Yesterday, I gleefully posted that I have managed to finish 100 books so far in 2009! (The number is now 101.) This led people to ask me the question that I have been asked many times before - "How do you read?"
In terms of how many books I read at once, the answer is three. I usually read one regular book, one "chunkster," and one non-fiction book at once. I generally read about 50 pages of the non-fiction book and 50 pages of the chunkster, and then complete the third book. Then I read 50 pages of the non-fiction and chunkster again, and then pick up a new book and read it. It's basically a cycle. So in terms of how I read, that's how. I used to only read one book at once, but I found that I wasn't reading enough longer books or non-fiction books because they were too slow going and I wanted to read a large number of books in order to post reviews. This was a good compromise.
So, the next question is, "how do you read so fast?" The answer to that one is more tricky because honestly, I don't know. It's something I view as a talent – some people can do math in their head, some can cook incredibly well – I read really fast. I've had people tell me that it's impossible to read that fast and retain any of the information you've read. I hope that my reviews are proof that this isn't the case!
Now, my question is how do YOU read? Not so much the speed, but do you read one book at a time? Two? Three? Twelve?
36 comments:
I like your system of reading three at a time. I usually have two or three going at a time but I don't really have a system. I just like the variety. I like non-fiction but for relaxation I want a good fiction book. Thanks for your suggestion. I'm going to pay attention to what I'm doing.
Your system does make sense, although I don't know if I could quite do it, mostly because I don't know that I could finish the third book so quickly! I generally have one audiobook going, plus 1-2 other books. Like you, I usually have fiction going if I also have non-fiction going, but I don't usually double up if I'm reading a chunkster (except maybe the occasional novella or ya book in the middle). I just try to read a couple shorter, faster books before or after so that I can still post reviews on Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Over a month or so the number of books I read usually stays pretty constant by this method and I generally still have reviews to post every review day.
I normally read three at a time but I don't have a system. I read the one book until I need a change of pace and then I switch to the others. However, I have been feeling very scattered lately doing it this way and may actually go back to reading one at a time.
I usually read one book at a time. Sometimes I'll read a fiction and non-fiction book at the same time. My brain is not as sharp as yours, obviously.
I usually just read one at a time, but 2 at the most. Or else with my very short attention span I will set one book aside and never get back to it.
I rarely read more than one at a time. I guess I'm just a monogamous reader!
You have quite an organized reading system. My reading is all over the place. One month I might read 18 books, the next month 4, and the next 10. Sometimes 4 books at once, sometimes 1 for a long time. So, no system of any sort!
I like your system, 3 books on different topics. Obviously you have a talent for reading at great speed nd retaining what you read. Lucky :D
I read much slower, I sometimes mix books in different languages but I do like your system books on different topics and am going to try this, maybe with 2 books to begin.
Love your book blog by the way
If I read more than one (but never more than two) they have to be different genres.
Sometimes I'll read multiple books at the same time when like you said, one is taking too long, I feel rather annoyed when it takes me like a week to read one book so i'll pick up a shorter one to polish off. I prefer not to do it though because for me it's not the same when I go back to a book after reading another, like I've forgotten things or something.
I do my best reading on the bus (unless i'm really tired and decide to take a nap) because i don't have a computer to check every 5 minutes!
I've been reading multiple books at a time lately, probably since I started blogging. When I was taking lots of English lit classes I'd read multiple books, but for pleasure I'd usually stick to one. But like you, I like to have reviews to post, so if I'm stuck on a chunkster I need to have something else in place to read and review.
I've been reading more comic books to help fill the gaps between, which is working nicely because it's a genre I'm not familiar with and there are a lot of choices and they go pretty quickly once I get into them.
I was going to congratulate you yesterday on 100 books, but got distracted somehow, so here is a belated congrats :)
Kim
My pace has slowed in the last year, but on the whole I've read more books. I realized that if I give each book its own time and space, I'd end up reading a lot more overall. And, quite frankly, I enjoy this method a lot more. No more struggling to remember what characters are what, no more losing my place... Instead I carefully work my way through each book, understanding that it is what it is. My technical speed is as fast as ever (and it's fast), but I just don't have much time, so I prefer it this way.
It's always fun to know about other bloggers' reading habits. Me? I'm a book monogamist.
I always say that I read one book at a time, which is both true and not true. I have one main read, which could be fiction or non-fiction, short or long. Then, I usually have an audiobook in the car, a children's book I'm reading with my daughter, and a bedside book.
I also read three at a time, but they're all in different formats. My "regular" book I read at home. I also always have an audiobook going, and I have an ebook on my iphone that I read at lunch or while I'm waiting somewhere.
I stick with one book at a time. I've tried multiple books and it doesn't really work for me. I don't read quite as fast as you do, so when I get distracted one book usually ends up abandoned, which I don't like. Your method does sound good, though, and I'd probably do something similar if I could focus on more than one book at once. =)
I respect anyone who can read multiple books at the same time because I have never been able to do this! I like to finish a book completely before starting the next one. Even if they are different genres, I have never been able to successfully pull it off. I usually average 100 pages per day (although lately I am WAY off that number and probably closer to 50).
I read one book at a time. Recently I attempted to read 2 fiction books and found it was hard for me to concentrate. I usually multi-task almost everything in my life and just decided that I did not want reading to be added to that list. Reading is something I do to enjoy, not to add to my stress. I can read a non-fiction book while reading a fiction book. I just don't read the non-fiction book daily.
Your totals simply amaze me!! So, since it's working for you, that's great.
I'm in awe! I wish I could read more than one book at a time. Especially for my own reading because I feel like I'd actually make progress on my growing list. However, I have to give my all to one book at a time or I find I just don't enjoy the book as much.
I usually read one book at a time,unless I get stuck on something and then I read something else until I can get to a better place with the other book.
I usually read one at a time, or if I am reading non-fiction, I might put it down and come back to it after reading a fiction book. That's a good tip for handling chunksters though!
I like your system. Maybe I will put yours into use. Currently, I only read one book at a time but like you said... {{I wasn't reading enough longer books or non-fiction books because they were too slow going and I wanted to read...}} for me...not to post large amount of reviews but to read all the books I am interested in reading. So, I am struggling greatly with my President Challenge.
Oh... I read fast as well. I actually find I am a bit embarrassed that I can polish off a 800 page book in a matter of a few days-especially if said book is fun and intriguing.
I read one book at a time. I feel this is the best thing for me. I like absorbing one book before going on to the next. I almost feel like I'm cheating on my other book if I start another one before I finish the first one. I know that seems weird but that's how I feel. And I would feel even worse if I put the other book aside to read the new one I just started. Essentially, I consider myself a fair reader. Kind of like a marriage, one book at a time.
The most I read is two books at a time. Reading too many at the same time confused me! LOL. But I like your system... maybe one day I might implement your reading method. ;)
Typically, I read one book at a time. If I read multiple books, they have to be very different so I don't confuse the characters or the storyline.
I wish I was could do that! I can only focus on one book at a time! I know I can finish a book a lot faster than I do, if I wasn't so distracted...I need to be more disciplined!
I read a few books at a time. :)
But I think the real question is, how many hours a day do you read?
I don't really have a system, but I find I leave a book in my truck, to read when I'm waiting for kids, one downstairs and one upstairs, because I'm apparently to dang lazy to run up the stairs and fetch my book. I have one on my mp3 player for when I'm cooking or cleaning the house. As a kid, I always read three at a time, but I've just recently started doing it again. For many years I was a one book at a time woman, don't know what changed. Maybe that's one of the more obscure symptoms of menopause!!
I used to be a one-book-at-a-time kind of person until recently. Now I have a book in my bag that I read while commuting (which is where I get most of my reading done), I listen to an audiobook when I knit in the evenings and I have a tamil novel that I am struggling through and I read a few pages of that before going to bed every night..
As everyone else, I am amazed at your reading speed as well! As you say, it is just a talent and I think you improve it as you read more. I have definitely increased my reading speed in the past couple of years!
I am in constant awe of your reading speed, just to throw in my extra two cents! :) I've never met anyone in my life who could complete books so quickly -- and write such great, well-thought-out reviews afterward :)
I typically have two books I'm read in earnest on any given day -- almost always fiction -- with one "back-up" book in my car or at the office, half-read, waiting for me to come back to it!
Sounds like you have a great system. I read about 3 at a time, but there is no system to it. I have one that I read the majority of the time, one for my car for breaks from work and whatever audiobook I'm listening to at the time. I use to be a one-at-a-time reader, but reading multiple books seems to be working for me now.
I sometimes juggle two books, but I'll find that I want to read one faster than the other--so then it just turns into one book at a time. :) My sister-in-law readers fairly quickly and I've always been a little envious at her being able to finish a book in a day. MY question to you is how much time do you devote each day to reading?
I followed the link here from Mom - Musings. This is an interesting post! For a long time I've read one book at a time, but I'm starting to branch out a bit and take on two at once, occasionally. It's always interesting to see the comparisons that pop up between them, no matter how different and unrelated they may seem.
Yours is an intriguing approach. Thanks for writing about it.
I usually have two going - one "main" book (could be fiction or non), and one "on the go" book that stays in my car for when I'm out and about with the kids. This one tends to be lighter fiction that I can pick up and put down without losing continuity.
Yes, your reviews show that you retain and understand what you read! Not just speed-reading for speed's sake. I find your reviews tend to connect to a "bigger picture" ... it must be all the reading and writing you do for school, you look at things with a good analytical eye.
I usually have three books going at once, too: a nonfiction, a fiction, and a comic strip book (like Fox Trot or Rose is Rose). I also found that I wasn't ever getting around to reading the nonfiction I wanted to read when there were so many good fiction books out there, so I intermix them to give myself needed variety and choices. The comic strip books are simply because sometimes I want a quick laugh, and they're always good for that.
I also read very fast, but how I read depends on how much time I have. If I have lots of time, I will read a full book and continue to the next, if I am short on time then I will read part of a fiction and part of a non-fiction. I have been avoiding chunksters so far this year though, so I think I will start your method of breaking it out into 50 or 100 page increments :)
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