Running With Books Enemy #1: Winter

My apologies for so few posts lately. But I have been quitting just about every book I start. Pillars of the Earth: too long. A Mercy: too literary. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: too many difficult names. Eclipse: too formulaic. The Hemingses of Monticello: too hard. I just can't seem to get into anything. What is wrong with me? Wait a minute...didn't this happen about the same time last year? Let's investigate.... Yes, according to my February 23, 2008 blog post, I was fighting off a reading slump then too. Could this be a pattern? Is it possible that it is winter's fault that I can't stay focused? Could it be that winter is the reason why I'm taking twice as long to finish a book than normal? Blasted winter! Not only do you have to make everything slushy, gray and ugly, ruin my shoes and keep me locked indoors, but now you have to take away the one small pleasure I have? What have I done to deserve such cruelty? Winter, you have not beat me yet. I will push on, with Lauren Willig and Adriana Trigiani, and if all else fails, I will turn to my trusted friend Harry Potter, but I will triumph. And next year, I'm taking a vacation.