right to enjoy the Saga without being picked on about it!).

One thing that I've figured out is that we're all different as readers. I have a terrible time recommending books for my best friend, who has a terrible time recommending books for me. She enjoys paranormal and fantasy, whereas I'm more of a fan of dystopian fiction. I want to be able to hand her books that I know she'll enjoy, but we only really cross where it comes to romance, which we both enjoy, but in different ways. No matter how much somebody pressures me to read Nicholas Sparks, I will not after my ill-fated reading of Safe Haven, and I will always do my best to put Nicholas Evans and Nora Roberts into the hands of as many people as will possibly pay attention to me. 

So I wanted to talk to you today about the types of fiction that I enjoy reading, and to give you, the reader, the chance to talk about what types of fiction are your favorites. I think that this is an interesting subject to cover because it has a lot to do with whether or not a person's recommendation of books is going to match the reading style of the person on the receiving end of the recommendation.

I'll start, since I'm the one writing this blog post!

My favorite type of fiction is dystopian. Hands-down, I am more likely to pick up a novel if I know that it has futuristic (or fantasy) dystopian themes. Hands down, this is my favorite type of story. At the moment, I'm especially enjoying Teen (Young Adult) Dystopian Fiction, but I've also enjoyed Stephen King's Bachman books along with other adult authors of dystopian fiction. I think that this is always going to have a special place in my heart.

I also enjoy horror novels. I've been reading Stephen King since I was eleven years old and have always had a (sick) fascination with his stories. My favorite is The Shining, although It and Needful Things come in a close second. Inasmuchas she can be considered to be "horror," I also love Anne Rice's work, though I think that she would be considered "paranormal" now.

Finally, I like romantic fantasy and specifically Nora Roberts. There are some other types of romance that tickle my fancy from time to time, but Nora Roberts is especially dear to my heart, and I really enjoy her trilogies. 

While I do not exclusively read young adult fiction, that's what I've been reading the most over the past year or so, and what dominates my TBR (to be read) stack of books that is available for me to enjoy. I try to read and review a little bit of everything, but lately I've been reading more of what I enjoy than what is simply recommended, or "smart."

What about you? What's your favorite genre of fiction to read?

(Photo thanks to Enokson on Flickr under Creative Commons).