I have never really like reading for enjoyment, although now I find myself pushing myself to read more and more b/c of the many benefits it provides people with. Currently I am in the process of reading business oriented books since I am close to graduation and figure the only thing they can really do is help to make me a smarter business person and gain more insight into the business world. Currently I try to read roughly an hour a day, besides what i spend doing/reading in regards to homework. Do you think this is a fair amount to devote to reading? Also, anybody know of any books that are good in terms of business or simple “must reads?” Currently I am reading Everything I Know About Business ILearned From Monopoly, and my next one is *The Seven Effective Habits of Highly Effective People. *
I read because I enjoy reading, so I don’t need to set any kind of time to do it. It’s just what I do when I’m not doing something else. I often have two or three books going at a time, and the one I read depends on my mood. Before bed, when I’m winding down, I read fun, mindless, lightweight fluff, two recent examples being Janet Evanovich’s stephanie Plum series and Piers Anthony’s Blue Adept series.
Being both a writer and a bookstore owner, I also read a lot of advance reading copies (ARCs) of stuff that’s going to be coming out soon. I just finished Decade of the Wolf, a ten-year retrospective on the wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone Park by Gary Ferguson and Douglas Smith. When it comes out in April, look for a copy if you’re into nature writing.
And being interested in science and engineering, I usually have one of those going, too. I recently read A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.
If you have to force yourself to read, then an hour a day is reasonable, or perhaps even a bit long. When you get to the point where you’re enjoying yourself, you’ll have to fight to hold yourself back to only an hour!
An hour a day is admirable. I love reading, and I barely find the time to pick up a non-school book these days.
I can’t help you with the business books, because that’s just about the only category I don’t like! As for must-reads in other categories, it’s very subjective. Maybe check out the many “what are you reading” threads for some ideas?
Thanks for the advice. It’s not so much that I don’t enjoy reading, it’s just that I get burned out after reading a market analysis book for two hours :rolleyes: . If I could just pick and choose what books I wanted to read and when to read them, I would be more apt to read more often and for longer periods of time. Anyway, thanks the input.
Trying to force yourself to do anything is a recipe for disaster. I’m not surprised that you don’t enjoy reading if you are forcing yourself to do so. If you actually want to enjoy reading, try reading something you get a guilty pleasure from. For example, if you enjoy a particular comedian, they may have a book out. Tim Allen and Dave Barry both have hilarious books out, that are fun, fast reads. Keep a fun book in the bathroom and steal a little time during the day to enjoy reading something. Even magazines count.
I should make a change of words that goes from “forcing myself” to “encouraging myself” to read. I think that more accurately describes that I am trying to do.
I’d have to second everything that Elysian said, and add Bill Bryson to the list of fun authors. I love to read, and usually have two books going at once. Fiction, non-fiction, biographies - you name it, I’ll read it. I always carry a book around with me in case I have to wait somewhere and can sneak in some reading time.
Reading work-related books that are dry and dull will also make reading that much more tedious. You won’t get anything out of it. If you’ve read a chapter or two and are just bored to tears, dump it and find another book on the same subject.
I read books for work, too. I teach Preschool, and there’s a glut of education books out there. Some are just so damn boring they make me want to cry, and some are fascinating. Pick and choose carefully, and reading for work will be more interesting.
I cannot imagine reading for only one hour a day. I read almost compulsively–I read while stirring stuff on the stove, etc.
Sounds to me like too much work and not enough play–try some light reading. Do you like mysteries? Romance? Suspense? Bios? Nonfiction(but not training/technical stuff)? Whatever it is–try reading that for awhile and see how you enjoy it.
For me, having to read technical manuals etc is a chore, but one I would rather get out of the way, so that I can get back to my fun reading. Good luck!
I can’t imagine not reading. Here on my oh so crowded desk I count four books and two comic books right now along with all the other junk.
Reading isn’t just a passion for me. It’s a desperate addiciton akin to Oscar Gordon’s in Heinlein’s Glory Road. Any free minute I have I’ll be reading.
Seven Habits is OK if you don’t take it as a blueprint for your own habits. Take it, instead, as a guideway for patterns of thought. That will benefit you more than mindlessly copying the habits outlined.
I can’t speak to Monopoly but I’m generally suspicious of books with titles like that. In my experience they mostly end up repeating banal platitudes that you should be able to figure out yourself.
Far better you get a Calc book and work with that. You’d be able to apply that everywhere.
Though I admit…What Color Is My Parachute is a handy book for careerists just starting out.
Do the world a favor and stay far, far away from “Who Moved My Cheese?”
Now for a recommendation… it’s more of a marketing/retail oriented book but it is certainly on of the the most interesting “Business” book available… “Why We Buy” by Paco Underhill. Reflections on consumer behavior culled from years and years of observational research.
Another compulsive reader checking in. I suspect there are a lot of us on the boards. Just for fun, I kept track of how many books I read last year, and it was well over 70. I have about 30 books on my nightstand waiting for me to get to them, and a folder on my hard drive of several dozen more in electronic form, because I like to always have a book on my Palm Pilot so I always have something to read. I’m reading Ivanhoe on it right now.
As others have said, I don’t set a time for reading. But if I go 2-3 days without reading, I find myself hungering for it, and I usually end up picking up a book to re-read.
But I only *need * 15 minutes a day (to read, you perverts). Although if the book is good I have trouble dragging my nose out of it.
I read compulsively, too. I take a book everywhere I go. I take a book to the bar. I take a book to the resturant. If I could figure out how to do it, I’d take a book running or swimming. Not only do I take a book to the cinema (to read before the film starts) but I carry a little LED headlamp to read in the dark, as well. Nerd. :rolleyes:
I’d guess on average I spend about 3 hours a day reading, not counting reading for work (milspecs and engineering standards). I’d have to go back through the journal for an accurate count, but I’d guess I read well over a hundred books last year, not counting library books. I had to buy a new five-shelf book unit to take care of the overflow from the other shelves.
It’s kind of sick, really. I expect that one day my books will overwhelm me and I’ll be found crushed under a pile of fallen tomes. But that won’t stop me from shooting up…er, I mean, reading. Besides, I still have a pile of maybe 20-30 books on the book table, plus a list of several hundred more to be read sometime before the mortal coil conducts its last spark.
Sounds like me. Any 2 minute + span of time, and I’m looking around for a book. I bring one along on computer installs, and read while waiting for reboots, programs to install, etc. I’ve usually got at least 2 books underway at once, and though I try to keep different genres of books as my active readers, sometimes I fail. That gets a bit confusing sometimes, but usually it’s ok (e.g. (fiction) one modern warfare story, and one WW2 era, or a sci-fi, or something “educational”. I only get in trouble with 2 modern day, 2 ww2, etc at the same time)
-Butler
(I hope the little Butler due in late March inherits this addiction from her parents!)
I used to read while walking down the road, but as I have gotten older I tend to read less and less in public. I still read an average of 3-4 books a week though, I just tend to make some time during the week and sit down and read. Lately though I have read less though, with school and all it is hard to find time to study and read. I do read an hour before bed though regardless.
I am the type that on a day off that I have no plans, I will go to the library and get two or three books, grab some celery, grapes and cheese, and read all day long. (6+ hours)
I got on amazon.com once and made a list of all the books I have read in the last 10 years, and based off memory (some errors may have occured, but not any signifigant amount), I counted some 2100 +/- 50. Nothing too impressive, but seems to suggest an average of 4 books a week. Which is definatly true in my case.
The only business books I have read have been about corporate communications, because that’s my field. However, two books that I actually enjoyed(!) reading were First, Break All the Rules and even more so, Now, Discover Your Strengths. These both might almost qualify more as self-help books, but they are intended for a professional audience, to help people become great at what they do. Both are by Marcus Buckingham.
