Sunday, June 21, 2009

Read faster!

If I'm going to keep on target for the read 50 books in 2009, I need to get to 25 books by the end of the month. So I thought that reading all weekend would be a better use of my time than writing.

Well, I thought it was a pretty good excuse for not finishing "Cult of the Butterfly."

Anyway, I read Foundling by D.M. Cornish, which was good--amazing worldbuilding, likable main character, interesting plot--but frustrating because it's just the setup for the sequel. I was going to download the sequel to my ereader, but of course it's not available as an ebook. Since I'm not that into the book, I doubt I'll buy the sequel anytime soon, or ever, so the publisher just lost a sale. Idiots.

Now I'm reading Murder on Astor Place by Victoria Thompson, and I wish I'd known ahead of time about its little point-of-view problem. I have seen this so often: first one POV, then a section break to start the second main character's POV, and then the author seems to think it's okay to just wobble between the two POVs after that without section breaks. I'm not sure I'll continue reading, since every time the POV changes without warning I'm jerked out of the story, which I don't find especially interesting anyway.

9 comments:

Jameson T. Caine said...

I've only completed 18 books. I'm mad and I blame my crazy new work schedule, otherwise I'd probably be nearing 50.

POV switching gets annoying. I have to wonder how a book with such rapid shifting between viewpoint characters gets past the editing stage. I've read several books that I really enjoyed aside from the fact that the author did switched multiple times within one chapter. Argh!

Unknown said...

my big read 50 books contest is shot. I've only read eight! And now I'm stuck on The Stand which is two million pages long.

K.C. Shaw said...

Jameson--18 isn't bad! You're only four behind me. I don't mind POV switching if it's only between two or three characters max and each POV is given its own section every time.

Jeremy--The Stand should count for 42 books, so after you finish it, you're done!

Cate Gardner said...

I am nowhere near 25 - I'm probably at about 8.

K.C. Shaw said...

You should read The Stand like Jeremy, then.

Alan W. Davidson said...

Yeah, the second time I read 'The Stand' it was the 1100 page version. I would love to read more, when I try to in bed I fall asleep and drop the book on the floor.

K.C. Shaw said...

In the case of The Stand, if you fall asleep and drop it on the floor, it breaks right through into the basement because it's so heavy. :)

Unknown said...

i think i've already completed said contest. but i read way too much. and i write very little... rather it was the other way.

K.C. Shaw said...

Well, lately I've been writing very little and also not reading enough. The worst of both worlds.