Yay! A New Book!

So I finally finished Anathem, which I’m sure you’ve seen to the side of the page for a good couple of months. Last night, because I’m reviewing the novel today, I knocked out 90 pages to finish up the epic tome. In doing so, I think I found a new way to read that will not only help me absorb the material but keep a steady pace.

As you all might know, I’ve been having trouble finding good reading places and have lately been struggling to read anything for any long period of time. Last night was no exception. For about an hour I couldn’t seem to lock in any great reading positions, although I did settle on sitting in my chair upright and that helped. After that hour, I became curious as to how long it was taking me to finish any one page, so I could somewhat meter out how long it would take to finish about 60 pages. Remembering that my fancy phone had a stopwatch feature, I pulled out the device and started it up. As it turns out, it takes me roughly 1.5 to 2 minutes per page, so 60 pages would be a couple of hours. After every page, I would hit the “lap” button to keep an updated record. This simple act became a very good driving force to try and keep pace, which not only made me stay within the time frame I allotted myself, but also to stay awake. Totally awesome.

Now, because I like punishment, I’m going to start reading Quicksilver, which is 960 pages. It’s also by Stephenson, so it will be awesome, just really long.