My pace has slowed down some now that I’m back to normal work flow but I am cool with that. Yeah, I am still reading that Peter Rundoon book. It’s boring as heck. I am almost done, I should finish it soon.

I only finished 3 more books this time out, I am pathetic, I know.

That said, I just got a ton of books in the mail from PaperBackSwap so my hope is to do a whole bunch of reading next week while my husband is gone on a business trip to Germany. Of course, I also plan to get a ton of work done that week as well as to finish my novel and lose 25 pounds so I may be biting off a bit more than I can chew here. I got a lot of books about writing which I hope I will be inspired to read during Script Frenzy.

I must say, I really like the Myst series based on the computer games. I owe that series a whole blog post at some point.

Anyway, here is where I am currently. How about you?

I got myself nice and ahead this year by front loading with all those Roswell books, didn’t I? I feel kinda guilty that I am at the half way point on the strength of those teeny bopper books but what can you do?

So what have I read since we last discussed this?

Life of Pi which I am very behind the times on and should have read years ago, I know, The Graveyard Book which was cute but nowhere near what I expect from Neil Gaimen so I was a little disappointed in it and The Witches of Eastwick. About that last one, I know that John Updike just died and that Eastwick is considered a modern classic but all the books I have read in this challenge so far were read between my starting that book and finishing it because it was so insufferably dull. How can a book about orgies and magic be dull? I have no idea but this book just felt like a total waste of my time. It was poorly written, rather sexist (if its supposed to be a satire, it’s a weak one) and it took me so long to hack through. I think I should have just watched the movie.

As I am always in the midst of a few books, I have added what I am currently reading to the list below. I am only a few chapters in but so far I am loving Dead Until Dark and I thought I was pretty sick of vampires so that is impressive! Rundoon is dull but I have faith in this series so I am willing to let it pan out on its own schedule. (Rundoon is about Peter Pan so that was a pun, people!)

How’s it going for you? What’s your current count?

I am way too busy for my own good. I freely admit this. But I still manage to fit in reading because I think its important, not only as a writer, but also to keep your mind sharp and open to new ideas no matter who you are.

Here are my tips for meeting the 50 Book Challenge or, at least, reading more books a year even when you are busy:

1. If your brain can cope with reading several books at once, leave a few books around the house. Get used to reading a few paragraphs at a time. If you read a few words while microwaving your coffe or tea or while you are waiting for the shower to get hot or waiting for water to boil or whatever other little moments of downtime you have in a day, you’d be amazed how it all adds up. All those wasted moments can add up to a lot of reading time.
2. Listen to a book. In the car, while you work out, while you work at your desk, audiobooks are a great way to get in some reading while doing something else at the same time. But, you protest, audiobooks are more expensive than regular books. There are hundreds of free audiobooks available on Podiobooks and many libraries have free auditobook lending services where you can download the book and listen for a limited time. Or buy your audiobooks and then resell them online when you are done to recoup the expense.
3. Leave a book in your purse, pocket or breifcase. Waiting for the bus, waiting at the deli, waiting at the bank. There is a lot of downtime in life. If you have a book always ready in on your person, you’ll be amazed how that waiting time can be easily used to have some fun instead of staring into space and getting annoyed at the people in front of you in line. 
4. Alternate between heavy books and fluff. There are some books that are like a full course meal and you really need to just sit and digest them. Others are the kind you can nibble on while doing something else. Keep your heavy reading for when all you are doing is reading and the light stuff for the book in your pocket for a second here, a second there reading. 
5. Read something you are excited about. If you are really enjoying the book, you’ll go through it much faster than if you find it annoying. If a book is taking longer than usual to read, put it aside and read something that you are actually excited about which you are more likely to get through faster and go back to the harder to like book later.

Have more tips for fitting reading into a busy schedule? Please share them below!