Do you enjoy reading, or is it more like a chore?

[Wrathful_Armor]

I was in the fourth grade when I truly fell head over heels for books. But only fantasy books. The books I was required to read for school (To Kill A Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye, etc.) made me absolutely despise any other reading. But the books I chose to read were the ones that swallowed me. I spent more time in the worlds described on paper than I did in real life.

As an adult, reading became more difficult. I wrote a lot more, which was nice, but reading really helped me write and without that component, writing was difficult as well. I suppose, to answer your question, it is becoming more difficult to enjoy reading as an adult. But when I do find just the right book that draws me in like my child self would have been drawn in, then I can't put it down until I've devoured it.

 

[nck]

I loved reading as a kid and still do; I don't think I'd even want to write if I didn't, the whole point of writing for me is to try to recreate for others something like the experience I've had of reading my favourite stuff.

 

[markwoodey]

Hmm, good question - one that’s been on my mind going into the New Year, as I’ve set myself the resolution of reading at least one chapter of a fiction book that I’m not already reading before bed. Otherwise, if I’m only reading books (usually fantasy) before bed, I end up only getting through like maybe 10 a year - so it’s a way of increasing my scope in order to join in on the conversation as pmmg mentioned above, and just generally be more in the know.

It was actually a bit of a revelation lately to me, realising the importance of tracking the trends of the market, in this case the fantasy market. I’d never even thought of doing so before - I’m something of a curmudgeon in terms of prioritising the purity of the artist’s vision over the practicalities of making money, so it’s not about chasing the market, but I just realised the benefits of at least being aware of it. Also helps me to take my role as a writer more seriously - and plugs me into the ‘real world’, rather than just it being in my head. If nothing else, drawing on comparative titles will help me convince an agent and ultimately publisher that my work is sellable.

As a child and teenager I absolutely loved reading fantasy. Recently over the last few years I haven’t read as much because I fear the thread of inspiration I have with whatever project I'm working on getting damaged or distorted, either through influence or just the pain of feeling inferior. Kind of a weirdly specific concern, but does anyone share that? Anyway, I'm working on that, and as I said, I’m now trying to push through that and increase my reading scope, so that I’m more familiar with everything out there! But still, I have to read articles and books because I'm getting my degree, and I just can't avoid it. But I try to keep my writing and education separate, and for now, I'm okay. I also have a lot of writing tasks, which I like because what can be better for skills improvement? But you know, writing such papers is harder for me because there are requirements that somehow confuse me and take away all my creativity. The last time this link and provided there Constitution essay samples provided there gave me some inspiration and ideas, I managed to finish the task after all. I also had to read a lot of other info, but it's not similar to what I wrote, so it didn't cause any problems.

You mentioned a really good point - "over the last few years I haven’t read as much because I fear the thread of inspiration I have with whatever project I'm working on getting damaged or distorted"
For some time I was avoiding reading books or stories because I thought that unintentionally I'd copy something from that reading and use it in my writing. I was literary afraid to be caused of plagiarism, but now it's okay.
I like reading, even when I work on something.
But when I was a kid, reading and writing was like a nightmare for me

 

[Super Fantasy]

I like writing the most.

 

[Gurkhal]

I like reading when I can get down to do it, but unfortunately I don't have the best attention span so that's something that gets in my way.

 

[SquirrelDizzle]

Reading for me is generally a chore, something I prefer to do when I want information.

 

[Super Fantasy]

I usually only read my novels/short stories/poems, that way I can think of new ideas and add them to my works

 

[Al-Ahondra]

Lately I've felt too tired to read but I do have days when I want to read a fantasy book to get inspiration.