My Life on a Plate

Reading Difficulties

I feel tempted to do a Bridget Jones here. As in...

Cigarettes 563 Alcohol Units 329 Calories 9752

Unfortunately, Helen Fielding beat me to it. Has anyone else read a book and thought 'Hey, that was my idea?' Just a matter of luck and getting in there first I suppose, providing you have the writing skills, of course. I'd often contemplated writing an amusing 'diary' novel but procrastination gets you nowhere. Actually, I didn't rate 'Bridget Jones's Diary' that highly when I read it; I found it rather monotonous and boring and not that funny. One of those rare occasions when the film is actually better than the book.

Ah books. Don't you just love them? I can't remember a time when I didn't read, I can't imagine not having a book on the go and one regret is that I'll never live long enough to read all the books that beckon me from shop and library shelves. (especially after all those calories, cigarettes and alcohol units.) But I feel a moan coming on. Exit, six hundred readers.

I don't know how any other members feel but since I started writing seriously (What do you mean, you didn't know I had?) my reading has been severely affected. First of all, my leisure time has diminished and I tend to spend more time writing than reading. Plus, I have a backlog of notes, magazines and small press publications actually on the subject of writing that seem to demand attention, making me feel guilty if I neglect them and curl up with a novel instead. Then there's this analysing thing that's developed since I started writing more - 'Is that phrase really necessary?' 'Did that line of dialogue actually move the story along?' 'Couldn't that phrase have been better worded?' etc. Not always negative of course - sometimes it's 'Oh what a wonderful metaphor, I must make a note of that, 'That's a clever thought, I'd never be able to come up with something like that.' and so on. In short, writing has ruined my enjoyment of reading to some extent. My bookcase is crammed with unread novels; some passed on by friends and relatives, some I couldn't resist from charity shops and others by favourite authors I just had to buy. What I need is a three month cruise in the sun so I can actually read them. I know many of you will contact me to offer to fund my trip and I thank you in advance. lol See you all in July.

Actually, I did manage to cut down on the vices a bit yesterday but guess what? I feel lousy today for some reason, so that's not very rewarding. Maybe, I'll feel better after that cruise. Oh well, time to face the elements, the bank and the mother. Reality is difficult at times, at least Bridget was rewarded with Mr Darcy.