Change of Plans

So as some of you may have noticed, I have not blogged in over a month. I seem to be bad about keeping up with this, no matter how good my intentions are. I will pledge once again to try and keep up with it, because I enjoy writing and getting words out there is good for me.

Anyway, the reason for not blogging is that I have not been feeling all that well. Went to the doctor to find out that I had high blood pressure, but went back last month and without medication I got it down on my own. I was also having some dizzy spells and some headaches but those seem to be calming down as well. A couple of weeks ago I couldn't really eat which was good for weight loss, but bad for headaches. I seem to be back on track. I'm feeling normal, eating better, and I've lost 16 lbs which is good. I'm hoping all this is because I've been under some stress at work and am a little sick of winter. I need to see something green and hear some birds chirp soon.

One of the side effects of not feeling well has been that my book project has been put on hold. I finished "American Rust" which was absolutely amazing. It was well written, kept my interest, had interesting characters and it made me feel for what they were going through. Of the books I had read, this one was the best one so far. The author, Phillip Meyer was so descriptive, I felt like I was in that little run-down steel town and following along on the adventures of the characters. It did remind me of a John Steinbeck novel. A true slice of America and the hardships that happen every day.

I had started the next non-fiction book in my list, "The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science" and have gotten about a quarter of the way through it. It is well written and interesting, but I can only read a few pages at a time. The book is filled with information which is almost too much to take in. So, when I started having dizzy spells, I really didn't feel like focusing so hard on a book. I will admit I put it down and have not picked it back up yet. It is sitting on the coffee table waiting for me to stick it in my bag I take to work.

So now to my change of plans. I don't want to feel like I failed at my resolution, so I'm going to stick with reading the 45, well now 43, books on the fiction list. I figure I can get that done by the end of the year, it won't be as big a challenge for me and it will be something I enjoy more so will probably stick to it. Again, I don't want to say that I don't like non-fiction books. I just find that with things being busy at work and things also busy when I get home, I don't have time that the non-fiction books would require for me to truly understand them and enjoy them. If I had two weeks or more to read each book, that might be possible. But I want to give this resolution and the books a fair chance. In my mind, books are meant to be enjoyed and just right now, I am not enjoying the non-fiction books. Now that my health is back on track, it's time to get back on track with the reading AND the writing of the blog. I expect you, my friends and followers to help me keep this up. Keep asking about the blog, keep asking how the reading is going and I will be sure to let you know.

Back on Track!

So yesterday, after what seemed like weeks and weeks, I finished the first of the fiction books in my list of 100, "Amateur Barbarians." I hated it. It was one of those books that doesn't go anywhere, the book jacket and the little excerpt from the New York Times both lied to me. I was expecting a seriously funny, witty, or sarcastic book like the back of the book promised me, or at least one that was serious about its subject matter. As I told you, I had a hard time relating to the main characters and I felt even less connected to them when they had their "big epiphanies" or whatever they had. These two middle-aged men, who's lives were terrible and just got more so. There were no answers and as far I as could tell, they had try to make changes and ended up going to exactly where they were before they started their journeys. I didn't see them as "barbarians." The one man went to Africa to save his pregnant daughter and ended up staying, going on a pilgrimage of sorts, and then going back to his hum-drum suburban life to his kids who didn't respect or need him, and his wife who had a very unsuccessful affair with the other sad sack man in the story. The story jumped around and jumped around badly. Plus, the big things in this book, the trip to Africa and the affair happened basically 50 pages from the end of the book. There was a lot of masturbating which seemed unnecessary to me, and a lot of feeling sorry for yourself. We all have pity parties from time to time, but these men lived them constantly. Yuck.

So, now, basically I only have 1 day of leeway left for the rest of the 98 books I have to read by the end of the year. I got the next two books today. "American Rust" by Philipp Meyer is the work of fiction. I'm already concerned because they say he writes like Hemingway and Cormac McCarthy, two very "male" authors. I don't like Hemingway. If this is another "man" read, I'm going to struggle to get through it. I hope not. But I'll let you know. I'm going to take on the fiction book first this time.

My non-fiction choice is "The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science." This is another long book, but I believe will hold my interest more than the quantum physics book did. I will also let you know on this one.

So, no more procrastinating, no more delays. 2 books a week, 50 weeks left in the year. I will do this. I will not end up like the pathetic characters in "Amateur Barbarians." I do not want to go on this journey and not get anything out of it.