I haven’t finished a book this week. Not even one. I’m working my way slowly through The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny in one big omnibus from the library. I believe this is actually only the first five books of ten, but I read somewhere that the second five aren’t as good, so I decided just reading these was good enough.
That’s not really the source of my distraction, though; it’s really because I’m obsessed with Final Fantasy IV. I’ve been writing an essay this week and every time I give myself a break, I don’t want to deal with more words, even fun ones. I want to kill endless rounds of monsters instead. Yes, the game has a story, but I can also run around leveling up and collecting items, so I am hardly engaged mentally yet still accomplishing something.
This just reminds me of the phases I went through in high school. I used to alternate between being really interested in video games and really interested in books. I would always do both, but one seemed to take prominence over the other and every so often they’d switch. I don’t think I’ve had a video game phase since high school, so perhaps I am overdue by a number of years. Or I’m just reacting to all my required reading and taking a much-needed break.
Do you ever experience these phases away from reading? What do you do?
I think that’s perfectly natural for an avid reader. Sometimes the brain needs a break. I’ve been indulging in Jewel Quest a lot lately, so reading has slowed just a bit. Give yourself a rest, and pretty soon you’ll be right back at it.
Lezlie
I think everyone experiences these phases. I find myself mindlessly surfing the web when I get like that.
I used to think something was wrong with me when I noticed that I wasn’t as interested in something that used to consume my time. Now I know that a lot of people go through cycles with their hobbies. That’s why I try to stick with hobbies that don’t require expensive materials that have an expiration date on them. For instance, I used to be into t-shirt painting. I’d spend a little time away and then when I was ready to paint again, all my supplies were dried up. Now I confine myself to fiber arts; at least I know that my yarn and thread will still be there when I’m ready for them!
Another thing is that you may be using your reading energy somewhere else without realizing it. I went through a long period where I didn’t read novels, but I was reading blogs and other stuff online. For me, that used up my reading energy.
I do the same with reading and gaming. Sometimes I just can’t read (especially when I’m doing a lot of required reading) and I’ll pick up my DS Lite instead. If I had more Wii games, I’m sure I’d be reading a lot less. (I’m still on the hunt for the elusive Wii Fit.)
I do that as well – usually, for me, I go on a bit of a TV binge to get away from reading. But I have gone on video game breaks as well (Final Fantasy X, I’m looking at you.) I don’t want to know what will happen when XIII comes out.
You are not alone, my friend. Every now and then I get in a funk, but I don’t cheat on my books with games, my vice is tv…Law & Order to be particular. I feel so guilty when it happens though and always beat myself up over it. It’s not like I haven’t seen every Law & Order at least 4 times each either! Geesh. The best thing to do is to indulge your whims…that way you get it out of your system and the books will always be there!
Don’t be ashamed! I divvy up my time between my gentleman friend, my job, my games and reading, so it normally takes me about 9 days to get through a novel. You’re doing good, kid!
I do the same thing. Lately world of warcraft been taking up a lot of my time..
This time, it was our fault. Steve worked on the Blogger template and forgot to add Mr. Linky for the challenges. I just added him back, so you should be good. Just link where you posted about the challenge to Mr. Linky or send me the post and I’ll do it for you.
Sorry for the confusion.
J. Kaye