My partner and I had a baby a few weeks ago and it has had a big impact upon my reading habits. I don’t have time to read during the day and I only manage about 10 minutes of reading in bed before I’m asleep and whenever I open my book, I haven’t got a clue what happened in the pages I read the previous day so have to start again. It’s a never-ending cycle and I’ve had enough!
I like both fiction and non-fiction. Not keen on fantasy, romance or sci-fi. Any help appreciated!
by Bitter-Cable4856
5 Comments
Maybe it’s time to focus on short stories and essays, bite sized literature you can consume one at a time and finish.
Maybe look for a collection of short stories? I can’t think of any off the top of my head, but I know there are a lot of really good ones.
Oh actually I do have a possible recommendation—stay with me here—World War Z. If you’ve seen the movie, you’re probably thinking “wtf”, but the actual book is totally different. It’s an interview-type accounting of the events as told by different characters in each chapter. So each chapter is in a way a self-contained story, while still advancing the plot of the overall book. It’s one of my fave books, but it has been a few years since I’ve read it, so it may be more complex than I’m remembering. But maybe worth a shot!
Edit: I know you said that you’re not super into fantasy/sci fi, so zombies may not be your thing, but I think it’s worth downloading an ebook sample for free from kindle or wherever anyway. From what I remember, the focus was really on how the events impacted the people and world and less on the zombies. Again, v different than the movie.
It’s possible that Catch-22 could work for this situation. It is a full-size novel but the story is non-linear — so you might be able to read a chapter, and enjoy it, without worrying about remembering all the details in sequence.
It’s a fantastic book —very smart and witty. I can open the book to any page and start chuckling.
Edit: congrats on the baby!
Tell Me 30 Stories by Mary Robison. Just finished it, and also somewhat recently had a baby. It’s short stories, which I’ve never been into but loved these, they’re about everyday people.
You might enjoy Ungovernable the Victorian Lady’s Guide to Child Rearing by Therese O’Neil.
She writes historical nonfiction but in a very entertaining way. Each chapter covers it’s own topic. I find her easy to pick up and put down between chapters and not stress over if I forgot what I read between readings.