Reading for Fun

I have been doing a lot of "reading for fun" lately, which is good because it stimulates my mind and really gets me thinking about my own book. I take a half hour or so during lunch and open the book I am on or while I am waiting to operate the catch cart for my dad in the field, I flip on the overhead light in the tractor and find my dog-eared start page. I've never had a chance to read much before this. College was overloaded with reading for all my classes (hence this being titled "reading for fun")... and quite honestly, as a child, I hated to read. (And now I want to write novels so other people can read them? Weird, I know!) So this has been a pleasant change for me. But since normally, I don't have this extra time to read, you will more than likely never EVER catch me reading the same book over again. I mean, I'm limited, and I am not going to waste my time on a book when I already know how it is going to end. However, just last night, I started a book that I thought I'd never read before. Turns out, I have... but by the time I realized this, I was so engrossed in the storyline and characters, I decided to keep reading anyway. And I kind of decided that I think this is what makes a good book AND a good writer... when you can't put it down, even when you know you know you've read it before or it's two hours past your bedtime or a half hour late coming back from your lunch break (Oops!). I hope my book can do that for people. I hope my book can be either so emotionally stimulating and interesting that my readers can't put it down... or so wonderfully well-written that readers must read it again!

P.S. I've set a goal for myself regarding my own book. I want to have my book done and sent into a publisher by my five year high school class reunion next spring. Why then? Two reasons. I need a reasonable timeline to work with so I push myself to get it done. And two: I want to be able to say I've accomplished something in my life since high school. Okay three reasons: And so I can brag! :)