I would say I read about 2-3 books a month. But I go through months where I am just not in a reading mood. During these months I mainly study text, so I guess I still do a lot of reading during the slow months. I just don't know how some people find the time to read 6 books or more a month.
Not as many as I used to. Especially since I started trying to seriously write, I just don't have the time to sit for uninterrupted blocks of time. It's the one thing I miss about high school; all that free time to ignore them going over stuff I'd read in the textbook in the first week and get some serious reading done. I used to finish a book about every day and a half. Now I'm lucky if I get five or six in a month.
Scattercat how do you pull that off? 5-6 a month. Or rather let me ask you how long does it take you to finsih a 300 paged novel? It takes me about 5 hours. I have so many hobbies, and my work, I just cannot find the time to read more novels. I wish I had a pause-life button.
I think it's just a matter of some people reading faster than others. During the summer, I probably read 1-2 books a week; but with school beginning it'll be much less. Plus, I only worked a very part-time job these past few months. It's more important what people are getting out of their reading; how well they've understood the material. To that end, I recently bought a book that's rather old called How to Read a Book, by Mortimer Adler. I'll post about it later on. The title sounds ridiculous, but the comments by readers on amazon.com intrigued me.
I'd guess that I read 10+ most months. It's something I make time for, and it's easy to get in a few minutes of reading here and there.
Gosh, when I had a steady supply, I think my record was 18 in a month. But they averaged under 500 pages, so it doesn't quite count.
We're supposed to keep track?? I don't bother counting how many books I read or how long it takes to read them. I love reading, but my attention span is horrible. I just try to do some reading every day if I can, and I usually read two books at once. (Right now I'm reading a fantasy serial and a volume of Time-Life's "American Indians" series. I'm going to read every single volume, darn it!) Then when I'm done I go into my room and ponder over which of my scads of books to read next! Finishing a book is always an event for me, whether I'm writing it or reading it.
I think it really depends on my schedule. When I've got nothing happening for a week, I can usually read two or three. Then there are those hectic weeks where I'll be lucky to even crack open the cover of a book.
Those are short books, but still, 30 a day? That is an average of one book a day. That would take up about 5-6 hours of my day. I wish I had that kind of time to dedicate to reading. I could read a 250 page book much faster than 5 hours, but then I would be rushing it, and not enjoying it as much.
It depends on the book. When I was in middle school, I was depressed (probably clinically, but I never got treatment and I got better on my own, so whatev.) Anyway, I was in a real funk and the only thing that made me feel not-like-crap was reading. Specifically, I'd get stuck on particular books or series. At one point it was Howliday Inn, the sequel to Bunnicula. I read it probably four times a day on average; I'd just flip back to the beginning when I finished. Later, it was Robert Aspirin's MYTH series. At the time, there were only nine books or so, but I'd read them all, straight through, every day. Usually finished by dinnertime. (And I basically ignored my classes until they handed me a test paper, which I would fill out and hand back without paying too much attention.) (And still got straight A's, which says more about the public school system than it does about me, frankly.) Those were all light, fluffy books in the 200 to 300 page range. One a day could be done, it just means that every night you're spending several hours reading. (Probably better than watching television. At least it triggers more parts of the brain.)
Scatter cat, yes books are better than TV. Funny thing is I don't even watch TV, haven't for years. I do download some TV series online though, so no commercials. Like Smallville, Battlestar Galactica, Dexter, Reaper, and others. Even then I don't get much time to watch them. Also because of my ADD it is easier for me to listen to a novel, while playing a video game, (TV sound off) than it is to read a book. I can only remain comfortable for so long when reading, and my thoughts wonder too much, then I have to go back and re-read a page. Very few times in my life has a book been so good I was able to read 200 words in one setting. I sure had to shuffle around a lot. Question: How do you remain comfortable while reading a book for prolonged periods of time? Do you lay down, sit in a chair, or what? A floating book would be awsome.
Well, when I was reading several books per day, I usually read constantly. Sitting, standing, walking, eating, whatever. I generally don't have a lot of trouble sitting for a long time, though. I'm fairly lethargic, even at the best of times. I'll shift position, sure, but I don't feel the urge to get up and move around.
Not to break your momentum, but I'm just going to insert myself in here really quickly. I'm more into films than novels, actually. I get some sort of emotional high after watching a great film more than I would reading a really great novel. Maybe it's the background music - I don't know. Novels take a lot more time to invest in, so I tend to read 1 - 2 novels every month or so. I do this often, though I somehow I still end up with a max of 2 novels per month. I guess, I should stop re-reading lines. (I doubt I'll stop).
For me, it actually depends on my boyfriend. My work schedule doesn't matter, because I do all my reading at night. I don't mind going to work on one or two hours of sleep, if it allows me to finish a good book. Nope, it's my boyfriend. He makes me do stuff. Going out with friends, playing tennis, swimming, going to the gym, playing pool. It really cuts into my reading time. The only time I can ever get any serious reading done is when he is also reading a book. And I read much faster than him, so I can usually finish three or four books in the time it takes him to read one. This summer, I think I was averaging 8-10 books a month. I didn't really keep track. Right now, in addition to having to play tennis and all that nonsense that he makes me do, I'm also really into a story that I'm working on. So, I don't think I've cracked open a book in a couple weeks.
Man, I'm the same way. If I'm stressed out or depressed, I just read and read. It helps me get away from my problems. Which probably isn't healthy...but hey, at least it isn't alcohol.
woah. i get through about 5-6 a week. (about 400-600 pages) but i read incredibly quickly so, you know. I have a lot of time though, (when i'm not doing gcse course work or revising)
Yeah I do this too. I read when walking about, doing stuff around the house but I nearly always listen to music when I read. Anyone else do that?
Unfortunately, I just don't have time to read much. I get up at half seven, go to school, come home, have tea, take a shower, spend a while on here and my other forum, go out with my friends, come home, have supper, watch my favourite show on TV, and go to bed. As result, I'm lucky if I get through two books a month. I'd love to have more time to read, though.
I'm in the 3-4 a week club; however, when I'm in a reading mood, that number significantly rises. I went to the library on Saturday and since then I've read at least five books by now (Wednesday). I could probably have another four or five done by Saturday, if I so chose.
People have always said that I read fast, I guess that's why. I don't have to take 5 hours to read a book to enjoy it, approx 1 1/2 - 2 hours is usually enough. Sitting is by far the best position (I think). In a way it does, but it also depends on how fast the reader reads. True, some books take longer to read, but it usually just takes me concentrating more.
Not enough! Beginning to think I'm deprived! I'll vary between 3-6 a month. Work takes up most of my precious and valuable time. On holiday I'll read 4 in a week but I don't think I can carry that number through to 'normal' life.
This summer I've been reading 7-8 a month, normally a couple of hours each day. When I go back to uni, I don't know how much I'll be reading. Last year it was 1-2 per month (but then, after reading judgments for hours a day, then reading the commentaries before preparing for seminars, I was normally pretty sick of reading very dry material, meaning I only really read at weekends). This year is a different arrangement, so with all the time I'll spend on trains I'm not sure what I'll do. I'll always have a book with me though - as I have for a very long time.
