Quote:
Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash
Now, the first time we had this discussion (yes, I have a very good memory) your issue was with claims of more than 200 books per year. I do not honestly recall anyone on MR claiming to have read more than 1000. There was some mythical beast that mentioned 730, but I don't think we ever found it.
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I am semi retired and I read 10-12 books a day in winter (Oct to May) and about 4 a week in summer. When I read paper books I think I actually read more. I am not a super fast reader.
Around 500 WPM when doing a reading/comprehension test, and I have done two that were supervised and graded in the last 20 years, and several online. Reading books on the ereaders it is more like 350-375 WPM maybe less and that is below college student level. In fact I am sure my reading speed hasn't increased since grade 6.
So I am reading around 300 books a year without trying at an average of 275 pages a book. And the big factor here is that I enjoy reading, it is what I do to relax and probably my main leisure activity. I even read at the gym. And of course I do more time to read than many.
As to 1000 books a year, that figure may not be as mythical as we seem to think. John F. Kennedy reportedly increased his reading speed from 300 WPM to 1200 WPM. If he had the leisure time to read that I do and chose to spend it that way, he would easily pass the 1000 books a year mark. And there a lot of people who read faster. The couple that I know I know don't talk about it as people call them liars to their faces. For some reason it seems to cause extreme hostility in some people that someone reads faster than they do. Most people don't care if you cook better, walk faster or play basketball like a pro. But reading faster seems to set off the fight or flight syndrome in the insecure
Lucky for me I am under average in the reading world.
Helen