G’day. My first blog for Blaze. Woot! I’ve been thinking about what I want to write about first up, and I decided to talk about the pleasure I get from reading. I figure this is probably something we can all relate to! I have always been a big reader. When I was in primary school (the Australian version of elementary) I was very popular with the librarians for my prodigious appetite for books, and at home I could always be found tearing through a book or two. I read anything I could get my hands on in those days, but I particularly loved The Hobbit and Trixie Belden adventure books.
In high school, I discovered boys, Sweet Dreams romances and Sweet Valley High, as well as both of my grandmother’s Harlequin Mills and Boon collections. Bliss! But I was still into fantasy fiction and the whole crime thing, and I still dabble in both these genres to this day, although romance is definitely my main food group.
When I read, I am totally absorbed. It drives my man NUTS. He can ask me questions and I simply won’t hear him – I’m lost in another world, living and breathing as the characters in whatever book I’m reading live and breathe. And when I finish a book or have to tear myself away from the narrative to do things like, you know, work, or cook, or sleep, I feel like Neo in The Matrix when he has that big plug dragged out of the back of his head: confused, disoriented,and a little pissed off, to be honest. If I’m reading in bed and it’s late and I am unable to put a book down, I will read for as long as it takes my man to start tossing and turning (hint, hint, turn out the light!), then I will creep into the lounge and huddle under a throw rug until I have consumed every last word.
A good book can, quite simply, make me forget everything else. And a good romance…well, when I get that ache in my chest because I can feel the hero and heroine’s pain and I want them to get it together, I am as happy as a pig in mud. Happier, even.
I used to feel bad about my book habit, but ever since reading Stephen King’s On Writing, where he encourages writers to read to “refill the well” and keep their own ideas flowing, I have given myself a free pass. And it’s great, let me tell you. Now, every time I loll on the couch with a book from one of my favorite authors, I tell myself that I am refilling the word well so that I can keep pouring my own words and ideas onto the page.
I use books to celebrate, comfort, relax, stimulate, educate and entertain myself. What about you? What happens for you when you read? Are you an all-nighter? An e-reader? Is reading a luxury or a necessity? Do share!
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Hey, I loved Trixie Belden too! In fact, I’m slowly replacing my old disentigrating copies with the spiffy new hardcovers they have out now. I liked her so much better than Nancy Drew.
I almost exclusively read in bed at night. And it is definitely a necessity!
The thing I loved about Trixie was that she was a bit of a tom boy, and she had a sort-of romance thing going with Jim (is that his name, can’t quite remember?) Trixie Belden books always had a little hint of romance thrown in with the mystery – just the way I like it. I had the full collection when I was a kid. I wonder what happened to it?
I drive my man crazy too. In fact, when my son was young my husband used to say to him (though I didn’t hear it) “Watch this, Steve,” and then my husband would proceed to make silly faces at me and it was only my son’s giggles that would make me raise my eyes from the book to see what was going on in the real world.
Hey there Liz! Lovely to “see” you. Oh, the fights I’ve had with my man over the whole not-paying-attention thing. I try to be more aware now, but sometimes I still slip up. I can’t help it – I’ve always been like this! I used to walk home from school reading a book, for Pete’s sake!
I’m trying to read more e-books and I find that the instant download feeds my need for instant gratification!
One of my reading quirks is that I need to read the book from cover to cover in one sitting. If I put the book down, I’m less likely to pick it up again and read it.
Susanna, I am totally into full immersion reading. In fact. I think books are mostly written to be read in one big gulp. You get such a great connection with the characters and the emotions of the story that way, and books that I “have” to read in one sitting are my favorites. When I’m editing and looking at ways to improve drafts of my books, I always make a point of sitting down somewhere quiet with the manuscript and reading it in one sitting so I can get the rhythms of it and feel the flow. As for the instant gratification of e-books…well, I would love to be a convert but there aren’t many places in Oz or NZ (where I am currently based, for the moment!) where you can buy e-books. Although I need to do more research into this because I am developing a severe case of e-reader envy…
Hi Sarah
My soul can not go without reading (L) I have a wonderful life and absolutely nothing to complain about, but it’s way too small, and that’s what reading does for me, it opens my world and lets me breath ….
My kids know to say mom, you have to concentrate for this, before discussing something important. 
I am a HUGE e reader, I discovered e books last year,and have not looked back since , it is fantastic, I get to read books, which I would only have been able to read a year later than the released date or not at all, absolutely fantastic ! (Y)
(L) (L) your books Sarah, thank you so much. (W)
Hey there Petro! Lovely to “see” you over here! I so agree with you about books opening up our worlds. Thanks to books, I have owned my own NFL football team, explored far flung galaxies, been a six foot blonde goddess, solved crimes, made out with some of the hottest guys ever, visited far flung destinations, explored the past…. the list goes on and on. I love that your kids give you a heads up when they need you to *really* pay attention. Maybe I should try to institute a similiar rule in my house to avoid any confusion (ahem) when important matters are being discussed and I have a book in my hand. So glad you’re still enjoying my books, and great to hear from you.
I think I’d rather go without food than reading. And that’s syaing a LOT for me. I have been a voracious reader ever since I Saw Spot Run. From Nancy Drew to The Witch of Blackbird Pond and Island of the Blue Dolphins to…yes, at 12 I was totally into Barbara Cartland. I love murder Mysteries too, Sue Grafton and Elizabeth George, but mostly I love a good Romance. With my all time fave authors I will read all night if I can. And I do find it helps me “refill my well” also. A lot of times reading a wonderful roamnce will help me work out what’s going wrong with my WIP and figure out why I’m stuck.
Hi Jillian, yes, I love those allnighters too, even though I feel weird the next day! But it’s worth it for those hours in the early morning when you’re so utterly absorbed and you know that no one is going to interupt you because they’re all happily dreaming away in their beds. When I finish a book like that, I stumble into bed with lots of happy thoughts circling my mind, and usually my man has put my electric blanket on, and I snuggle up to him and fall asleep feeling very contented. When I don’t have a good book to read, I can get quite tetchy. And I definitely need it to help me circuit break out of my own tail-chasing thoughts when I’m writing my own stuff. It’s like a little tropical island getaway for my brain.
I don’t like to put books down, either. When I was growing up, we went to the library every Friday where we checked out the limit of 6 books (small town). Then my mom had to ration them. I read through whole sections–fairy tales, then biographies, then science fiction. Sigh.
Only 6 books at a time! That’s like saying you can only have one piece of chocolate. I have recently returned to the library to feed my book habit. If I find an author I like, I then go and buy their other books. It’s been a great way for me to discover new favorite authors – Loretta Chase, Laura Lee Ghurke, Sherry Thomas (who I now ADORE). I always buy books for my friends’ kids for presents, and for my nephews and niece – if they turn into book lovers, I will be one happy aunty!
Went to BEA was very disappointed about what Harlequin did. the authors were great but the set up for signings was horriable letting someone interview Debbie Macomber while people were waiting for her autograph was the WRONG thing to do. one hour block and 25 minutes taken by an interview. Better planning is sorely needed. having an author like Gena Showalter there to sign books and having no books for her to sign.. Poor planning again. Heather Graham there to sign books and Running out before the signing is done .. POOR PLANNING! As a Book seller I paid to go and have a fun book Expo experience and instead I got alot of aggravation.
Lets hope for a better show next year. As much as publishing houses pay for these shows so do we. Not just the price of admission but also on the price of every book we buy for resale or for ourselves!
When I’m reading I can put the book down maybe a couple minutes then I pick it up again. I have to know what’s going to happen because I’ll be thinking about it til I can read again. If I’m reading a really good book I’ll stay up all night or til my eyes shut reading it. I’m like you I’ll be reading and someone is talking to me and I don’t hear a word. I just really enjoy reading, it’s very relaxing.
There’s a short list of things that are pretty much interchangeable as my favorite thing ever (eating, sleeping, “other” things – ahem) but reading is definitely in amongst them. Lounging on the couch with a good book, something delicious to eat, feeling warm and knowing that I have plenty of time to devour the book with no guilt gnawing at me to get writing or cleaning or doing the accounts… BLISS!!! If I do have to put a book down (because someone has forced me to at gun point, for example) I will often think about it all day, imagining what might happen next, anticipating the next reading binge. It’s almost as nice as reading, but not quite.
Well it’s 12h56, and if I don’t put this book (Twin Temptation by Cara Summers) down right now, I’m not going to get up in the morning LOL
All the best Sarah !
Good night, Petro! Sleep tight!
Hey Sarah!
I am hooked on my Kindle and reading A LOT more since I got it — perfect example of why is the other night, 11pm, I wanted the next two books in Natale Stenzel’s Druid series and I had them downloaded w/in 5 minutes and never had to leave my bed.
It’s immediate gratification that gets me.
Also, the books are marginally cheaper, and I don’t have to pay shipping or tax, so I can justify more books! 
I usually just read at night, before bed, so sometimes I will struggle to stay awake as long as possible w/a good book, and I’m too old for all nighters anymore, LOL, but if I am super addicted and need to finish a book, I will sometimes read through breakfast.
It generally takes me a week to two weeks to get through a book that way, but I have been cutting that down to about 3-4 days lately. 
Sam
I was also remiss in mentioning that my last two print books were yours, She’s Got It Bad, and A Natural Father, and those did keep me up late, and provided some daytime reading to boot!
I think that is my last hold out on print books — I love signed ones from friends — the single thing Kindle can’t do.
Sam
Oh, Sammas, how I wish I could Kindle! I was looking at the new reader on line the other day, but we are not allowed to buy them Down Under! Obviously, the instant download function doesn’t work because they’re not hooked up with a network down here, and also I think there might be an issue with book rights internationally speaking. Not sure on that one. I did a bit of research into other e-reading devices, but there aren’t a lot of places you can buy the actual books. I need to check to see if Fictionwise and other places sell internationally, too. But how I envy you the Kindle instant gratification. And yes, saving on shipping would be a HUGE saving for me, it usually adds another $20 to the price of the book when it’s coming from the US. We pay more for books down here than you guys do – around $18 for a mass market paperback like the latest Rachel Gibson, for example, and sometimes up to $30.So buying them from the US, swallowing the difference in the currency and the shipping is still often cheaper, but still…it would be great to sidestep it all together.
I was a Trixie Belden fan also. (Y) There appear to be very few of us around. Or at least I don’t very often come across someone who read them as a child.
Well, that’s a crime against nature as far as I’m concerned. They were great books. I can still close my eyes and remember how I thought Trixie looked, and how Jim and Honey looked. I can still remember the book where Trixie’s brother got cyanide poisoning because his new girlfriend was feeding him waldorf salads… I used to imagine the woods around their houses were like the bushland near our holiday house down on the coast outside of Melbourne. Ah. I might have to dig a few up and re-read them, have a trip down memory lane.
I read my mom’s old Trixie Belden books (I’m 16), and i really enjoy them, they are really great stories, and i am in fact reading one right now ( The Mystery In Arizona). A few are very nice “Deluxe” editions with full color illustrations, so you can actually see how Trixie, Honey, Brian, Mart, Jim, etc look. But she only has them up to #16, which is frustrating because i don’t know what happens after that, so i may have to start tracking them down on eBay or wait for them to be reissued. I’m a total bibliophile, and reading is a necessity for me, i like getting lost in another world, and feeling like i’m actually there with the characters and leaving my own life for a few hours. Or in the case of “Gone With The Wind, about a week or so, the first day i started it, i stayed up until the whee hours of the morning reading, until i just got too tired and had to put it down. My mom’s as a big a reader as i am, and read to me from the day i was born, and then i taught myself to read when i was 5, and i’ve been reading pretty much nonstop ever since.
Oh I forgot to mention, I Heart Books, too.
Reading is definitely a necessity! I lose myself in books, too. My hubby is used to it now. He knows to shout loud if he needs my urgent attention. I liked Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boy books among others when I was growing up.
Sarah – I’m in New Zealand and read e-books regularly. I use a Palm Tungsten PDA to read my books. My hubby has an iTouch that he uses. If you’re interested in places to purchase ebooks email me privately. I can point you in the right direction. E-books are heaps cheaper and I love the instant gratification. There are a few geographical restrictions starting to creep in, but mostly I can purchase what I want.
Great blog! I heart books too! I’ve been on a book binge the last few weeks, even though life is nuts. It’s my one true escape.
Thank goodness I am a fast reader because when I start a good book I can’t put it down until I finish it!
I’m late to the party as always.
Quick thing about -readers. they are addictive and once you make the transition, you won’t go back.! LOL I love my Sony Reader so much it’s bordering on perverse.
Plus, you can buy MOST books internationally from Fictionwise and BooksonBoard etc. And if I can’t and it’s a book I have to have, then I paypal my US friend the money and she buys for it for me then I go into the account and download it! I have no shame. I had to do that with the new Elizabeth Hoyt. I was almost insane with rage at the thought that I couldn’t get it on e-book! I had a hulk moment.
I’m on a mission (partly inspired by this blog) to read every Blaze! I was a late on the bandwagon so have a bit of catching up to do. I’m just finishing STephanie Tyler’s ‘Risking It All’ which I am enjoying immesely!
As for reading quirks…I have a few..does every one else smell thier books? I have to smell a new book the first time I crack it open (When it’s not an e-book obvs.) Also, I hate cracking the spine on a book. I will give it away or sell it and buy a new one if that happens, which is another reason why I don’t loan books to anyone who hasn’t been pre-approved! I still have paperback terry Pratchett books I bought 15 years ago that are pristine despite having multiple reads. Yes, anal is my middle name.
I have always been a reader. I loved (and still do even though she is no longer fashionable) Enid Blyton. She gave me a love and understanding of nature and how to foil various smugglers and general ne’er-do-wells.
I graduated to Stephen King and Dean Koontz in my teenage years and then kinda slipped sideways nto Sci-fi and fantasy where I still live today. Paranormal romance led me to romance proper and I am a happy as a pig in …well you know. Especially when I have a new Sarah mayberry to read! When is the next one out again Sarah?
Everyone – Sarah can’t get in to post but doesn’t want to leave anyone hanging. So she sent me her responses to share with you all
Hi everyone. So sorry for the long delay in posting back. I’ve been having intermittent problems accessing the blog for some reason. Apart from cursing and making angry animal noises at my computer, I am fairly hopeless on this front so I have asked the wonderful Tawny to post this on my behalf so you don’t think I am ignoring you! I am not, I assure you – I am getting email telling me what you’ve all posted, I just can’t respond. Pretty much a chatterbox’s version of hell. So, here, in order, are my responses to all of you who were kind enough to post:
Lauren, the book I remember utterly immersing myself in as a teenager was “The Lord of the Rings”. I would dive in and start reading and not come up again for another week or two. Completely useless to everyone during that time, my head off in the clouds. You know – big confession – I have never read “Gone with the Wind”. This is close to sacrilege, isn’t it? Maybe I should hunt down a copy….
Shelly, ta for the e-book advice. You will be hearing from me! I was a big Hardy Boy fan, too. And oh my goodness how I loved the TV show. Bless those casting agents, that’s all I can say. Parker Stevenson and Sean Cassidy. Inspired!!!!
Candace, I, too, have been on a book binge the last few weeks. A couple of Molly O’Keefes (Super romance author, lovely!), the new Mary Balogh(sigh), the new Sherry Thomas(divine), and am just cracking the spine on the latest Rachel Gibson. It’s been a good week!!!! Now. I just have to write my chapters for the week and finish a script for the TV show I write for in between all this “refilling the well”. Hmmm….
Karin, I’m a pretty fast reader, too, but I have often wondered about super fast speed reading. My understanding is that you scan the page all at once and kind of take it all in. This worries me with romance novels – does that mean you skip over the sad bits and move onto the okay bits really quickly? Kind of like you’re reading on fast forward? I don’t know, but I would love to ask a speed reader how the pace of their reading affects their emotional reaction to the story. Which, you know, is a lot of the reason why I have my bum in the seat and the book in my hand in the first place…
Hey there Sayuri! I love your non-spine-cracking quirk. Confession: I am a book abuser. I can feel you cringing from across the globe as I write this. My books are for reading and it shows – creases, curly bits, even (God forbid!) swollen pages from being read in a steamy bath. Having said that, when I borrow a friend’s book I am very, very careful not to crack the spine or put a crease in the cover if they haven’t. I once lent someone my autographed copy of Ben Elton’s “Stark” and it came back looking as though it had been through a washing machine. Not happy. I clearly need to investigate this e-book thing more, though. As for my latest release, it’s out in November, and it’s a Super Romance – “Home for the Holidays”. And then I think my next Blaze is February 2010, “Her Secret Fling”. Ta for your lovely support, as always.
Sarah, I can’t believe I missed your first Blaze blog post! Argh!
I’m a book addict–I use books for all the reasons you listed, and depending on the book, I have done all-nighters (or close to it). (Your books tend to be can’t-put-down variety–I often start one thinking I’ll just take a quick peek, and then I’m furious at the interruptions that make me put it down–dinner, putting the kids to bed… ;)) No e-reader yet, but maybe soon
Reading is definitely a necessity!
And I’m SO so excited because I just won your books from Brenda’s auction–woohoo!!
YAYYYY! How fantastic that you scored at the auction. Now I will have to think of a way to personalise my autograph in every book… I bid on a few things but was blown out of the water. Damn that poor exchange rate! It sounds like you read like me – in fact, it sounds like we all read like each other – ie obsessively! I guess that’s why we’re all hanging out together at this blog. Don’t forget to send me your address details so I can get those books to you!
LOL!! I’m totally excited about scoring your books! (As I mentioned in Tawny’s post a few days ago, I tend to lose sight of any limits I’ve previously set and then bid furiously in the heat of the moment. I’m afraid that I still haven’t mentioned to my husband yet that I’ve spent quite a bit of money at the auction…
)
And yep, we’re all a bit book-obsessive! But such a wonderful group we are, aren’t we!?
So SO glad to be picking up your most recent titles, and I think you mentioned that you’ve got more coming out later this year, right? Can’t wait!!
Hi, Sarah, Sorry to be so late commenting–had computer troubles. I retired 7 years ago & have spent most of that time reading, or finding books to read. When I love a book, it’s stay awake until finished. If it doesn’t grab me, after 20 pages I recycle it to the library. I was a single parent, working full-time, rushing to 2 daycare centers & attending school functions. I gave up reading, as I never found time to finish the book. After retirement, it was heaven to get back to a pastime I had always loved. While I read many ST Romances, I still hold on to reading the Series Romances, because at Hq., Contemps are always “in”, even when they apparently aren’t at other publishing houses–boo hiss!
Am really looking forward to your upcoming book. As for ebooks, sorry–for me I need the feel of a real, hold-it-in-your-hand book.
Hi Patricia, never too late to join in! I keep hearing about how contemps are not in…but I love reading them, and so do so many others. What’s up with that? So glad you have rediscovered the time to read and enjoy in your retirement instead of having to shoe horn it in around everything else. I love it when I can just kick back and know that I have no obligations nagging at the back of my conscience. Bliss! As for e-books, well, I am starting to come around on the idea a little more. The idea of always having my library with me, and instant downloads, etc, seems pretty good. But I stare at a computer screen all day already, so I am going to keep circling this idea for a while, I think, before I make a decision.