I do a lot of online research for my work. I skim, take notes, rearrange and regurgitate the information, and get paid for it. Reading is snippets, not depth. I’ve been doing this for almost eight years, and I’ve missed reading books! A few years ago, I forced myself to sit down with The Round House by Louise Erdrich. I have read most of her books and bought this one when it was new. It had sat on the shelf for a while, and I was kind of sad I hadn’t read it yet. Then she published another one, LaRose. I knew I was behind!
Starting The Round House was torture. It was SO long! I couldn’t skim it and take notes in five minutes! I dreaded continuing with it, because of the reading habits I’d acquired. But of course, the story kept me captivated, and I couldn’t put it down. I read LaRose immediately after, and I’m happy to report that I’ve read several other novels since, and have a few waiting for me on my side table.
