Thank you! Do let me know what you think if you read any.
I know this sounds really strange but these days I get slightly anxious before starting to read novels. I SO want the book to be good - often I know the author too - and I don’t want to waste any precious time.
Is that weird? I know how precious your free moments must be too.
The numerical answer: these days 80% of my time is 'read-to-learn', for personal growth and inspiration for mentoring my business clients (I have a few clients who I mentor) 15% are trusted authors/recommendations from trusted sources, 5% are titles found randomly...All kindle-app-able so I can read from my phone/computer because I love to highlight in different colours and save quotes (I am a big nerd and researcher!)
Capitalising on every moment: I prefer to read books and articles because I often re-read passages...to see if they merit highlighting. I have a habit of transcribing podcasts as I listen to them, too, now because several people come up with fabulous phrases I want to capture when they're interviewed. I'll read over the transcript the same day.
Unfortunately, I dump books and now podcasts fast if the first few chapters or 15 mins don't capture my brain/imagination.
OMG I could have written this! I'm obsessive about taking notes - so if something's worth taking notes from, I need it as a book, because audio and kindle aren't great to note-taking (for me). And also I like downloading the transcripts from podcasts that I think are worthwhile too! I've just done this for Andrew Huberman's interview with Rick Rubin.
My family think I'm so impatient, dropping books, podcasts, TV series if they don't grip me or aren't useful quickly. But I mean, I only have some many hours to live, I want them to be precious! 🌸
I export my highlights from kindle (nerdy use of different colours) and (when I've time) I make a mini-review of the book, in Notion. Some books in my annual top 10 have notes built up year on year since 2019
I've realised that I drop a LOT of TV series that try to overcompensate for the lack of plot/story with violence or disturbing scenes or black dark ultra-slow plots.
Perhaps IRL pain, grief, suffering AND joy are pushing me on an eternal quest for meaning & away from 'just' entertainment ...thankfully I found Viktor Frankl's book back in 2015/16!
Oh wow, that's a level of technology I haven't explored! And good to know. you've read Frankl's book - it's been on the top of my TBR piles for ages but still haven't read it. So many podcasters recommend it.
It’s profound, intensely life-affirming…it’s like that expression: once you’ve seen it, you can’t unsee it. First there was Freud (id, ego, superego), then Adler (individual psychology) and then Frankl (logotherapy)
I’ve read the earlier Paula Hawkins books but haven’t read Blue Hour yet. I’ve also read the First Thursday Murders, found the first one hard to get into but raced through the rest. Recently I’ve read quite a few Jo Nesbo books and The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley.
What did you think of Paula's earlier books? I thought Girl on the Train was good, but was too long! And funny that you found the first Thursday Murder club hard to get into but liked the others! I wonder what was off-putting about it? I felt, at the end of book 4, as if I'd been ejected from a cosy world (in spite of the crimes!) and didn't want to leave! A little like getting to the end of 'Friends'! I found the Jo Nesbo books a bit violent for me, but my husband likes them. And I loved The Paris Apartment! Here's my mini review of it - let me know what you think!
I enjoyed Girl on a Train and A Slow Fire Burning (took me a little while to emphasise with the lead character). I think with the first Thursday Murder club it was the short chapters, if I remember it moved from chapter to chapter every time a different character was telling the story. For me it made it hard to get into to begin with. Jo Nesbo is violent, I think it’s the descriptions of Norway I like - reminds me of the places I’ve been when I was working in Scandinavia for a while.
Thanks, Sanjida - I'm saving this article for later! My booklist keeps growing with non-fiction, so it's good to have these recommendations.
I like your audio intro as a book-primer.
Thank you! Do let me know what you think if you read any.
I know this sounds really strange but these days I get slightly anxious before starting to read novels. I SO want the book to be good - often I know the author too - and I don’t want to waste any precious time.
Is that weird? I know how precious your free moments must be too.
NOT strange at all! Long comment coming...
The numerical answer: these days 80% of my time is 'read-to-learn', for personal growth and inspiration for mentoring my business clients (I have a few clients who I mentor) 15% are trusted authors/recommendations from trusted sources, 5% are titles found randomly...All kindle-app-able so I can read from my phone/computer because I love to highlight in different colours and save quotes (I am a big nerd and researcher!)
Capitalising on every moment: I prefer to read books and articles because I often re-read passages...to see if they merit highlighting. I have a habit of transcribing podcasts as I listen to them, too, now because several people come up with fabulous phrases I want to capture when they're interviewed. I'll read over the transcript the same day.
Unfortunately, I dump books and now podcasts fast if the first few chapters or 15 mins don't capture my brain/imagination.
OMG I could have written this! I'm obsessive about taking notes - so if something's worth taking notes from, I need it as a book, because audio and kindle aren't great to note-taking (for me). And also I like downloading the transcripts from podcasts that I think are worthwhile too! I've just done this for Andrew Huberman's interview with Rick Rubin.
My family think I'm so impatient, dropping books, podcasts, TV series if they don't grip me or aren't useful quickly. But I mean, I only have some many hours to live, I want them to be precious! 🌸
🤣 I hear you!
I export my highlights from kindle (nerdy use of different colours) and (when I've time) I make a mini-review of the book, in Notion. Some books in my annual top 10 have notes built up year on year since 2019
I've realised that I drop a LOT of TV series that try to overcompensate for the lack of plot/story with violence or disturbing scenes or black dark ultra-slow plots.
Perhaps IRL pain, grief, suffering AND joy are pushing me on an eternal quest for meaning & away from 'just' entertainment ...thankfully I found Viktor Frankl's book back in 2015/16!
Oh wow, that's a level of technology I haven't explored! And good to know. you've read Frankl's book - it's been on the top of my TBR piles for ages but still haven't read it. So many podcasters recommend it.
It’s profound, intensely life-affirming…it’s like that expression: once you’ve seen it, you can’t unsee it. First there was Freud (id, ego, superego), then Adler (individual psychology) and then Frankl (logotherapy)
I’ve read the earlier Paula Hawkins books but haven’t read Blue Hour yet. I’ve also read the First Thursday Murders, found the first one hard to get into but raced through the rest. Recently I’ve read quite a few Jo Nesbo books and The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley.
What did you think of Paula's earlier books? I thought Girl on the Train was good, but was too long! And funny that you found the first Thursday Murder club hard to get into but liked the others! I wonder what was off-putting about it? I felt, at the end of book 4, as if I'd been ejected from a cosy world (in spite of the crimes!) and didn't want to leave! A little like getting to the end of 'Friends'! I found the Jo Nesbo books a bit violent for me, but my husband likes them. And I loved The Paris Apartment! Here's my mini review of it - let me know what you think!
https://sanjidakay.substack.com/p/it-was-always-spun-as-a-good-story
I enjoyed Girl on a Train and A Slow Fire Burning (took me a little while to emphasise with the lead character). I think with the first Thursday Murder club it was the short chapters, if I remember it moved from chapter to chapter every time a different character was telling the story. For me it made it hard to get into to begin with. Jo Nesbo is violent, I think it’s the descriptions of Norway I like - reminds me of the places I’ve been when I was working in Scandinavia for a while.
Haven't read any of them so added to my list. Thank you for a lovely explanation and review and off now to subscribe.... xxx💜💜💜
So lovely to have you as part of the Wild Writing community! Do let me know what you think if you have a chance to read any of them! 🌸