Probably little known by most people is that I read a decent amount for pleasure. I read far more out of college than when I was in college which is probably not uncommon. I find when I can read anything I want with no deadline, I enjoy it more.

goldfinchThis post was spurred by my recent completion of the Goldfinch which I took as a recommendation from Laura or popping up in my Kindle. It was a lengthy read that took me more time than I would have liked but I finished the last half of the book in a week or two so once I got rolling it went quick. I enjoyed it but didn’t feel like I got hit in the chest once I finished the book. Even stranger is that I was rushing through the end of the book which contained the most philosophical thoughts in pulling the entire story together.

What happens to me when I read is that I’ll get 100 pages in and then like a trigger, I’ll decide if I want to keep reading. This is usually influenced by what is going on in my life and how much time I can devote to reading.

I’ll give the last few books I bought through my Kindle:

Business Adventures (1%) – John Brooks – Recommended by Bill Gates and I haven’t gotten around to it
Write Better – 50 Ways to Improve Your Writing (54%) – I get tired of the same old lame ideas
How to Write Great Blog Post that Engage Readers (48%) – Tired thoughts
History of the World (1815-1920) (2%) – I like learning but history is the most boring type of book I can find
Edgar Allen Poe – Complete Tales & Poems (0%) -I read the Raven and said nevermore
Copywriting for the Rest of Us (98%) – Good for business
This Book Will Teach You How to Write Better (91%) – A good read
18 Rules of Happiness (18%) – I stopped at rule 2 or 3.
Complete Works of Mark Twain (7%) – I read the Prince and the Pauper quickly and it wasn’t that I didn’t like it, I just moved on
David and Goliath (84%) – Malcom Gladwell – Much more boring than his previous works.
Fantasy Life (99%) – Matthew Berry – It said 99 but I skipped the last 25%. It got boring towards the end but his life was more interesting than the fantasy stories.
Timeline of the World (24%) – More history that I get tired of easily
Aesop’s Fables (44%) – 50 fables were more than I needed.
I Did It (96%) – O.J Simpson – I enjoyed reading about OJ’s life.
I Wear The Black Hat (99%) – Chuck Klosterman – I’ll read anything Klosterman writes from front to back.
Invisible Man (26%) – H.G Wells – I read some of this while I was hungover on a Sunday and stopped a quarter of the way through for lack of interest.
Bruce (99%) – Biography on Springsteen – Probably the 10th music biography I’ve read and I never get tired of them.

You can see I dislike history and stodgy writing. Brookes posted 10 books that impacted him on my Facebook wall and I’ll do something similar for my own books but I wanted to get a post out without too much thought to it.