That’s it! I quit reading.
Ok, so I’m not really throwing in the towel but I can honestly say that I finished two of the best books I’ve ever read, this past week and the future just pales in comparison. Two rather indescribable, totally outlandish yet completely different stories, A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan and The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet by Reif Larsen, most seriously go down on my list of all time favorites.
So, am I really that much of an advocate for the “Glass is Half Empty” campaign? Am I crazy to swear off reading thinking that I’ve found the light at the end of the tunnel and nothing else can compare? Oh, no. Well, ok, yes, I would be crazy to but as mom pokes fun at me often, this is yet another addition to “the best adventure ever” which will be topped, I am sure, by something next week.
I am, actually, embarrassingly enough, in the middle of reading a runner-up, right now. Now, ok, I don’t think that Tea Obreht’s Orange Prize Shortlisted The Tiger’s Wife is really going to quirkily compare to the weird should-be classics from last week but in its own, straightforward, beautiful way, it is another one that threatens to have me singing “the best week ever”.
One thing about my reading that has me a little shaken is my recent inability to break from adult books. I used to go back and forth, seamlessly, from YA to Adult but, today, at the bookstore, after perusing the YA selections, about which I’ve heard astounding things (I’m looking at you, Libba Bray’s Beauty Queens), I left empty-handed. Fine, whatever, you might think. Everyone has those days at the bookstore. It’s like eating an overstuffed Chipotle burrito and going to try on bathing suits. Sometimes it just doesn’t work. I am, after, all about to hit thirty, so maybe it just isn’t appealing to my clearly existent, oh-so-mature side.
Still, I worry a bit about myself as a reader. I worry that I’m finding an entire section of reading unpalatable. Am I too old? Is it just the current trends in YA lit that have me running the other direction?
I don’t know.
What I do know is that as soon as I am done rambling on about this silliness, I’m going to snuggle back up with Miss Tea Obreht who is barely out of her teen years, herself, yet has made this incredibly adult piece.
Well, ok, then! So much for a short fluff piece on the weekend, eh?
Iwriteinbooks's Blog 
My reading tends to go in cycles too and I’ve often wondered if it has something to do with my mood.
You’re normal because we all have cycles like that. Mine tend to be all ficiton for awhile, but what I crave is a good non-fiction book. I’m reading a really good YA book you might like called Tiger’s Curse by Colleen Houck. It is an amazing book.
I have reading cycles, too. I’ll have to check out Obreht’s book!
It’s definitely ok to feel like taking a break from a certain genre, or even blogging. Sometimes I just want to read but not write about it on my blog. If it’s not fun, why do it? Taking a little break usually re-energized me and I’m ready to jump back in. Maybe since you just read such great books, you need to reflect on them a bit before picking up a new book. 🙂
I have had that happen…. no worries 🙂
I sometimes feel like reading a really great book is a tw0-edged sword; you love the experience, and but are sure that all books immediately following that one will pale in comparison. I had been on sort of a great streak lately, and then i just finished one that I thought was just eh…would I have liked it better had I read it at a different time? Maybe, but maybe not.
Here’s hoping you read another winner soon 🙂
Sometimes when I read a few bad books in a row, I feel like giving up on reading. I actually get into a really bad mood when I am stuck between the pages of a book that I don’t like, so I would much rather have the problem you are experiencing right now!
It’s always difficult to make a comeback after a truly amazing read. Don’t stress too much over it. And as other commenters have mentioned, cycles of focusing on one particular genre to the exclusion of everything else are pretty common…and are just that.