How many books do you read in a year?

[Joykins]

Originally Posted by BenLee

The problem for me is...

Although I'm probably capable technically of reading 300-400 books per year, I won't be able to properly "digest" all that information and let it sink in burning through books at that speed.

Those of you who read that many, do you find you can much recall most of what you read?

I log them all with a brief review so if I forget I can look them up. Most of them are fiction. I read most non-fiction more slowly than fiction.

[jasonfedelem]

I read about 30 books per year. However, some of them are quite long such as Gibbons "Fall and Decline of the Roman empire". I don't really have deadlines, I just keep about 4 books going at a time and start a new one when I finish one.

I do keep track of my reading thru the facebook books app and post a short review (couple sentences) for each.

[afa]

I'm flabbergasted. Just plain stunned stupid. So stunned that I just used the word flabbergasted. This is unbelievable.

300??? 400??? My God, how on Earth do you guys manage that?? I love reading books, and any month in which I read 2 novels is a good month. Some of you read twice that in a week!

I understand that some people are fast readers, but quick enough to read an entire novel in a few hours? I honestly wouldn't have thought that was even possible. Like BenLee, I can't help but wonder if you quickies actually even remember what you read. Do you find you've forgotten most of the details in a short span of time? Do you frequently experience something like,

- "Hey, you've read Book X, right? I was thinking of getting it. Is it any good?"
- "I don't really remember. It's been a long time since I read it..."
- "Really? When?"
- "6 hours ago."

Are you sure you guys aren't androids? Superhuman, perhaps? Does your ID say 'Clark Kent'? Or do you just have high-speed scanners attached directly to your synapses? When you were in school, did you prepare for your exams by opening the textbooks 15 minutes before time? I suppose you even had time to spare...

Seriously, though, that is flat-out amazing. As someone who pretty much tops out at 15-20 books a year (and that's far more than anyone I know personally), I truly cannot fathom how you do it. For my own sanity, I'm going to tell myself you're lying. At least that I can handle...

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by afa

Seriously, though, that is flat-out amazing. As someone who pretty much tops out at 15-20 books a year (and that's far more than anyone I know personally), I truly cannot fathom how you do it.

Some of it is reading speed, although I'm by no means a 'speed reader'. I read at around 400wpm it seems, with good comprehension. http://www.readingsoft.com/ has a simple test that will give an indication of your reading speed.

Some of it is priorities. I read a lot. I don't watch much telly. I probably read at least an hour a day, often for two, sometimes three or four or more. Factor in 400wpm and that's easily a couple of books a week or more.

Sometimes I read more, sometimes less. In January I went through about a book a day.

As for retention — yes, mostly I remember what I've read. There have been some books I've got half way through before realising I read them a few years ago... not a good sign for the quality of the book.

[crc]

Originally Posted by afa

I understand that some people are fast readers, but quick enough to read an entire novel in a few hours? I honestly wouldn't have thought that was even possible. Like BenLee, I can't help but wonder if you quickies actually even remember what you read. Do you find you've forgotten most of the details in a short span of time? Do you frequently experience something like,

- "Hey, you've read Book X, right? I was thinking of getting it. Is it any good?"
- "I don't really remember. It's been a long time since I read it..."
- "Really? When?"
- "6 hours ago."

Nope

I tend to recall a fair amount about each book I read. Overall my retention level has remained pretty stable over the years, even though I now read more than I used to.

An important thing here is that most of what I'm reading is fiction. Non-Fiction reading speeds are slower for me, and I tend to recall more of the non-fiction works than fiction ones.

Originally Posted by afa

Are you sure you guys aren't androids? Superhuman, perhaps? Does your ID say 'Clark Kent'? Or do you just have high-speed scanners attached directly to your synapses?

I never claimed to be human...

Originally Posted by afa

When you were in school, did you prepare for your exams by opening the textbooks 15 minutes before time? I suppose you even had time to spare...

No. I spent large amounts of time studying and reviewing material.

[Joykins]

I just looked at that speed reading test. I read moderately fast (~ 610 wpm) and I can read 5 (or more when I'm on a tear) hours a day. I don't watch tv much, and I often watch it while reading a book if I do. And 4 hours a day is about average for tv watching so it's not like I have so much less of a life than most people LOL.

[Joykins]

Originally Posted by afa

Like BenLee, I can't help but wonder if you quickies actually even remember what you read. Do you find you've forgotten most of the details in a short span of time? Do you frequently experience something like,

- "Hey, you've read Book X, right? I was thinking of getting it. Is it any good?"
- "I don't really remember. It's been a long time since I read it..."
- "Really? When?"
- "6 hours ago."

I do forget some books I've read (high-volume readers like me sometimes find we've bought the same book hard-copy more than once because we've forgotten we read it ) but usually I can remember the details of recent books (past couple of years) and books that really made an impression. I can also remember vague things like "Mary Stewart, I remember I read _The Wicked Day_ many years ago, it was about Mordred, I liked it a lot, and I don't remember another single detail ")

When you were in school, did you prepare for your exams by opening the textbooks 15 minutes before time? I suppose you even had time to spare...

Actually I just paid attention in class and did the homework. I remember stuff I hear in lecture even better than if I read it.

Seriously, though, that is flat-out amazing. As someone who pretty much tops out at 15-20 books a year (and that's far more than anyone I know personally), I truly cannot fathom how you do it. For my own sanity, I'm going to tell myself you're lying. At least that I can handle...

My dirty little secret is that I can really only accomplish top speed with one genre (romance). Everything else reads slower.

[Xenophon]

Originally Posted by afa

I'm flabbergasted. Just plain stunned stupid. So stunned that I just used the word flabbergasted. This is unbelievable.

300??? 400??? My God, how on Earth do you guys manage that?? I love reading books, and any month in which I read 2 novels is a good month. Some of you read twice that in a week!

Reading speed, time spent reading, and priorities. My reading speed has been measured several times over the years, with varying results. I've tested out anywhere from 500 to 1200 words per minute (for straight-forward fiction), with 95%+ comprehension. The 1200 was a test in high-school just after I'd spent a solid month doing almost nothing other than reading. The 500 was in the middle of a period when I read very little, due to other demands on my time. Other tests have been around 800wpm.

Days when I read for less than two hours are rare; three hours is more typical. I watch very little television.

Originally Posted by afa

I understand that some people are fast readers, but quick enough to read an entire novel in a few hours? I honestly wouldn't have thought that was even possible. Like BenLee, I can't help but wonder if you quickies actually even remember what you read. Do you find you've forgotten most of the details in a short span of time? Do you frequently experience something like,

- "Hey, you've read Book X, right? I was thinking of getting it. Is it any good?"
- "I don't really remember. It's been a long time since I read it..."
- "Really? When?"
- "6 hours ago."

Nope. I'm more likely to be the person who responds to a vague description of a plot (or a memorable incident from a book), by saying "That's Obscure Novel by A. Midlist Author. I particularly liked the part where..."

Originally Posted by afa

[SNIP a paragraph]
Seriously, though, that is flat-out amazing. As someone who pretty much tops out at 15-20 books a year (and that's far more than anyone I know personally), I truly cannot fathom how you do it. For my own sanity, I'm going to tell myself you're lying. At least that I can handle...

I should note that my reading speed is much slower in textbooks and journal articles. Still pretty fast, but way slower than for fiction. It's even slower than that for books I really dislike... assuming, that is, that the book doesn't just bounce off the wall rather than have me finish reading it.

Xenophon

[BenLee]

Originally Posted by Xenophon

I should note that my reading speed is much slower in textbooks and journal articles. Still pretty fast, but way slower than for fiction. It's even slower than that for books I really dislike... assuming, that is, that the book doesn't just bounce off the wall rather than have me finish reading it.

This seems to be the constant for most people. I guess anything that triggers analysis and thinking slows down reading speed dramatically.

[Joebill]

Well, I find if I stop reading a book, like i have to sleep or work, it takes me a few minutes to get back into reading the story and then speed up again.

The reading a 300 page novel in 3 hours was all at one sitting. I don't remember those, but that was decades ago as well.

I have a collection of sf paperbacks, around 500 to 700 of them. I find that I may not remember it right away. But most of them time I can pick up one of them, read the first page, and remember the ending and part of the plot.

[afa]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

http://www.readingsoft.com/ has a simple test that will give an indication of your reading speed.

I knew I shouldn't have taken that test. Now I feel like a wimp...

I only read at 243wpm (with 91% comprehension). I did the test a second time, and even though it was faster (naturally, since I've already read it before) it was still only 286wpm (I didn't take the comprehension test again, obviously). Do note, though, that I wasn't trying to speed-read, but merely reading at my normal rate.

In fact, the first test might actually be higher than my 'true' rate. This is because I sort-of-deliberately read slower when I'm reading a novel, as I find it helps me to really immerse myself into the story. Also, I frequently pause while reading to imagine the scene, like a little movie running through my head.

All in all, no way will I ever read 200 books in a year. (Unless, of course, I quit my job and do nothing but read the whole day...)

[Scott Nielsen]

Originally Posted by Xenophon

Reading speed, time spent reading, and priorities.

I suppose the reading material will also play an important factor. I don't mean just between non-fiction and fiction but between fiction and fiction as well. I imagine it's an awful lot quicker to read romance or crime/thrillers than something of a more serious nature (you know what I mean, I didn't write that to try and belittle anyone). It certainly takes me longer to read Platonov than le Carré for example.

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by Scott Nielsen

I suppose the reading material will also play an important factor. I don't mean just between non-fiction and fiction but between fiction and fiction as well. I imagine it's an awful lot quicker to read romance or crime/thrillers than something of a more serious nature (you know what I mean, I didn't write that to try and belittle anyone). It certainly takes me longer to read Platonov than le Carré for example.

Yup, true for me. I used to tear through mysteries in high school and college, for instance. I easily read two or three of those in a day. With classics, I take more time, because I usually savor the writing, as well as the story. Even among mystery writers, there are those who are good writers, as well as good storytellers, of course. (Less so nowadays, it seems to me.) When I'm just reading for story, it's like eating potato chips. Chomp, chomp, done.

[BenLee]

Originally Posted by Scott Nielsen

I suppose the reading material will also play an important factor. I don't mean just between non-fiction and fiction but between fiction and fiction as well. I imagine it's an awful lot quicker to read romance or crime/thrillers than something of a more serious nature (you know what I mean, I didn't write that to try and belittle anyone). It certainly takes me longer to read Platonov than le Carré for example.

I wonder if the reason is because stories like Mysteries and Romance...Once you've read a certain number of them, you can sort of "predict" what's going to happen and therefore don't really need to fully comprehend every last word of the text. Non-fiction on the other hand... Sometimes even missing one detail of what's going on can hamper your ability to understand the rest of the information.

[Joebill]

I find if I read sf with a convoluted plot, with many sub-plots, I take longer to read it. Afraid I'll miss something.