I read a book!

So what? I hear you cry. I know. In previous blogs I’ve admitted to being an avid reader.

Somehow, somewhere along the way I lost the ability to get engrossed in a book. It’s a bit of a problem. To be a good writer, wise folk say, you must read widely and often. To add to the guilt, I have writing pals whose books I feel I ought to buy to support them. And because I know reviews make a big difference, I want to review them. Can’t review without reading first. So the guilt piles on ever deeper.

Why haven’t I been reading?

Is time an issue? I’ve been hard at it getting the Millie novellas written. I’ve moved house. I have a poorly dog. I have housework. Okay, the last one is just an excuse.

Too many distractions? There’s been some really good telly! I’m loving Broadchurch. Adored the second series of Unforgotten. Quite enjoyed Vera (anything with Brenda Blethyn gets my vote). I’ve become re-addicted to The Archers. Facebook and Twitter are time-sucks of the first order. Have to do them to sell a few books though and besides, have you followed The Archers Sunday omnibus tweetalong? If you haven’t, you’ve missed a treat. The garden needs attention. We have a gorgeously sunny beer garden over the road that also deserves attention …

There are far too many things to do! Reading had taken a back seat.

Nothing new here. I’ve always had to work, have always enjoyed social media and watching some choice television. And I’ve always liked a pint of cider in a sunny beer garden. So what had changed my lifelong reading habit?

Can I blame the wrong choice of reading material? I’ll have a go at most things and there seems to be a wider choice of reading matter than ever before. So I don’t think it’s that.

I was beginning to detect a pattern. I struggled to get into a book. I loved buying them but I’d start one and then it would sit on the bedside table for months. When I moved house and had to downsize my book collection I had to get ruthless. I’ve put into store only those books I know I’ll want to reread and those still unread. I’m ashamed to admit that I put six large boxes of unread novels into storage.

So why was I buying and not reading?

It finally dawned on me what the real reason was. As I was peering through my varifocals, in bed one night and trying to read by the light of a bedside lamp, I realised I had to wear my glasses at an exact angle in order to see anything much at all. Sitting bolt upright was fine. Sitting out in a sunny garden was fine. But my reading time has always been just before going to sleep (and if it’s a really good book, staying up all night to finish it!). Because it was too hard to see properly, it was all too easy to give up and go on Facebook or Twitterland instead.

Oh the perils of getting old! I’m glad to say, now I’ve identified the problem, I can sort it. I’m getting a brighter light, firmer pillows and a reading glasses prescription. It’s a relief. I thought I’d lost part of me.

As a writer, the interesting thing to note is the role of the beginning of the book. If something didn’t grab me immediately, I gave up on it when, before, I may have kept going. The book that really tested this theory and which I finished yesterday is The English Girl by Katherine Webb. It’s pretty slow to get going but, boy, once it does, it’s unputdownable. Why did I persevere? Because I love her writing and know I have a habit of not getting truly engrossed in her books until a few chapters in.

But it’s a lesson I’ve learned as a writer. Grab your reader right at the beginning. Otherwise you’re in danger of losing them. There are too many things they could be doing instead of reading your book!

What’s your reading habit? Have you experienced the same problem with varifocals? And, now I’ve rediscovered my love of reading, what do you have to recommend? I’d love to hear from you. Just put it in big letters!

Love,

Georgia x

PS Katherine Webb is among a handful of writers who I buy in hardback. Linky thing here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Katherine-Webb/e/B004O1AJL6/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1