How many books have you read this year? What are your practices?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:31 so far. I read a lot more last year because it was the year I quit drinking and found that I needed something to distract myself and fill my time. I do count my audiobooks, because my “me time” away from my kids is doing a hike in rock creek park while listening to an audiobook. I always have an audiobook going (usually nonfiction), a kindle library book (usually fiction), and two physical books (one each of fiction and nonfiction). I also like to mix up my fiction reading between lighter and more literary books.

I used to be able to sit and read a book for hours, but I get so distracted now. I think it’s my phone usage - I’m much less able to concentrate for long periods of time. It’s sad - I’m thinking of making my phone a “dumb phone” in the new year to fix my phone habits so I can better settle into a book.

I often set my phone on silent and leave it in another room. That takes away the temptation to keep checking it.

[Anonymous]

I must say that I'm a little jealous of all you audiobook people.

I'm a text person and they just don't work for me. Same with podcasts--requires a kind of extended focus my brain doesn't have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:31 so far. I read a lot more last year because it was the year I quit drinking and found that I needed something to distract myself and fill my time. I do count my audiobooks, because my “me time” away from my kids is doing a hike in rock creek park while listening to an audiobook. I always have an audiobook going (usually nonfiction), a kindle library book (usually fiction), and two physical books (one each of fiction and nonfiction). I also like to mix up my fiction reading between lighter and more literary books.

I used to be able to sit and read a book for hours, but I get so distracted now. I think it’s my phone usage - I’m much less able to concentrate for long periods of time. It’s sad - I’m thinking of making my phone a “dumb phone” in the new year to fix my phone habits so I can better settle into a book.

I often set my phone on silent and leave it in another room. That takes away the temptation to keep checking it.

Thanks this is a great idea - I’ve been thinking my phone needs a “home” in my house. It’s current home is wherever I am, which seems excessive!

[Anonymous]

67 so far, will probably finish 1-2 more. Two of those were audiobooks, both memoirs. I find that seeing it will take 11 hours to listen is a deterrent, according to my kindle I usually read a book in about 3.

I read before bed - 30ish minutes, when I have insomnia, if I'm picking up the kids, or at gymnastics. I have 3 library cards that allow access to ebooks, I always have my holds maxed out. The wait times can be long, but if too many come off hold at the same time I'll let it go to the next person and then come back to me.

[Anonymous]

53 so far and will probably end the year around 56. I read for 30-60 minutes every evening, watch less than a half hour of tv a week, and will read for hours at a time on a calm weekends (and I try to keep my weekends calm). About three of these are audiobooks that I listened to on dog walks, but I am not that into audiobooks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I must say that I'm a little jealous of all you audiobook people.

I'm a text person and they just don't work for me. Same with podcasts--requires a kind of extended focus my brain doesn't have.

Same with me. I’m just not wired for audio.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone feel guilty for reading in the middle of the day? It feels so “selfish” when I could be doing so many other things.

[Anonymous]

I'm on book 45. My goal is 48, which I'm not sure if I'll hit this year. This is about half of what I normally read, but I took a new in office position, that has greatly reduced my free time.

I read on weekends, and a few hours during the week. During vacation times I can read about 4 books a week, so that's when I make up for lost time. So really my pace is about one book every two weeks during the majority of the year.

[Anonymous]

It'm at 61, but one of them was the stories of WEB Debois, which was 900 pages. Mostly audiobook and I listen while driving, cooking, cleaning, etc. I don't watch tv.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone feel guilty for reading in the middle of the day? It feels so “selfish” when I could be doing so many other things.

What else should you be doing that you are not while reading?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't keep track and I do a lot of rereading and when not super tired writing. New books? Probably 10 or so. Total read/reread/written is a lot more. Although lower than usual because I had a new baby this year and that always wipes out my ability to focus until I wean for some reason.

I do not know why, but I cannot re-read a book. I've tried for reading challenges, and my brain is like, "oh yeah, that's what happens," Then it refuses to read any further. I was really committed to finishing the reading challenge, and the best I could do was skim chapters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone feel guilty for reading in the middle of the day? It feels so “selfish” when I could be doing so many other things.

No, but I have an office job and I close my door for 30 minutes at lunch and I sit in one of my guest chairs to read and eat in peace.

I'm seriously considering bumping it up to a traditional hour lunch next year. I might leave the office and read outside while I eat, too. I ate while working at my desk for most of my life. I decided not to be workaholic and be good to myself.

Everyone needs to take breaks, even if they aren't in a traditional office. Maybe you can start with 15 minutes or something. It's creating a little ritual during your day and I think it's part of taking care of yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't keep track and I do a lot of rereading and when not super tired writing. New books? Probably 10 or so. Total read/reread/written is a lot more. Although lower than usual because I had a new baby this year and that always wipes out my ability to focus until I wean for some reason.

I do not know why, but I cannot re-read a book. I've tried for reading challenges, and my brain is like, "oh yeah, that's what happens," Then it refuses to read any further. I was really committed to finishing the reading challenge, and the best I could do was skim chapters.

I have a comfort series that makes me so happy. I wind up reading the entire series in the weeks before the new one comes out each year. I love it.

But there are other books that I can't imagine reading ever again. It's why I mostly use the library. The only books I own are my absolute favs. Sometimes I grab one just to read a particular scene I love.

[Anonymous]

I've read 76 books this year and will probably finish a few more. I don't read audiobooks, they just don't work for me. I like to read two books at once, which means I always have something going that I feel like picking up. And when I finish one, I can continue on with the other if I'm not positive what I want to read next. I read in the evening (I'm not a TV/movie watcher), but I also have occasional downtime at work that I read during. Goodreads tracks page count, and I usually average about 80 pages a day over the year. I like that they track that because I do read a lot of long books.

I get most new releases from the library for my kindle and just work the wait lists. I buy maybe 20 books a year new, and I also shop the library book sales.

To the person who asked about long books - I love long books. I feel I can really sink into them. Some of my favorite long books are classics like Middlemarch, any Trollope novel (I've read about 18 of his), Anna Karenina, and the ultimate long book - Remembrance of Time Past by Proust. That I read over an entire year and I loved it. I definitely want to reread it at some point.

The only really long contemporary novel I can think of that I've read was Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellman and I thought it was fantastic. It's experimental, so you have to put a little effort in, but it was really memorable.

[Anonymous]

So far 80 and will probably read 4-5 more before the end of the year - have the last week of the year off work so lots of time to read. I read a mix of fiction and nonfiction. I especially love 19th literature, murder mysteries and detective fiction, magical realism, and history (bonus if it’s written by historians rather than journalists). And Faulkner. I adore Faulkner.

I mostly read ebooks on my phone or physical books. I can’t do audio books; my attention drifts too much.