GP: So Much to Read, So Little Time by Peter Kelley!

Author Bio:
Peter is the author of the young-adult novel, Paraglide. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife, two daughters and a cranky nineteen-year old cat named Brownie. He graduated from American University with a Master's degree in International Relations. When he's not writing he loves travel, biking and watching soccer.

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So Much to Read, So Little Time
By Peter Kelley
The pile of books on my nightstand is an avalanche waiting to happen; novels, histories and memoirs threatening to engulf me at any moment in a flutter of paper and ink. Dozens more wait on a nearby bookshelf. And then there are the recommendations: my daughter’s new favorite, an author friend’s latest manuscript, the newspaper pick of the week, Amazon’s ‘if you liked this…’ Over 200,000 new books are published each year in the US alone. It’s a wonder I ever found time to scribble out my debut novel, Paraglide. So is there really any time to revisit my old faves? How can I justify rereading that novel I devoured ten years ago? Any time spent on the old means one less chance to discover a new classic.

I’ve never treated books like that old movie I’m content to watch again and again. I can list on one hand the titles I’ve read more than once. One of the greatest joys of reading (and of writing!) is the delicious anticipation, the pleasure of discovering what a character will do next. That joy is tempered a bit when you’ve already covered the ground.

Yet many people don’t share this opinion. A fan of the Hunger Games has been rereading the series every month in preparation for the movie version. The well worn pages of an old girlfriend’s D.H. Lawrence novel attested to its enduring allure. A good friend goes from THE END to chapter one as though she were on a circular conveyor belt, proclaiming she sees something new each go around.

Am I missing something here? I admit enjoying The Lord of the Rings just as much fifteen years after I first cracked open the pages back in Myrtle G. Schumann Elementary, but how many of those can there be? What do you think? Why or why wouldn’t you reread a book? How long do you wait? What old favorites deserve a new look? I can think of dozens of the top of my head. The only problem is the nightstand. That tower of books is already looking a bit unsteady.

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I hope you all enjoyed the guest post. I'm sure Peter and I would both love to hear what you have to say and think on the subject. And while you are at it, be sure to check out his YA book, Paraglide, which sounds totally amazing and is currently in my review pile. :D

Buy for only $2.99!


Synopsis For siblings Jim and Erica Winters, a summer vacation to London promises adventure and a bit of freedom from their overprotective mother. But once they arrive, they end up with more excitement than they bargained for. Their mother is kidnapped and her captors demand the one thing they can’t produce – their long-absent father.

Unable to trust the authorities, Jim and Erica set off in pursuit of their father, racing across Europe and fending off mysterious assailants. As the trail of clues dries up, help arrives in the form of a raven-haired beauty. Is she the answer to their prayers or a romantic distraction?

With the kidnapper’s deadline looming, the truth about their father’s shadowy past is revealed. In a last ditch effort to save their mother, Jim and Erica must climb high into the Swiss Alps where a perilous choice confronts them. Can they trust their father who has repeatedly betrayed them? Their family's survival may depend on it.