Drew Petriello: Avid Reader
For a long time as I kid, I think that could have been my label. There was a era when I was constantly reading novels and I must have gone through a couple dozen in a year.
BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS
And then sixth grade hit and I petered out.
Why? Because in sixth grade us kids had to take notes on each chapter that we read for fun. FOR FUN. Oddly enough, I do not want to do unnecessary work for stuff I do for fun. I don't even remember what these chapter notes entailed, but I remember it was enough to really put me off of reading for several years.
I've had spurts of intense bookworm-ness since the glory days, but mostly I've had one other big excuse not to read - being a busy as student. A'int nobody got time for that. And so for about a decade one of my favorite past-times has languished, neglected on the side of the road of how I dedicate my time.
Since graduating college, I have found that I have time to read once more. What? I'm not having trouble finding work, don't ask such silly questions.
Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Assorted Weird Shit
So um, yeah. Those are the sorts of books I like to read.
I am not going to list all of the series and books I've read that I enjoy. Frankly, I'm too lazy to do that. Just know that fantasy and sci-fi are my two main genres but I have often enjoyed swimming around in different waters as well.
Let me put it like this - if I can enjoy The Dresden Files (a fun urban fantasy series with lots of wit) and Pillars of The Earth (an epic book about building a cathedral), then I am open to pretty much anything. Whether or not I will get around to reading it is another matter entirely.
Well... don't recommend romance novels to me. Unless it's like, really good, I'm not interested.
Side note: I act and write plays. As such, I enjoy reading plays too and have read a substantial number of classics as well as absurdist plays. I love me some absurdist theatre.
Physical books? E-books?
Don't care. Just so long as I can read the damn things.
Hm, yes, what a though-provoking blank screen I'm looking at.
I have a Kindle, which I love dearly, and I often use it to snag books I'm interested in for super cheap. I have started many a series because the books were cheap and the blurb was interesting, and for the most part I do not regret it (there are a few books I want my time back for having read, but those are in the minority). Most of that stuff is not by well-known authors, but it is good and satisfying nonetheless. It's similar to perusing a used bookstore but staying away from the big names to see if you can find hidden gems.
I read a bunch of comic books as well, but haven't made the switch to digital. I love me some graphic novels; just haven't really found a digital way to read them that I like yet.
Though I would like to express my annoyance at how big publishing companies price their e-books. Often as I'm searching Amazon and I find a novel that I like, it's usually cheaper to get the printed version than the e-book version and that just makes no goddamn sense. You'd think physical books would be more expensive because of the paper and all but noooooooooo.
I think we have a situation here that is very similar to how the music distribution industry handled digital music. Grarr.
I do like to have physical copies of books I really love, but sometimes that can't always be the case (Kingkiller Chronicle, I love you, but I don't have the cash to spare on physical copies right now).
So, for such a fantasy and sci-fi buff, you can't possibly have any secret shames, right?
Um, er.
I still haven't read the Lord of the Rings.
Oh my, those are some pointy pitchforks; I would appreciate it if you put them away please.
Before you rip me to tiny pieces, I would like to point out that I recently acquired all the books in The Lord of the Rings and plan on reading through them AS SOON AS I CAN.
I have them right here, please don't hurt me!
I haven't read a lot of books that many would consider to be "required reading" for the genres. I tried to read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as a kid, but frankly those books went way over my head and I need to read them again. Haven't read Dune or American Gods or oodles of others even though my mom has insisted I read these books for years (I get my tastes from somewhere).
I will rectify these at some point, along with the many other gaps in my literary knowledge! There are a lot of goddamn books, and that is just a lot of time.