How much do you read?

[Quasimodal]

Pretty simple; how much do you read and what do you read? Also how much do you think it adds to your personality?

I read alot, but mostly short term things like newspaper articles, magazine articles and web articles. I suppose I gravitate to news items and somewhat forgettable items like straight dope threads (I just mean they never seem to be relevent to me outside of the dope)

I read about 3 - 5 books a year it seems. I wish that number was higher. I enjoy reading documentary books and popular fiction that is critically acclaimed. No fantasy or disposable reading.

I feel like I'm not that well read, even though I know good writing when I read it. I don't seem to add a whole lot to conversations.

[Markxxx]

I don't read nearly as much in the last five years, 'cause I've needed reading glasses and I used to read mostly in bed. So I can't lie on the pillow and read (I lie on my side).

I did find books on tapes, I love them. I use them when I hit the gym and now that I walk to and from the gym, I use them then too.

It's a great way to "read" all those books you've been meaning to read but never got around to.

[Anaamika]

It waxes and wanes but I almost always am reading something. Last few months I've been hungry so I've been going to the library every 2 weeks on the dot, borrowing 7-8 books, mostly reading them all, then going back for more. I don't know how long this will last.

As for what it does for me? Mostly it just entertains me and makes me think. And that's good enough for me!

[Dung Beetle]

If allowed to, I would probably read for about seven hours a day. In reality, many days I don’t get to crack open a book at all. But I do it as much as I can. According to my Goodreads list, last year I got through 76 books, plus four I’d read before, and eight audiobooks.

I read books mostly (non-fiction and fiction, including young adult books). I don’t generally use precious reading time on newspapers or magazines, unless that’s all that’s available. The audiobooks I listen to as I drive to and from work.

[Lakai]

I read a lot, but on the book front, I will read around ten a year.

Right now most of my days are spent reading political news and law books. I read so much that when I get a headache that prevents me from reading I feel like I have nothing to do.

[Lissla Lissar]

A lot. It's hard to quantify. I re-read a lot. We're packing to move right now, and packing the books is making me slightly claustrophobic, because I might need to read something we've already packed! Last week I took out from the library and re-read five YA books I'd read when I was about ten, and a Lynn Flewelling fantasy trilogy.

Impact on personality? Well, what I talk about is largely books or internet based. Does it improve my personality? I dunno. In what way? I read food writing, theology, some philosophy, a lot of fantasy, some classics.

I don't know how many new books I read a year. It varies a lot, probably between 50-100. I probably read in excess of 200 a year if you count the constant re-reading (I've just started re-reading Gilead, Anne of Green Gables [I'm reading it aloud to my husband and a friend] and the Detective Chen mystery series).

Reading is pretty much like eating or breathing to me. I get twitchy without books.

[Dung Beetle]

Lissla, I discovered the origin of your username just a couple of weeks ago while reading.

[Sigmagirl]

I read from 10 to 12 hours a day, four to seven books a week.

[corkboard]

Due to work, commuting, kids' homework and family time, home projects, and spending quality time with my wife, I have maybe 90 minutes of time a day, maximum, that I could devote to reading. Unfortunately, most of the time I don't use that time reading. I really enjoy getting involved in a good book- most of what I read when I read is non-fiction- but it's really hard to find the time consistently. So what happens is one week I'll read for 3 consecutive days, then because of schedules and other issues it'll be 1.5 or 2 weeks before I can do it again, so I have to back up and remind myself what was happening, then proceed. It's the 'one step back, two steps up' approach.

Whenever I read one of the threads about how the voracious readers express such disdain for people who don't read, I keep thinking "when do you find the oppurtunity? don't you have other demands on your time?"

ETA: Sigmagirl, for instance- how is that even possible?

[gigi]

I read for up to an hour each night when I go to bed. I tend to read novels about realistic human drama, set in different times and places. It's kind of an escape to different realities of what life could have been like. I don't know that it adds to my personality; it's more of a private thing that expands my imagination.

And a beautiful turn of phrase is satisfying just on its own as something to reread and savor.

[filling_pages]

I average a book a week. For the past year and a half, as a sort of personal challenge, I've read almost nothing but dystopian fiction. When I started, I thought this would wind up feeling very narrow, but it turns out to have led to me several classics I never picked up, incredible authors I would not otherwise have bothered with, and a series or two that were otherwise under my radar. It got me out of a fantasy/sf rut, actually.

http://epicdystopia.blogspot.com

[3:20:59 or bust]

Originally Posted by corkboard

Due to work, commuting, kids' homework and family time, home projects, and spending quality time with my wife, I have maybe 90 minutes of time a day, maximum, that I could devote to reading. Unfortunately, most of the time I don't use that time reading. I really enjoy getting involved in a good book- most of what I read when I read is non-fiction- but it's really hard to find the time consistently. So what happens is one week I'll read for 3 consecutive days, then because of schedules and other issues it'll be 1.5 or 2 weeks before I can do it again, so I have to back up and remind myself what was happening, then proceed. It's the 'one step back, two steps up' approach.

Whenever I read one of the threads about how the voracious readers express such disdain for people who don't read, I keep thinking "when do you find the oppurtunity? don't you have other demands on your time?"

ETA: Sigmagirl, for instance- how is that even possible?

Oh, it's possible. I read a couple of books a week, every week. I read on the bus, I read during my lunch, I read 30-60 minutes in bed before I go to sleep.

Most of the time, I don't even have to ignore my two kids to get my reading in...most of the time.

[Sigmagirl]

It's possible. I read while waiting for manuscripts to download at my job. I read while watching TV. I read at stoplights. I read while cooking and doing laundry. I read in bed. I read while walking the dogs. And I am a very, very fast reader.

[Crotalus]

I subscribe to four magazines (National Review, The New Republic, Vintage Guitar and Fretboard Journal) and read those when they come. I read a couple of news and opinion aggregation sites and SDMB pretty much every day. I read books every night, for at least an hour and sometimes much more, depending on what else is going on. I would guess I average about 4 books per week. On a typical trip to the library, I will borrow a couple of popular fiction books, a non-fiction book on science, music, sports, politics or biography, and some classic piece of literature that is on my list of "books I should have read but haven't".

[Ephemera]

I used to average one to three books a week when I was a kid and teen, but I probably read six to ten books a year now. Most of it's generally genre fiction, though I tend to supplement it with one or two non-fiction books.

Being a sci-fi nerd and generalized geek, it constitutes a not-insignificant part of my personality, and media -- books, movies, music, etc -- was what the friendship with one of my best friends was initially built on.

[Alice The Goon]

As for books, I read a few pages every night before going to sleep, so I go through them pretty slowly- maybe one or two a month. But I'm constantly reading anything I can get my hands on during the day. Magazines, posters, cereal boxes, the internet, you name it. If it has words, I'll read it. I crave reading and love it, and I have since age 4.

[overlyverbose]

Daily at work: New York Times, Wall Street Journal, BBC.com, Washington Post, Fark.com headlines, SDMB, health policy updates (various thinktanks, non-profit orgs, etc.), government healthcare updates, media clips, other people's work (including my boss's, marketing materials, reports, etc.)

Daily at home or on breaks: My "bathroom" book (read while brushing my teeth or putting on makeup in the morning, my "bed" book (read for about a half hour in bed before sleeping; also doubles as my "treadmill" book when I don't feel like moving fast), my "car" book (read during lunch hour in my car so I can be alone), whatever my son wants me to read to him (at least once a day before bedtime, but I'll read to him more or less anytime he wants to unless I can't)

Weekly at home: the New Yorker, my own freelance work

Monthly at home: Four other magazines (I think I get Real Simple, Women's Health, Self and will about monthly borrow a copy of my husband's Economist, but when I get home I'm usually tapped out on business reading)

As it becomes available at work: updated legislation

As necessary: older legislation to compare against updated legislation and lobby briefs, other people's summaries of legislation

I'd say I spend about 10 hours a day reading. I get paid well for most of it; the reading I do on my own or with my son is well worth the cost of reading material.

[Covered_In_Bees!]

Elaine: ... he reads.
Jerry: I read.
Elaine: Books Jerry.
Jerry: Oh, big deal!

That is all.

[Aangelica]

I read approximately the same number of books a week as Sigmagirl - between four and seven, depending on the books and the week.

This is helped out by the fact that I have a 70 - 75 minute commute everyday via commuter railroad and subway. Plenty of time for reading when I don't have any other real demands on my time. I also read in bed for a few minutes before I fall asleep, during commercials if my husband doesn't fast forward them, while hanging out in the living room with my husband while he's watching something I don't care enough to follow closely (ball game, UFC, one of the shows he enjoys and I don't), etc. I read while standing in line for lunch, during downtime while preparing meals, basically anytime I have a spare minute, I break out a book. I am essentially never without a book near at hand. There are books on virtually every flat surface in my home.

I also generally have somewhere between two and four books started at any given time. For example, right now I have the book in my purse (along with a backup book in case I finish the first book), the book on my nightstand and the book in my bathroom - all of which I've started reading. The ones in my bathroom and on my nightstand tend to be re-reads (I re-read often - I'm always finding something new or different even in old favorites, and I find re-reading an old favorite book immensely comforting) or short-story compilations - better suited to short time period reading. The bathroom book at the moment is a re-read on a mystery novel I've read a couple of times and enjoyed and the bedroom book is a short-story compilation featuring several favorite authors.

Also, I read somewhere around 200 pages per hour unless what I'm reading is particularly dense. So I tend to chug through most books in a day or two. 200 pages an hour and two and a half hours of commuting via railroad every day runs you through a lot of books in fairly short order. On weekends or vacations, I read even more - on my most recent vacation, I was making it through two or three books a day and still had plenty of time for vacation activities with my husband, parents, brother and niece and nephew.

[Alice The Goon]

Who here has been accused of being one of those "book readers" (in a non-ironic, serious and somewhat hostile way)? Show of hands? As if were a bad thing.

[Silver Tyger]

I used to read a lot more - in Junior High and High School I could read two novels a day (read during class and then one at home). The internet has cut down on that a lot.

I tend to enjoy short stories a lot more than novels these days. I also read comics (web and print, well, scans), blogs, forums (duh), and a couple of magazines. I tend to gravitate towards science fiction and fantasy. Growing up reading the stuff I did was a major influence on how I view people and the world (polyamory? A-ok. What do you do with aliens? Treat them nicely. Science? Is awesome. Thanks Heinlein.)

I have a hard time reading lately, because almost all my books are in storage. But I keep buying more. It's scary.

[EmAnJ]

I read every night for an hour before I go to sleep, though it seems I may have to cut this out. I actually cried when I started thinking that I might have to give up reading before bed.

Other then that I read all day long, but it's for work, not for pleasure.

I probably read 4 or 5 novels a month, anything from Sophie Kinsella to Margaret Mitchel.

[Alice The Goon]

Originally Posted by EmAnJ

I read every night for an hour before I go to sleep, though it seems I may have to cut this out. I actually cried when I started thinking that I might have to give up reading before bed.

Gasp! Why on earth would you have to give up reading before bed?!

[Never Say Dice]

I manage about a book a week, always a mix of mysteries and non-fiction.
I read two newspapers online every day.
Both give me things to talk about with family, and make me smarter in general conversations.

[EmAnJ]

Originally Posted by Alice The Goon

Gasp! Why on earth would you have to give up reading before bed?!

I don't have enough time to anymore.

I'm stuck, because I love reading, but I also love getting at least 7 hours of sleep a night. I'm busy enough that my bedtime has been pushed almost an hour later then usual, so it's either less reading or less sleep.

[Eleanor of Aquitaine]

I usually read 2 or 3 books a week, about 120 books a year. Mostly novels. If I didn't have a job and a husband and kids, I'd read more.

I think my obsession with reading has made me rather reclusive. Sometimes I have to force myself to go out and do something else. We're going out to the lake on Saturday with some friends, and right now it sounds like a great idea, but I guarantee you that when I walk out the door on Saturday, it won't be without a wistful glance at my half-finished book.

[Dung Beetle]

Originally Posted by corkboard

Whenever I read one of the threads about how the voracious readers express such disdain for people who don't read, I keep thinking "when do you find the oppurtunity? don't you have other demands on your time?"

Yeah, you’ve seen the thread with everyone saying they wouldn’t date a hardcore gamer? Well, I do feel that if I read as much as I wanted to, my husband would be upset, and rightly so. As it is, he’s nearly always doing something productive, and I can’t comfortably sit on my duff and read when I know he’s in the next room unloading the dishwasher.
I don’t read in the bathroom, or while sitting at stoplights, or just before bed, because I will not stop. When reading, I go on until forcibly interrupted.

[Glory]

I average about two books a week. I'd read more if I had more time. I crave reading, sometimes.

I use the library almost exclusively. I generally read fiction. I used to be a huge fan of fantasy/sci fi but I'm not sure if the books have changed or I have changed, I just can't get in to them like I used to. I like non fiction too, particularly books about survival or healthy eating.

[TheFaerie]

Originally Posted by Alice The Goon

Who here has been accused of being one of those "book readers" (in a non-ironic, serious and somewhat hostile way)? Show of hands? As if were a bad thing.

Me, although I haven't read much for sevaral years until recently. I've read more books in the last 6 months than I have in the last 4 years or so. But when I was growing up, I read all the time, constantly. I was picked on for reading alot in my sixth grade class by my fellow classmates, and it was an advanced placement type class, not one where you would think it would be weird to be a nerdy reader type.

[gwendee]

I'm enjoying thinking about this, and a little saddened to think I don't read as much as I'd like to. I haven't missed an episode of Hell's Kitchen this season, and don't feel remotley enriched by it, so shoudlnt' I be reading then, instead.

A reason I can't give a number of books per week or month is that (and this is only recent) I don't necessarily finish every book I start. At the ripe old age of 40ish I am finally able to simply stop reading a book that doesn't grab me in the first 3 or 4 chapters.

At the beginning of the summer I figured out how to take advantage of free audio books from my local library and listen at work. I typically listen to books I've already read though. I can listen but can't always concentrate on the book. If I listen to something unfamiliar, when my brain reengages I find myself wondering "Wait, who's speaking now? Are they still at the restaurant?"

I read the Bible most mornings - I try for 20 - 30 minutes. In the evenings I have been reading about 30 minutes. When I didn't have TV in the house it was 2.5 hours or more a night. I don't think my husband or son will want to give that a try.

[Khadaji]

I read daily and have three categories going at all times. Sometimes more than one book in a category too.

1. For fun: Usually a fantasy, spy or murder mystery
2. "Deeper" reading: This is a very nebulously defined. It can be a self-help book, a new age/new age-ish book, a book on religion or on furthering my career.
3. Tech. I write software for a living and almost always have something from the software/tech world going at all times.

I read almost a book a week between all 3 of those things. Sometimes I read much more, sometimes I won't read for days.

[Chefguy]

A lot now that I'm retired and have a Kindle. I'm going through one or two books a week (if they're fiction), a bit less for non-fiction.

[Nzinga, Seated]

Originally Posted by Alice The Goon

Who here has been accused of being one of those "book readers" (in a non-ironic, serious and somewhat hostile way)? Show of hands? As if were a bad thing.

That is some seriously dumb ass shit. How often has this actually happened to you?

[Alice The Goon]

Only a couple of times, really. Nowadays I don't hang out much with dumb people, but in the past I've been known to be thrown in somewhere with them, like at lower-end jobs. At times, being smart makes you an outcast, you know.

[jsgoddess]

Looks like I've read 103 books so far this year. That's a little misleading, since probably a half a dozen of those were unfinished when I gave up on them.

In 2007 I read 115 books, and in 2008 117, so I'm way ahead of my average. I guess that's what happens when a reader doesn't have anyone around to talk to anymore.

I read at mealtimes and bedtime, occasionally at work.

[Clothahump]

I read voraciously. I usually have 3-5 books going at a time: bedside table, next to the computer, in my briefcase, etc. I'm working on building my 4th library; I am NOT going to lose this one like I have the others, and I'm probably up to close to 1000 books in it already.

[Nzinga, Seated]

Originally Posted by Alice The Goon

Only a couple of times, really. Nowadays I don't hang out much with dumb people, but in the past I've been known to be thrown in somewhere with them, like at lower-end jobs. At times, being smart makes you an outcast, you know.

Well, some of the smartest people I know work low-end jobs. As a matter of fact, the smartest man I ever met in my life has no job at all, unless you count sketching portraits on the street for a few bucks a pop.

But, that opinion comes from a middle-school drop out, so; grain of salt. I really am posting to say, if someone ever put anyone down, in my earshot, for reading a book, that would be the sole time I would allow myself to call someone a fucking idiot, right to their face.

[Cyn]

...how much do you read and what do you read?
I read daily...I have to maintain my RN and my job requires a lot of reading to keep current with vaccination updates and such. I also research diseases and birth defects my clients suffer from and I read to escape on my lunch----sci-fi, romance, mysteries. I keep paperbacks in my car. I sometimes read the paper at home and whatever bestseller is lying around.
One of the better things about earning my RN and getting a good job is being able to go to Borders whenever I want and buy books.

Also how much do you think it adds to your personality?

I know a LOT of trivia!

[WordMan]

Originally Posted by Alice The Goon

Who here has been accused of being one of those "book readers" (in a non-ironic, serious and somewhat hostile way)? Show of hands? As if were a bad thing.

Not quite that - but I get busted on by my family regularly for reading while I watch TV with them: "Dad - come on! Watch with us" "I *am* watching <shares latest plot point>" "But, but - THAT DOESN'T COUNT - you're reading!"

I am a senior executive at my company - with all that implies requiring investment of time and energy. I cook dinner for my family most nights. I am mildly interested in music and guitars (for those of you who know me: ).

I still read whenever possible. 3 mags a week (New Yorker, Entertainment Weekly and NYTimes Weekly), a couple of monthlies, the weekend NY Times papers. In terms of books - well, I used to read a couple of novels a week, but I am finding novels harder these days - so many aren't worth the investment of my scarce time (sorry, but that's what it comes down to, practically). I don't find formulaic novels satisfying and many "lit" books are more about flash and technique than substance. But I probably read 2 books a week - philosophy, science for the masses, music memoirs, etc...and novels when the right one grabs me.

Just finished a bio of Jeff Beck (guitar player) last night and picked up Your Inner Fish (tracing how humans retain evolutionary characteristics all the way back - by Shubin, I believe)...

[Katriona]

Originally Posted by Nzinga, Seated

That is some seriously dumb ass shit. How often has this actually happened to you?

I used to work with people who were proud of the fact that they didn't read anything. At a school district.

[LVBoPeep]

Growing up I was always reading- especially in school. I learned to be really sneaky about it and one teacher told my mother (many years after I was in his class) that he gave up trying to catch me at it because if he gave me a question in class, even with my nose buried in the book, I always had the correct answer.

I can blame the internet for my cut back in reading, plus a really bad rash of buying horrible books that I really resented paying for. So I went from 1-2 books a week to having a re-read in the bathroom or night stand and maybe 3 new books a year. That was until I re-discovered the library. It ROCKS!! Our library is not the library I grew up with- the one that you had to wait 3 months to get a decent newer book. It helps that I was inactive for so long, so I have the last 10 years of new books to read and all I have to do is request them and pick them up. If I don't like a book, shrug- it was free. FREE!! That's how I feel now .

So I'm up to a book ever 2 weeks, with still my re-read in the bathroom. I love to read while BBQing especially, and I read at lunch and before bed. I pick grilling recipes on maximum reading time capacity LOL.

I have to be friendly and outgoing in my job, which does go against my basic personality. Growing up I would much rather read than interact with classmates. One of my earliest school memories was faking a sick note so I could spend recess in the library and not the playground. I have times where I just want to be left alone with my books and could conceive of being imprisoned with a ton of books and not being too put out about it . As long as they were decent books...

[silvermist]

I read a lot. For years I read only non-fiction, but then I lived in a community where the neighbors wouldn't talk to you unless you had lived there for a year, so I got into novels for entertainment and realized that you can learn quite a bit because the authors research so much of the detail. It also stimulates my imagination so I enjoy fiction more now. Mostly I like courtroom and medical thrillers because I worked in the legal field and for a hospital so I'm familiar with terminology and procedures. After all that I've seen, some of these tales are quite believable.

When I moved into a large apartment complex, I was ostracized for reading in the sun, on the patio. It was considered bad manners. I was supposed to sit with the groups who liked to belabor what they had for supper last night and gossip about the other tenants. Didn't stop me from reading though.

[EmAnJ]

This brings up something else - how do you read more then one book at a time? I only ever read one at a time (not counting magazines, etc.). I like to keep focus on the book I'm reading!

[Covered_In_Bees!]

Originally Posted by Katriona

I used to work with people who were proud of the fact that they didn't read anything. At a school district.

I know a couple of people that are proud not to have a read a book since high school. Or even during high school. Most of them are slutty girls, for whatever that's worth.

[misling]

I've cut down a lot.
When I was 11 we first moved to a place that had a library I could get to without my parents taking me there. I checked out, and read, their limit every week (20 books) through my teen years.
In college I had enough other stuff going on, and enough of a social life, that I cut down to 6 or 7 books a week, not counting textbooks.
Now I read about 2 books of fiction and 1 of non fiction a week, and 5 magazines.