Came across this brilliant blogger yesterday and thought that this piece in particular definitely applies to me. My mindset when it comes to forming new habits it exactly this: rampant enthiusiasm for about two days, and then complete and utter dimissal.
Hopefully reading posts from this guy will help me to focus on actually forming the habits before I break them!
Zen Habits
Thursday, 7 July 2011
Wednesday, 6 July 2011
The pink stars are falling.
A few nights ago, I finished Under the Dome by Stephen King, a book I’ve wanted to read since it came out. Stephen King is, undoubtedly, a god of science fiction and this book does nothing to dispel that notion.
Under the Dome is, at its heart, a sci-fi human drama story. The inhabitants of a small town in the United States suddenly finds themselves trapped beneath an invisible and impenetrable dome. As the US Army attempts to break through the Dome, those on the inside are panicking, leading to a series of events that no-one could have predicted.
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I haven’t read a lot of Stephen King but, what I have, I love. The Cell I read a few years ago (who doesn’t like the idea of our mobile phones sending us all insane?) and Carrie when I was a teenager. Carrie has stayed with me though. It’s possibly one of the most perfect pieces of fiction ever put together. It’s terrifying, but at the same time, beautiful, and I thought the way he was constantly changing the style and genre throughout was brilliant. The Hollywood film with Sissy Spacek was a startlingly poor adaptation (I actually saw a Sky One two-part version some time before it and that was excellent), especially after all the raving I had heard. I think it’s because of my total love for Carrie as a novel that I am inclined to elevate my expectations of any King book.
Under the Dome was, without question, a tremendous novel. It was epic, scary, full of gore, and with enough dirty cops and politicians to have even the most docile citizen up in arms. And I loved it for all those things. The thing I didn’t love was the length.
It was long. Ridiculously long. Over 900 pages of Stephen King’s depressing dome-y world is enough to bring anybody down. I did enjoy the book, but I really wish it had been shorter. It’s difficult to say if anything could have been omitted because I can’t define what contributed to the sombre and bleak landscape and what didn’t. I am pretty sure, though, that if the book had been shorter I wouldn’t have been so pleased to finish it. Carrie is a tiny slip of a book and I find myself coming back to it again and again. Under the Dome, while technically brilliant, is probably not something I’ll ever pick up again, or even something I would recommend – my friends would laugh at a novel that size.
I enjoyed the novel a lot but Under the Dome has, unfortunately, put me off anymore Stephen King epics. And it’s very likely I’ll be picking up a few more light-hearted reads in the near future.
Under the Dome is, at its heart, a sci-fi human drama story. The inhabitants of a small town in the United States suddenly finds themselves trapped beneath an invisible and impenetrable dome. As the US Army attempts to break through the Dome, those on the inside are panicking, leading to a series of events that no-one could have predicted.
I haven’t read a lot of Stephen King but, what I have, I love. The Cell I read a few years ago (who doesn’t like the idea of our mobile phones sending us all insane?) and Carrie when I was a teenager. Carrie has stayed with me though. It’s possibly one of the most perfect pieces of fiction ever put together. It’s terrifying, but at the same time, beautiful, and I thought the way he was constantly changing the style and genre throughout was brilliant. The Hollywood film with Sissy Spacek was a startlingly poor adaptation (I actually saw a Sky One two-part version some time before it and that was excellent), especially after all the raving I had heard. I think it’s because of my total love for Carrie as a novel that I am inclined to elevate my expectations of any King book.
Under the Dome was, without question, a tremendous novel. It was epic, scary, full of gore, and with enough dirty cops and politicians to have even the most docile citizen up in arms. And I loved it for all those things. The thing I didn’t love was the length.
It was long. Ridiculously long. Over 900 pages of Stephen King’s depressing dome-y world is enough to bring anybody down. I did enjoy the book, but I really wish it had been shorter. It’s difficult to say if anything could have been omitted because I can’t define what contributed to the sombre and bleak landscape and what didn’t. I am pretty sure, though, that if the book had been shorter I wouldn’t have been so pleased to finish it. Carrie is a tiny slip of a book and I find myself coming back to it again and again. Under the Dome, while technically brilliant, is probably not something I’ll ever pick up again, or even something I would recommend – my friends would laugh at a novel that size.
I enjoyed the novel a lot but Under the Dome has, unfortunately, put me off anymore Stephen King epics. And it’s very likely I’ll be picking up a few more light-hearted reads in the near future.
Wednesday, 29 June 2011
Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it.
In January this year I signed myself up for the Goodreads Reading Challenge. Set yourself a target of books to read in 2011 and see if you can reach it. Now, I enjoy reading. I generally have at least one book on the go. And when I was 10, I once read 60 books in just over a month. Because of all these factors, I decided that a target of 200 wouldn’t be too bad. It would be difficult but definitely not impossible.
Six months later and witness my impending failure.
We’re halfway through the year, and I’m floundering at a measly 39 books. According to my stats, I should have read almost 100 books by this point. That’s not a great statistic and it’s certainly not a good omen.
I’m still hoping to hit 200, although its now sitting on the ‘never in a million years’ side of impossible. But I shall soldier through, possibly picking some slightly shorter books along the way (it’s not cheating, right?).
Anyway, wish me luck and, hopefully, I’ll at least break 100.
Six months later and witness my impending failure.
We’re halfway through the year, and I’m floundering at a measly 39 books. According to my stats, I should have read almost 100 books by this point. That’s not a great statistic and it’s certainly not a good omen.
I’m still hoping to hit 200, although its now sitting on the ‘never in a million years’ side of impossible. But I shall soldier through, possibly picking some slightly shorter books along the way (it’s not cheating, right?).
Anyway, wish me luck and, hopefully, I’ll at least break 100.
Monday, 13 June 2011
You may delay, but time will not.
So we had a bit of a last minute cancellation of Book Club last night. There were too many of us that either couldn't make it, or couldn't really stay for too long that we decided it was best to postpone. Beloved will now be discussed 10th July, making this our second two-month book (also, both two-months have been for my books. Odd that....). Hopefully, this means that everyone will have read the book and have a lot to say about it - even if its not all good!
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