Commuting Distractions

Commuters have lots of complaints.  Crowds, noise, smells, rude people, selfish people and delays seem to be the common ones,  For me, however, commuting allows (mostly uninterrupted) time for a variety of hobbies that I classify as commuting distractions.  There are a lot of them, and with each of these blogs I will highlight one of them.

One of best ways to kill time on the commute (and avoid killing your fellow commuters) is reading.  In a good year, when I am not concentrating on other hobbies, when there isn't a strike, when the person beside me isn't bleeding music out of his ears and when I can find books that aren't a slog, I get through about 50 books.  In a bad year, that total is probably 30, probably because I read at home.

Finding books to read is occasionally a challenge.  Yes, I was an English Literature student at university, but I don't always want to read the classics.  My degree may have prepared me for life in the 17th century (and not much else) but that doesn't mean I want to spend all my time there.

Fortunately, most of my friends and family also love to read and they often make great recommendations.  I also, sometimes, make a good guess when judging a book by its cover and discover a great read.

As we are in the 21st Century, I have decided to embrace technology and buy an e-reader.  I haven't used it yet because I have a few books in the queue.  I have the latest Ian Rankin book and people have been urging me to read The Game of Thrones.  When I get through them, I will fire up the e-reader and see where that takes me.  I chose the Kobo because I can access the library catalogue with it.

Loyal readers, if you have any good book recommendations, please list them in the comment section of this blog.  Your help is appreciated.