Booking Through Thursday: Break

Do you take breaks while reading a book? Or read it straight through? (And, by breaks, I don’t mean sleeping, eating and going to work; I mean putting it aside for a time while you read something else.)

That depends on the book. And to a lesser extent, on the literary distractions I have available. Sometimes I’ll pause in reading one book in order to read another, because the second book is either addictive or due back at the library.

But sometimes I get bored with a book, and set it aside while I read something more entertaining. Despite my efforts to the contrary I’m not good at abandoning books, so if a particular volume is slow going taking breaks makes it easier to get through.

I’m actually in this situation right now, having laid The Painted Duchess by Anne Bruck aside while I work my way through my library books. I’ve been assured that the depiction of Goya makes it well worthwhile, and I’d like to reach the end just for the sake of all the history in the middle. But I was being driven crazy by the urge to take a blue pencil to the frequently clunky prose, and the constant POV changes were making my head spin.

I’ll finish it eventually. Once I read all those distractions....