In an attempt to prevent a true disconnect between the
content and the title of my blog I thought that I would take a moment to talk
about procrastination. You see results are in (they have been in for a while, I
just haven’t got around to posting) and without going into specifics mine were
good, in fact they were the best I have ever had at uni. So obviously that is
good but, it got me thinking about what it took to get those marks. I would
have to say that this past semester my level of procrastination was the least
it has ever been. Don’t get me wrong I still procrastinated, just not quite to
the same degree as in the past.
Now obviously I’m sure we would all agree that procrastinating is never ideal. So it makes sense that doing less of it will lead to greater periods of productivity and better results. The interesting thing is that it did not lead to less stress. Even though I put more time and work into my studies I was not in the slightest bit more confident in my ability. In fact the prospect of doing badly was even the more devastating due to the fact that I had put more time and effort in. It also did not mean that other areas of the life grew. By that I mean in the end I just spent the time I would have spent procrastinating doing uni work and not well leading a balanced life. It’s also not just about time but productivity. So I may have been actively working but man I work slowly. It’s a problem.
Now obviously I’m sure we would all agree that procrastinating is never ideal. So it makes sense that doing less of it will lead to greater periods of productivity and better results. The interesting thing is that it did not lead to less stress. Even though I put more time and work into my studies I was not in the slightest bit more confident in my ability. In fact the prospect of doing badly was even the more devastating due to the fact that I had put more time and effort in. It also did not mean that other areas of the life grew. By that I mean in the end I just spent the time I would have spent procrastinating doing uni work and not well leading a balanced life. It’s also not just about time but productivity. So I may have been actively working but man I work slowly. It’s a problem.
Anyway may I procrastinate even less in the future and be more productive.
But for now I am on holiday and by holiday I mean work with intervals
of procrastinating in my days off (maybe I am experiencing procrastination
rebound where because I did less during semester I’m doing more during the
break, at the very least my break time procrastination has not reduced). I won’t
talk much about work but to say that due to my experience of being a check out
chick I will be a much better customer.
The thing I have managed to do more of during the break is
reading for fun rather than for academic
purposes. Now I am a fan of the dystopian genre in fact I was a fan before the
name was common place and all the series started being made into films. I also
freely admit that in can at times feel like you are just reading the same story
again the main character just has a different name. Of course there are some
real gems (the other day I finished the Unwind Dystology) with a twist or
feature I have never seen before (which probably is dependant purely on the
order in which I discover series’) but I openly recognise the similarities between
many of the series I have read and quite frankly thoroughly enjoyed (well most
of them, there have been some stinkers). The thing that frustrates me a little
and only a little is that with most of them being a series rather than standalone
books there is the small problem of maintaining ones knowledge of the previous
books while waiting for the next.
I will explain.
You read a fantastic book just to find that it is the first in a series with the next to be released in … lets say 10 months, these days with goodreads and library ordering services remembering that the book exists 10 month down the track is not so much of a problem so let’s say you have ordered the book and when it is published and you have got down the waiting list you can pick it up. So you now have the book in your little hot hands, the first thing that happens is you are holding a book you no longer have recollection of ever ordering but a quick look on the back or inside covers informs you that this is the sequel to the above mentioned fantastic book. Well now you are excited because the last one was SO FREAKING AWESOME and you start reading… and more often than not my first thought a couple of pages in is “who the hell are these people???”. You see with all the time that has gone by I don’t remember much beyond the general premise the main characters’ names and that I loved the previous book. It’s not unheard of for me to get three quarters or even the whole way through a sequel without remembering who some of a minor characters are which appear in both books. I feel like I don’t get as much out of the book. And considering the fact that I don’t often get time to read for pleasure I don’t want to sped that time rereading books just so I can get to the sequels. Now since these are not the type of books one would write an essay on in high school (part of the reason I like them) a nice summery of the previous book is not available and as entertaining as some of the longer goodreads reviews are they are not always the best at summarising the plot objectively.
My point is that I think there should be made available a summary of books which are part of a series for the very purpose of jogging the minds of readers who have waited patiently for the next book. Now there may be issues e.g. spoilers but really I think people who really want to enjoy the reading experience would only use the summery in the way I have suggested. Maybe there are some other issues with the idea I haven’t considered but I am at this point too tired to go much further. I just think that it would be nice and make my life easier and my reading more enjoyable so why not.
You read a fantastic book just to find that it is the first in a series with the next to be released in … lets say 10 months, these days with goodreads and library ordering services remembering that the book exists 10 month down the track is not so much of a problem so let’s say you have ordered the book and when it is published and you have got down the waiting list you can pick it up. So you now have the book in your little hot hands, the first thing that happens is you are holding a book you no longer have recollection of ever ordering but a quick look on the back or inside covers informs you that this is the sequel to the above mentioned fantastic book. Well now you are excited because the last one was SO FREAKING AWESOME and you start reading… and more often than not my first thought a couple of pages in is “who the hell are these people???”. You see with all the time that has gone by I don’t remember much beyond the general premise the main characters’ names and that I loved the previous book. It’s not unheard of for me to get three quarters or even the whole way through a sequel without remembering who some of a minor characters are which appear in both books. I feel like I don’t get as much out of the book. And considering the fact that I don’t often get time to read for pleasure I don’t want to sped that time rereading books just so I can get to the sequels. Now since these are not the type of books one would write an essay on in high school (part of the reason I like them) a nice summery of the previous book is not available and as entertaining as some of the longer goodreads reviews are they are not always the best at summarising the plot objectively.
My point is that I think there should be made available a summary of books which are part of a series for the very purpose of jogging the minds of readers who have waited patiently for the next book. Now there may be issues e.g. spoilers but really I think people who really want to enjoy the reading experience would only use the summery in the way I have suggested. Maybe there are some other issues with the idea I haven’t considered but I am at this point too tired to go much further. I just think that it would be nice and make my life easier and my reading more enjoyable so why not.
That’s enough for today, I have a book to read.
I have a pile actually
I have a pile actually
Cya
