How long does it take to read a book?

So, how long does it take Donna to read a book?

Well, generally, and blessedly, I am nearly a speed reader. As a matter of fact, I distinctly remember my first grade teacher, Mrs. Hunt, asking me to slow down during reading group because the other children could not keep up with me.

Later, and one of the ONLY times I got in trouble in high school, my English teacher fussed at me for not knowing where the current reader was at and not being able to pick up where the previous reader left off. Actually, I had already read to the end of the page and beyond, because the one thing I could not stand to do at that time was to be forced to read along silently while others read aloud.

I am not much more agreeable to the prospect now. But I digress . . .

I am currently in the throes of reading through Sara Donati's Wilderness Series. I wrote about the first book in the series, Into the Wilderness, and how much I loved it here. The other books have been good, but at times have lagged, only to pick up later so that I could not put them down. The story is generational, which means that now I am reading about the children of the hero and heroine in that first book.

And so it was that in the June 2020 I picked up book #4, Fire Along the Sky. Yes, that was nearly nine months ago.

I finally finished it last week. Geesh - I am embarrassed to even write this blog . . .

I will say, I bought a house in July of 2020 and spent the summer and fall moving into the new house and working to prepare the old one to sell. In between, I worked on The Brooch and the Dugal McQueen rewrite of Metes & Bounds I. In between, I would pick up the book - but it's hard to know what's going on and to get into a story when you are so sporadically reading.

And then, I realized this past fall, after I had finished moving and the other house was up for sale, and after I was finally feeling not only more like my old self, but my old-old self before I was married - how much I DO enjoy reading. It has always been one of my favorite things to do. And so, I determined to set aside some time every day, or every few days, to do so. I picked up Fire Along the Sky and started reading.

And Fire Along the Sky was a really good book. I can't say one way or the other if earlier parts in the book dragged because I was reading so inconsistently. The last half, however, was really great. It was suspenseful. Donati tied up a few loose ends but started a few more leading into Book 5, Queen of Swords. The timeline of the series moved into the War of 1812, a little enough written about time in most historical fiction.

If you like long historical sagas, and not only is this a six book series but each book is long as well, you will love the Donati books. You will have to dedicate some time to reading them, which bothers me not at all. I like reading books where the characters become like old friends.

And now - onto a few books for research while writing The Brooch, and then, on to Queen of Swords. Hopefully, this one will not take me as long to read. If it does, you won't find me telling on myself this time . . .