Bookquarium

Yeah, I'm in a reading slump....but I'm gonna share with you ways I've been trying to get out of it! When you are in a reading slump, it can seem impossible to get out of it. You're too busy at work to really get into a book when you get home, or chores get in the way. In my case, I almost feel as if reading is somehow lazier than anything else because I'm sitting down, not moving and just focused on the book. Why this translates to laziness to me is still not clear, because I also watch a lot of television. I'm trying to change the way I think about reading. Our world is so quickly moving, it can be hard to stop and concentrate on just a book.  That I think, is the root of the problem I am having. Here are some tips I am working to use for myself to become a more involved reader again. Read one book at a time I have several books going at once (don't do this). If you can't concentrate one book, don't fall into the trap of starting another...

Heeeeere's Amy!  Picture this. It's 1980. I'm not even alive yet. The hair is continuing to defy gravity. Computers and technology are out there, but they're remarkably slow. You're still almost a half decade away from AOL and the fabulous dial up internet. Michael Crichton decided to write a technology-heavy book about killer gorillas and the search for diamonds in the Congo. Dudes, I just finished this book, and I still don't understand Crichton's need for diamonds. It's got something to do with technology, and powering things? I'll admit I skimmed a lot of the rambling bits when he really got going about the tech stuff. Congo, as an adventure read, was fun. I am all for really smart gorillas tearing humans to bits. Amy, the good gorilla who joins our plucky (and obnoxious) adventurers on their quest to discover what happened to the first team, is a fun character, who drinks cocktails and smokes cigars (even though she's a gorilla?), an...

The Luminous Dead The Blurble:  When Gyre Price lied her way into this expedition, she thought she’d be mapping mineral deposits, and that her biggest problems would be cave collapses and gear malfunctions. She also thought that the fat paycheck—enough to get her off-planet and on the trail of her mother—meant she’d get a skilled surface team, monitoring her suit and environment, keeping her safe. Keeping her sane. Instead, she got Em. Em sees nothing wrong with controlling Gyre’s body with drugs or withholding critical information to “ensure the smooth operation” of her expedition. Em knows all about Gyre’s falsified credentials, and has no qualms using them as a leash—and a lash. And Em has secrets, too . . . As Gyre descends, little inconsistencies—missing supplies, unexpected changes in the route, and, worst of all, shifts in Em’s motivations—drive her out of her depths. Lost and disoriented, Gyre finds her sense of control giving way to paranoia and anger. On her own in ...