My name is Alison Perry and I haven’t read a whole book since becoming a mum.
This wouldn’t be so bad if I was a mum to a three month old, or even a nine month old. But I am, in fact, a mum to a two-and-a-half-year-old. I haven’t read a whole book in two and a half years. Isn’t that shameful? To begin with, it was easy to blame my sleep-deprived, hormone ravaged mind (do hormones affect your concentration? Let’s pretend they do) and then when I went back to work back in August 2011, my brain was putting every bit of its brain-power into performing that incredible juggling act of being-a-working-mum (“Oh. We don’t all sit around in a circle on the floor, singing ‘Where is monkey?’ in this meeting?” is the kind of thing I may have said back then, to my boss.)
But now, what’s my excuse? I generally still like to play the ‘I’m a mum, I haven’t got time to read’ card, but I know plenty of mums who like to read. In all honesty, I suspect that social media has messed with my brain so much that I can’t actually concentrate on a whole book anymore. If something isn’t in 140 characters, I’m afraid I can’t compute it. But hey, surely anything worth saying is worth saying in 140 characters, right? (Charles Dickens totally should have worked that one out back in 1860. If he had, I’m pretty sure I’d have read Great Expectations by now.)
I should add here that I have started reading seven books since becoming a mum. I just haven’t finished any of them. The ends of books are so overrated. Everyone knows the action happens at the start.
So here, they are folks, the seven books I haven’t read since becoming a mum…
Thankfully, I think I’m about to break my bad run of reading and actually complete a book. I’m currently reading Survival Of The Ginnest by Aimee Horton. It’s a book… made up entirely of Facebook status updates. Genius. Even my social media addled brain can cope with this one.
This is sooooo me!! I had all these good internations to start reading again post Z but it took me over 2 years! I finally read MoVos Motherventing and Crystal Jigsaws book, Nightingale Woods.
I read Amee’s fab book too-I am determined to get through all the books that have been patiently waiting for too long. You must read Tina Fey’s Bossypants-hysterical and I couldn’t put it down!
I’m with you! My daughter is 19 months, I read every day before she was born, and then I couldn’t manage more than about 9 pages before falling asleep.
Then my local friends started a book club so for the last few months I’ve got back into it again. Nothing like a bit of pressure to get me focussed! Actually I got so into Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn my husband had to hide it from me so that I wouldn’t neglect said daughter during the day! #slummy
I’m still reading the same book I was half-way through when i went in to be induced for my son (now 14 months). I’m a working mum and the time I have off is so precious I don’t want to lose it to a book – I know it works for a lot of people, but after a page, I’m distracted again. One day I hope I finish it…
I finished one book since having my 16 month old. And I think that’s because it was a free iBook so I was reading it on my phone, which I’m surgically attached to. You are so right about social media, but I’m pretty sure people have made spoof twitter accounts for classics books/authors? So you DO get the book in 140 characters. Kind of. 😉 xo
Great Expectations
Pip’s a gent cos of cash windfall. Gets greedy, disowns family, discovers benefactor is escaped con. Mad Miss Haversham fries, #he gets girl
I’m sure I wouldn’t read as much if I didn’t spend an hour every day on the tube with nothing else to do but read! Out of your list of 7 I would thoroughly recommend The Help (although I suppose you could cheat and watch the DVD!) and also Gone Girl (although admittedly I was a bit underwhelmed with the ending on that one!) I do confess to not getting through Moranthology – despite the rave reviews I just couldn’t get on with it. I just finished Beautiful Ruins and absolutely loved it. You just need to find the right book to inspire you to keep going to the end! There’s enough guilt involved in motherhood so if you can’t be fagged to finish a book who cares!
You scare me, this is also me, I haven’t read a book since my daughter was born last July, despite still buying at least 1 new book a month….. :-/ x
This so meeee inkove your blog it inspired me to start my own x