Book Review: The Problem of Pain

The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is one of those books that’s been on my reading list for years but for whatever reason, I never got around to picking it up. I needed a quick read to amp up my reading list, so I finally read it. I have to say, this book was not what I was expecting. I know a bit about C.S. Lewis, mostly from his association with the Inklings, and I’ve read The Screwtape Letters, which was rather interesting. This book was interesting, as well, but it was a bit of a disappointment. I have to remind myself that Lewis was writing in a different time period, and some of his ideas are antiquated. The apologetic tone throughout the book is sort of irritating, too; he keeps stating that he’s not an expert and that his opinions aren’t strong. I understand writing a preface and stating that, but to continue to state the same thing throughout the book makes me wonder why he bothered writing about the subject at all if he felt so insecure. The book is definitely about his personal opinions and not a scholarly work, which actually made the book more about C. S. Lewis himself and how he viewed the world, which was fascinating. I’d recommend this if you’re a fan of C.S. Lewis.

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Hyperion, more scheduling and finally writing

So I made my goal set on Tuesday of reading up to the 60% mark in Hyperion. Actually, I made it to 63%, so go me and keeping my goals!

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and now want to make further goals and schedules to keep me on track for reading. Once I finish Hyperion, I anticipate finishing off Out of the Silent Planet a few days after. Fledgling has been on my "currently reading" list for over a year: I don't actually know where that book is, so for now I have to let that go. The next book on my list is Le Guin's Steering the Craft. This one is a writing book which actually makes you write (go figure). My goal is ambitious: complete a chapter a day, which means - gasp - writing every day. If this works out, I may post some of the exercises.

Future books on my reading list?
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? 
My Soul to Keep (African Immortals, #1)
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Writing Steampunk
Word Painting
Howl's Moving Castle


I've also given myself a deadline of August 1st to finish my outline of Education of Gareth. We'll see if that comes to fruition...

Finding Time to Read

Lately my reading has lagged considerably. I remember devouring books as a child and not thinking twice about it. These days, I’m lucky to finish a book in two months. That’s partly why I signed up for the Goodreads Reading Challenge. I set my goal for 2012 to 30 books, which seems like a really low number, but I only managed to read 23 books last year, so 30 would be an improvement I suppose. Thus far I’m behind by one book (big surprise). I’m not sure what the problem is when it comes to reading: is it the subject, the length, the style? The books that interest me in the beginning tend to be long and complex and sort of boring. The last two books I read were of the non-fiction variety, one on theology, the other on quantum physics. Right now I’m plowing my way through Hyperion, which seems massive on the Kindle, but is really under 500 pages. It shouldn’t be that hard to get through, especially since I like the story and the style. Perhaps the problem lies in time: I have so many hobbies and projects going on at the same time, and not enough time in the day to complete anything. I pretty much regulate reading to transportation time: traveling on the bus or subway. On most days that means 60-90 minutes of reading per day. That’s not a lot. Especially if you factor in travel distractions, which can be pretty plentiful in NYC. The bottom line is, I’m not even going to make my paltry goal of 30 books unless I really make the time to read.

During a conversation I had with a good friend of mine not too long ago, the comment was made that reading takes up a lot of energy. The more stressed that I find myself at work, the more I realize that there is truth in this statement. I spend the majority of my day reading: emails, reports, affidavits, etc. None of it is interesting, but all of it is necessary. After all that, am I really supposed to spend a block of 2-3 hours with my nose in a book? I never used to be able to read myself to sleep, but these days it’s no problem. I’ll wake up with the book resting in my lap, dazed and confused.

But I refuse to give up. Between writing and knitting and cooking and vegging-out (yes, that too is a hobby) I’ve got to make the time to keep my mind honed. One thing that probably would help would be to turn off the TV at a certain time and pick up a book instead. Last night I never turned it on at all when I got home from work. I didn’t miss it. Tonight I’ll try this again, but this time I’ll pick up Hyperion and try to get to the 60% mark by the end of the night. I love making goals for myself (I rarely make them, but I still love to give myself goals) so my goal for this week is to finish Hyperion. I don’t think it’s impossible, I just have to keep my willpower high. Right now I’m at page 197: that’s 41%. 60% is about 100 pages…It seems like a lot, but I’m going to try my best. I see this as a test: if I can’t up my reading time, then why on earth would I spend money on an e-reader? It’s not cost effective. Thinking of the cost-effectiveness of my purchases is what made me into a gamer; hopefully it will turn be back into a reader.