Bookworm Problems: No Time To Read

Second to reading slumps and something I am struggling with greatly currently is one of my biggest frustrations as a bookworm; having no time to read!

Working full time (along with spending roughly two and a half hours commuting) severely limits my time to read during the work week. I come home and am exhausted from both the commute and the work day which leads me following the same pattern every night: eat dinner, shower, lay out clothes for tomorrow and fall asleep. Sure, some nights I manage to watch a little television or get a little reading in but most of the time I’m worn out from the second I walk in the door and the only solution is to sleep.

While my commute is on public transportation (aka I’m not driving the whole way) it’s not always so easy to pull out a book and read comfortably. Cramped seats, people with huge bags in your face and then there are the inevitable days where it is pouring rain and I refuse to risk bringing a precious book anywhere near water.

SO, what is a bookworm to do? Find ways around the struggle of course.

Using both my Kindle and Nook apps on my phone I manage to get some reading in, more comfortably, on my commute and without risking damage to my books. I give myself at least fifteen minutes of reading time at night (with an alarm) so that I don’t stay up all night reading. And, yes, there are days that I do carry a book along with me on my commute.

Weekends are often spent with my books, forgoing social plans (sorry to all my friends) so that I can actually enjoy some me time, some down time and more importantly some reading time. Mental health days/ sick days/ vacation days are often spent with a book in my hands. At the end of the day, or the start of my first day back to work,  I relive my time spent with characters and other lands and it is the only thing that gets me through my day.

How do all of you fit in your reading time? Let us know in the comments below!

Tome Topple and Our Reading Goals

Happy first day of Tome Topple, everyone. For the next two weeks we will be reading books that are long. Very long. The books that have sat on our shelves and to be read piles for weeks or months or an embarrassingly longer amount of time than that.

For those who may not know, Tome Topple is a readathon originally created by @thoughtsontomes. The goal of this particular readathon is to read books that are 500 pages or longer. It begins today, August 4th, and ends August 17th.

There are several challenges for anyone who likes some stretch goals. Because who doesn’t like some extra challenge in their readathons?

Here are the challenges:

1. Read more than one book.
2. Read a graphic novel.
3. Read a book in a series.
4. Buddy read a book.
5. Read an adult novel.

I can’t help but feel that 500+ pages books are particularly rampant in sci-fi and fantasy. I mean, two of the books in my Tome Topple TBR are over seven hundred pages long. Or maybe I’m just naturally drawn to unnaturally long books.

And here is my Tome Topple TBR list:

The Waking Fire by Anthony Ryan (592 pages)
The Forgetting Moon by Brian Lee Durfee (777 pages)
Trigun Omnibus by Yasuhiro Nightow (696 pages)
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor (532 pages)
The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland (752 pages)

I’m not sure how many of these books I’ll actually finish. This is a grand total of 3,349 pages, after all. Even for me that’s pretty excessive. As for the challenges, I do have a graphic novel on my list as well as a couple of book in a series.

But, the attempt will be made! At the very least I expect to finish Strange the Dreamer as that’s a library book and needs to be returned, ironically enough, on August 17th.

Are you participating in Tome Topple? What books will you be reading? Let us know in the comments below!

#ThrowbackThursday Review – Slayers: The Ghost of Sairaag by Hajime Kanzaka

Slayers: The Ghost of Sairaag
By: Hajime Kanzaka
Release Date: (Original Japanese 1991); (English Translation) March 8, 2005
Publisher: TokyoPop
Series: Slayers #3
Rating:


I really wish these books were still being translated. The series is a lot of fun, and the books don’t disappoint. This is actually the second time I’ve read The Ghost of Sairaag by Hajime Kanzaka in only a few months. I’d originally started it less than a week before moving, so of course the book got packed away in a box I couldn’t find upon move in, the last chapter still unread. At this point I figured I may as well read the whole thing over again, something I’m never against when it’s one of my favorite series.

Review – your name. by Matoko Shinkai

your name.
By: Matoko Shinkai
Illustrator: Ranmaru Kotone
Translator: Taylor Engel
Website: http://shinkaimakoto.jp/
Release Date: (Original Japanese) June 18 2016; (English Translation) May 23, 2017
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating:


I almost always read the book before I watch the movie. In this case it happened purely on accident. I wound up picking up a copy of your name. by Makoto Shinkai from Barnes and Noble during a buy two get one free sale.