Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Reading and stuff

I read a lot as a kid. During high school, I read every Stephen King novel I could get my hands on. I finally grew out of that. But during college, especially the last couple of years, the only books I read were required and I hated almost every minute of it. I read books about leadersip, negotiating, corporate alliances, international finance, finding your heart in management, and loads and loads of other junk that I could not have cared less about. After I finally graduated with a degree that I hoped to never use, I quit reading altogether.

I started a few books here and there but rarely finished one. If I did read something, it was some mindless novel that I could have written better myself. Dean Koontz, anyone? Anyway, in the last year or so I have started reading again. And I'm having to rediscover what it is that I like to read. I just finished The Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell and it was cool but I kind of had to make myself finish the last couple of sections because I was getting a little bored. So, I'm not quite sure what I'm going to try next. I've always read novels in the past, but lately I'm feeling the need to read stuff that will change me or teach me something or grow me somehow instead of just reading a story about a bunch of made up people living in a world that doesn't exist. I don't just want to read to pass the time. I want to read to become better than I am.

By the way, if anyone wants a ton of business and management books, I can hook you up.

8 comments:

Jim Looby said...

Hmmm. That's not too encouraging, considering I'm probably going for a degree in management this fall...

Jenny Hintze said...

Oh, it's loads of fun. You'll have a BLAST!

Maury said...

Did you read King's Bag of Bones? That's the only book I've ever read that actually creeped me out (it was 2:30am and I was in the apt alone (pre-marriage)) to where I had to stop reading.

Great stuff, if like that kind of reading. I also liked The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.

Phillip Hintze said...

Stephen King has some good ideas, but his dialogue is horrible. He tries to write these "cool" characters who are "with it" or whatever, but they speak like complete idiots. He uses too much made-up slang. He doesn't even know how to cuss and make it sound natural.

I like some of his books, but parts of them are just embarrassing.

Maury said...

I also liked From A Buick 8.

Jenny Hintze said...

Man, I think I read Gerald's Game when I was about 14. That is terrible.

Maury said...

Yeah, all his books aren't great -- that was one of his stinkers for sure.

Jim Looby said...

Has anyone read "Cell" yet?

I enjoyed reading "Insomnia" after finishing the "Dark Tower" series, since it had a strong parallel plot. And I just plain liked the protagonist more than in anything else he's penned.