E-reader, How You've Liberated Me!

So, I’ve talked before about how I’m a “finisher” by personality. That means that, for the whole year that I’ve had my Kindle, I’ve only read two books on it. That’s because the first book I chose to read on it was Les Miserables (it seemed like a good idea at the time.) I finished Les Mis yesterday … which means that my Kindle has suddenly become a wealth of possibility. (All this time, I’ve been collecting books on it, but then feeling depressed because it would be so long before I could read them.)

I’m glad that I read Les Mis, but I’m not in a hurry to start another LONG book anytime soon. So I’ve been looking at the short pieces I have on my Kindle, including a lot of sample chapters I’ve downloaded. And it’s in these sample chapters that I realize I’ve finally found some freedom from my “finishing” tendencies.

I’ve read a lot of books that I don’t like, just because I felt some sort of obligation to them after reading page 1. That’s one of the reasons long books intimidate me so much — because I KNOW I’ll be stuck with them for a while. If I don’t like a book, this is a lot of wasted time while better books go unread. But thanks to sample chapters, “finishing” can now mean something very different. It’s OK to just read chapter one because … that’s all I’ve got. And if I didn’t like it, I can still know I “finished,” while if I DO like it, I can go to the library or put it on my “to-read” list, knowing in advance that the time will be well spent. Brilliant! I’m going on a Kindle book-buying binge tonight to celebrate (and by “buy,” I really mean trolling the free stuff.)

Also, in semi-unrelated news — I “mirror” this blog over at SheWrites, and this week my post about editing and self-publishing was one of the site’s featured posts. That means it’s generated a few comments and friend requests, which connects me more strongly to that community. This brings me closer to one of my goals this year, which was to really become part of an online writing community — and reminds me that the most important part of getting your writing noticed is to keep putting it out there. So, here I go again!