Still Thinking About Books

It is deliciously hot and humid and I am taking a source-hunt break. The source hunt is by far the most stressful part of my job, but that's another story for another day. It's too hot to be stressed! (Although I love this weather and am enjoying it to the fullest.)

So back to books. Reading and writing go hand in hand, and I've no doubt that all the reading I do makes me a better writer. I read tons of magazines, but it seems like the past year or two, my book reading was focused on books for the group or books that I could share with friends to talk about privately. I realized it has been a long time since I jumped into books for no other reason than my personal enjoyment.

My other goal is to read more books this year. A fellow writing buddy did a book a week last year, but while I admired her efforts, I know that isn't realistic for me. Twenty-five or thirty books, however, is more than do-able, if I push up my reading time a little bit. I'm at 10 so far for 2008, again, all of them either book group related or loaned/given to me by friends.

So what I've decided to do is put together a reading list of books I want to read this year. I know there will be some I don't get around to, and others that will get added in for whatever reason. I'm going to take a notepad and pen and wander around my library and make a list of the books I absolutely want to read. It's a political year, so there are a couple political books I want to devour. Biographies. Some literature. And yeah, a couple of beach reads and one or two baseball books. It is summer, after all.

I've Been Interviewed

Check out Jen's Down the Shore blog. She's an expert on the Jersey Shore -- site of many of my happy memories -- and a fellow Phillies fan.

Why, I don't know, but I've decided to take the plunge into the November and NaNoWriMo. Yes, I should probably have my head examined. I have two ideas for books, actually. One is what I mentioned in my interview with Jen, how sports have shaped so many important relationships in my life. The other would be a novel that takes some of the conspiracy ideas I have about some real-life situations and let my evil brain work them out.

I should probably stick with the sports book. If I can't write for the sports mags, I could write sports books. Right? Although, shhh, don't tell anyone, but a couple of people over at my TSN sports blog have posted that I should be one of the mags paid writer/bloggers. Not that anything will come of it, but it is nice having someone say it -- and that someone isn't me!