Reading too Much?

 So I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I got a KindleUnlimited subscription right around the time COVID stuff started happening. 

It was amazing to finally be able to read more than what my library could offer. I was in book heaven...still am, technically. But I'm beginning to feel the repercussions of SO MUCH READING.

Reading indiscriminantly, one book after another, barely waiting an hour before starting another.

Now guys, there's nothing wrong with reading books you love, which allow you to escape life for a little while. There is something wrong with reading books to the point that you don't really get anything else done. Like write. 

Guilty. So, what do I do? I research of course!

And guess what? Reading too much can be bad. *gasp* Younger me is rolling over in her proverbial grave. 

When I was younger, I absolutely HATED thinking of a book I had read, and not knowing what it was called or who it was written by. So I recorded every book I read, along with the date I read the book (for a little while, I even recorded how long it took to read it). It worked pretty well. It was cool being able to look back and say, "Oh, I read X number of books that year." But then I got a little older, and busier, and I stopped.

Fast forward to today, and I've been reading an INSANE number of books lately. While there's nothing wrong with reading, it's getting to the point where I'm calling it like it is - an addiction. I am addicted to reading my books. It's an easy thing to do, since they're all on my phone, free (though not technically, because subscription), and who doesn't have their phone on them nowadays? All. The. Time.

I'm setting a bad example to my daughter. 

What I found, from this article: "Reading is a beneficial activity. But reading too much can also kill your brain's productivity especially when no new meanings are created. If you are simply reading without deeper processing, you don't benefit much from it."

Ding ding ding. Did they write this article about me?? Sigh.

So, okay, I have a problem. I am acknowledging it. Now, to solve it. Another article incoming, "How to read like a writer." Sounds like the perfect thing for me to read. The gist of it is to basically act like you're reading the book for a book club or a book report. 😒 *grumble grumble* Kind of defeats the purpose of mindless reading. BUT I need to fix this. I'm having issues here. A quick look at my Kindle app shows that I read 119 books in 2020. Not bad, right? But I didn't start my subscription, and subsequent reading, until the last day of March. So this 119 books is for 6 months of reading.

How to read like a writer has several suggestions: 

    1. Read one book at a time, reread old favorites, finish books you hate - already do these things, though rereading hasn't been done in a while

    2. Read when you're awake (as in, not before bed) - might need work on that, but I read pretty much 24/7 so I'm not completely hopeless

    3-6. Make notes, ask questions, discuss what you've read, analyze what you've read - all four of these are in my 'book report/club' category. I don't do these things - I'm not even sure I could convince myself to do these things. But it's something to work on.

    7. Read the genre you write, and Read outside your genre - okay, could use work there too.

    8. Finally, track your progress. I don't need to keep track of how many books I read, because reading isn't the issue. It's what I read that's the problem.

All in all, I'm just going to need to take a step back from my phone for a while. Allot a certain amount of time per day/week for reading my easy stuff. Work up some spreadsheets to analyze what I've read, and work on where to go.

Because apparently, you can READ TOO MUCH. *cue sappy sad tears* I will do better, and in doing so, I will write more of my own book. 

Sorry for the ramble guys - it happens. 😉