Read out

I'm finding it difficult to read at the moment. I used to get through several books each week, but my last few visits to the library have seen me returning untouched books, well past their due date. I keep track of everything I've read and the downward slide in books completed is noticeable there, too. January 2005: 10 books; January 2006: 4 books; July 2006: 1 book so far. I blame Nintendo. When I got my virtual puppies in September last year, I little realized that they would eventually take up about 45 minutes of my day -- particularly the half hour before bedtime, my prime reading time. My burgeoning sudoku addiction doesn't help, either; given 10 minutes of downtime, I'm far more likely to pick up a pencil and start puzzling, rather than ploughing through another chapter of a novel. And if I do read, it's most likely a recipe book or gossip site.

Maybe I'm read out; my job (reading/editing) and my primary hobbies (cooking and reading the InterryWeb) have finally exhausted my ability to focus on the written word for more than 10 minutes at a time. I've also become far more critical. Previously, I would make myself finish any book that I started, regardless of how dreadful. Now, I will happily toss it aside if it doesn't fully engage me from the get-go -- a bad habit. And one that I'm determined to break. I have lots of books awaiting me on the shelves, a seaside holiday coming up -- Latvia! -- and I will get through half a dozen books if it kills me. Although PJ's trying to persuade me to crack open Trauma Centre for the DS, damn him! I will resist! I will read!