How do you read so much?

and answers to other questions

Good morning!

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I am delighted to report that The Deep Dive is now in its sixth month which is hard to believe. I started this newsletter page after I finished up a show with my local drama group and wanted something to do after I pledged myself in the new year to grow my Instagram page and be a bit more confident about using it.

Using the Instagram page meant making more content, which meant reading more books and for me, it has paid off. Yes, I’ve grown my following a bit more but more impressively, so far I’ve read 44 books in 2023.

My Goodreads accounts for 42 of them as it does not currently have data for two of them. One excellent book was a free publication called Our Shared Way of Life by Denzil McDaniel, published by the Clones Family Resource Centre.

The other was Sean Quinn’s autobiography which was released earlier this week which I read in about two hours for work after sprinting to Waterstones at 1 p.m. on deadline day when we got word that the book was on shelves and my Editor asked for a review.

In the spirit of this anniversary, I thought it would be fun to do a Q&A as I get asked quite frequently about the speed at which I read, why I read so much and how I read so much.

How do you read so much so fast?

The short answer is, I am quite boring and reading is my main hobby and interest outside of work.

The long answer is I have read all my life and there have been very few dry spells in my reading life. I also hold an English degree (despite failing AS English) and as part of my studies for that, we had to read and study around three books a week.

I also make reading a priority, when I go to bed at night, I read, if I wake up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep, I read, if I wake up early, I read. I listen to audiobooks in the gym or when I am walking and I often keep a book in my bag in case a few spare minutes appear in the day.

Additionally, I watch very little TV. My slowest reading month so far this year was August when I only read two books but I did watch several series on the streamers including my new obsession, The Summer I Turned Pretty.

As for the speed, I don’t have an answer for that, I know if I am going well, I can read about 100 pages an hour. Perhaps a hangover from my university days, I also read a lot of news and often it is written in a much simpler structure compared to fiction so perhaps that has made me a bit speedier.

What is your favourite book?

Off the top of my head, I find it difficult to choose a favourite book. A book that was my favourite book, three years ago may no longer be on my radar and the same for books I read during school.

I think it can be hard to compare novels from many years so here is a quite run down of some authors and genres that I really like. My favourite Brontë is Wuthering Heights, my favourite Austen is Northanger Abbey, my favourite book I studied in school is Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, my favourite literary fiction book is A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, my favourite Irish novel is A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride or Rachel’s Holiday by Marian Keyes, in my defence, they are VERY different and my favourite non-fiction book is The Day The World Came To Town by Jim DeFede.

Do you have a favourite author?

I really like Curtis Sittenfeld at the moment and consider her a must-buy author, and I have her classic American Wife next on my TBR pile. In addition, my favourite playwright is Samuel Beckett and I don’t have a favourite poet.

How do you pick what to read?

I usually pick by looking for authors I have read before and also checking out the authors who provide quotes for the covers of books I enjoy. I am a big fan of Sunday papers so find that they will lead me into new release books. I also follow Pandora Sykes and her wonderful newsletter and I take her recommendations like gospel.

In turn, if I see a quote from Pandora, Curtis Sittenfeld or Margaret Attwood on a book cover, I will probably buy it.

I also will consult both Reese Witherspoon and Oprah Winfrey’s respected book clubs if I need inspiration.

This time of year, I will be looking at the Booker longlist and now that I am on #bookstagram and #booktok, I will have a look there but often these are novels already flagged by the same sources as above and sometimes, some of the books aren’t that good either.

Do you have a favourite genre?

I don’t think I do but I have favourite themes, I like books about families and relationships but not necessarily romantic relationships. I also quite like historical fiction but ultimately I enjoy anything that explores the human condition. I tend to avoid Sci-Fi, fantasy, comics etc.

What book have you read the most?

The Great Gatsby, I failed my AS English so I had to re-take the exam, and I studied it for an extra year, It was one of my favourite novels but having read it so many times I feel like the chapters are imprinted onto my eyeballs and I will never need to read it again.

Is there a book you’ve put off reading?

A biography of Agatha Christie by Lucy Worsley that I bought before Christmas last year, I don’t know why I keep putting it off as I am a huge Christie fan but I find I am leaning more toward fiction.

Do you re-read your favourite books?

Sometimes, I usually re-read certain chapters or sections. I have re-read Rachel’s Holiday and Oh My God What A Complete Aisling series by Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen several times as those books bring me a lot of joy and can cheer me up when I am feeling down.

what do you use as a bookmark?

I really try with bookmarks but I tend to misplace them so I dogear my books, which I know is a cardinal sin for some

Do books make you yearn for a life you don’t have (i.e. you can’t achieve a picket fence life like what is in the book)

I will preface this by saying that I read some quite dark stuff so more often than not, I don’t yearn for the lives of the people I read about in the books.

The person who asked this compared it to social media and how it can make you jealous or yearn for a life you don’t have. However, I believe that social media is ultimately an act and we are all taking part.

I don’t post when I am having the worst day of my life, no one does, We all post highlight reels.

We post our drinks with the girls, our day trips to the beach, our nice lunches out or our fabulous holidays.

You don’t see anyone posting a selfie on social media from bed while they are on their seventh episode of Grey’s Anatomy, surrounded by a six-pack of crisps and a share bag of sweets.

Even, when it comes to romance novels, there is always a challenge or an obstacle to overcome within books or else there is no story, no one wants to read a book that has no obstacles and is smooth sailing because we all know that life isn’t like that.

Perhaps, the problem with social media and our attitudes toward it is that social media is showing us a life without obstacles which we all know isn’t real.

Do you have any guilty pleasures, like 50 Shades?

I like a bit of Colleen Hoover for how pacey the books are and how they are quite addictive but I do think some of her books aren’t great from a literary point of view, they are simply not written well. But, if she is an author who will get more people into reading then that can only be a good thing. I will always recommend her to people who want to get into reading as they are page turners and there is no point recommending a pretentious piece of literary fiction if the person won’t be interested in it.

As for 50 Shades, never read it, never want to read it. However, a fun fact for you all is that the author, E.L. James’ husband has a family connection to Fermanagh - I believe he was born here or at least his parents were from here and lived here. I served a table Mrs. James was sitting at during my waitressing days.

How do you make the switch from phone scrolling to reading?

I am as guilty as anyone for scrolling, I usually scroll at night when I am in bed. I think the one thing I do is to charge my phone away from my reach whether that be in another room or on the other side of the room. I don’t use my phone as an alarm which I think helps with that. I also am a big believer in the ‘do not disturb’ button on my phone, especially after 10 p.m.

How are you getting on with the Kindle?

It was a sweet reunion when my maybe 12-year-old Kindle allowed me to log on with an OTP from Amazon last week. It was a last-ditch attempt as a 2022 Kindle model sat in my Amazon basket.

I read the final OMGWACA book on it and it was a treat of a book and a good way to read a new release as I do think the Kindle is more cost-effective on books that are new releases or hardbacks.

I have a lot of physical books to get through before I embrace my Kindle lifestyle. However, I am eyeing up the new Inside Sinn Féin book by Aoife Moore which is likely to find a new home on my Kindle. I am disappointed that you can’t put library books on a Kindle which is a bit of a letdown but this is Mr. Bezoes we are dealing with.

Any tips on reading books that are out of your comfort zone/preferred reading genres?

I think a book club helps or reading alongside a friend. Also, I don’t believe in fighting it, I don’t particularly like fantasy or horror, so I don’t read it. There are millions of books out there in my preferred genres. The same is said for if a book doesn’t suit me or I realise I will never finish it, I put it down. Time is short and there are millions of books to be read that I will enjoy.

Do you write outside of work and any tips for starting?

This is my current capacity for writing outside of work. I would love to be writing some form of fiction but I am currently trying to find a story, I have themes and a topic I want to explore but as of yet, no plot. I will enlighten you all when I find one.

As for tips, all I have ever been told is to read and I will say any form of reading will make you a better writer so read widely and read different genres. I know for a fact my own work whether this newsletter or journalism has a bit more flair and is more interesting when I am reading, whether it is from picking up a turn of phrase or from learning something new or a new point-of-view.

What book has made a lasting impact on you, one that you will never forget?

I recently mentioned A Little Life in an Instagram post and my brain went to there first as it is the most recent book that had an impact on me and a lasting one but there are many books that do that to me.

So, I will use this time to highlight one I don’ t talk about enough. What A Carve Up by Jonathan Coe is a fantastic book that takes aim at a system of government and an ideology.

Taking on Thatcherism in a satire is no mean feat but it gives an insight into how various other interests (banking, the media, the arms trade) can influence power. I first read it in 2016 and thought it was a good State of the Nation novel for both the eighties and the current time period.

While I had read 1984 and Animal Farm, What A Carve Up felt more relevant as it was closer to the reality I knew as to the dystopias created by Orwell. I think it proved to me that fiction can be a powerful way of holding a mirror up to society.

The other book is Rachel’s Holiday by Marian Keyes and how it tackles addiction and mental health in a very compassionate way. I talk about it all the time but I always come back to it. It’s a book about being lost, and then found and I think it’s fabulous.

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I hope that answers some of your burning questions, if there are any more feel free to leave some in the comments below.

I am currently reading Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano and it is blowing my mind, I imagine it will be the subject of the next newsletter but if there are any topics you’d like me to cover, do let me know.