Bookworms: How Do You Read So Many Books?

[rem736]

i'm a slow reader here. i probably take a month to read a 350 page book. i hear that one way to speed up reading fiction is to quickly scan over certain details, such as descriptions of scenery, where it doesn't make a big impact on the story. but i'm just unable to do that. and with non-fiction, especially science and technical books, there's certainly no way to do that.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by BookCat

I'm trying to keep in mind that MR and booktube are composed of voracious readers,

Comparisons are invidious, invalid and pointless as each person's parameters are so different from others. A book is not a book anyway, for purposes of comparison, that is, and it's not a contest. Really the only point to be made is if someone would like to read more and can't figure out how to achieve that.

I mentioned not watching television, but that's painless for me. I don't eat ice cream (well, not often) because it's bad for me, but giving up television is like not eating lima beans. For someone who likes television also, it's harder. Or whatever it is that also uses up whatever free time someone has. And some are always going to have more discretionary time than others.

FWIW, I read somewhere that reading speeds don't differ as much as people think and I suspect there's a lot of truth in that.

[DiapDealer]

I think you'll find that a lot of people who read for pure pleasure (myself included) rarely worry about retention (even though I believe I retain a good deal of what I read). And as far as comprehension goes ... well that depends on a huge number of factors to begin with. One of the main ones is the material being read. Another is "why am I reading this?"

I'm not reading non-fiction and I'm not reading for study or class, so if I need to slow my reading way down in order to fully comprehend what's written, then: a) the author is doing a bad job, or b) the author's style just isn't for me.

At this point in my life, I'm rarely reading to flex my mental muscle. I did all my strenuous reading years ago. So if I can't cruise through a novel, I'm probably going to dump it for one that I can (unless something intangible keeps tugging me back). That's not to say I have to love the material, but the words need to flow. If I have to constantly slow down or back up and re-read for full comprehension, then I'm not likely to finish that work. That kind of reading isn't enjoyable for me.

I feel no obligation to "stretch myself" any more when it comes to reading. I already stretch myself pretty thin with a very eclectic mix of fictional subject matter/genre, so I feel no real obligation to read purposefully difficult prose in order to grow as a reader.

In my mind, readers who read a seemingly incredible amount of material (over the course of a year) do so because they know what they like. And because of that, they're familiar enough with what they like that they're selecting works that they won't have any problems comprehending at their particular reading speed. Happy/engrossed readers read a lot (fast or slow). And in my opinion, most fiction readers aren't really that concerned with retention to begin with. They'll just read it again if they forget stuff (and they liked it well enough the first time).

I learned long ago that there's very few concrete and universal conclusions one can draw about reading speed, comprehension, retention, intelligence, etc ... People just do the same things differently. Not better, not worse, just differently.

I go through phases, myself. Some months I'll consume books at a terrific pace, some months I'll binge-watch some TV series (and I feel equally rewarded by both experiences). I'm about to go into baseball and gardening mode, so my reading-time will drop considerably. I won't feel the least bit guilty about it either--I love baseball and gardening!

Much like my wide variety of fictional reading interests, I also have a wide variety of hobbies. I've never really felt compelled to pick an all time favorite. So I will continue to do them all (each to the detriment of another).

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by issybird

FWIW, I read somewhere that reading speeds don't differ as much as people think and I suspect there's a lot of truth in that.

I've little trouble believing that.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by issybird

Comparisons are invidious, invalid and pointless as each person's parameters are so different from others. A book is not a book anyway, for purposes of comparison, that is, and it's not a contest. Really the only point to be made is if someone would like to read more and can't figure out how to achieve that.

This.

I don't know my reading speed in terms of words per minute and I've never timed how many hours I usually spend on a book. I don't bother comparing numbers with other people. If I enjoy what I'm reading, that's good enough for me.

Some books just go faster than others no matter who is reading them depending on the vocabulary, amount of action vs talking vs inner thoughts vs long descriptive passages, etc. so unless you are comparing yourself to others who are reading exactly the same books you are, you can't really be sure if they read faster or slower than you do.

[Mivo]

I don't track how many books I read. With fiction, I tend to have periods where I binge read, either series or authors, and then it's one book after another, often followed by a week or two of no fiction reading. I think I read fairly fast, especially on ebook readers as I can change margins and font sizes, but I haven't measured my reading speed. It's not a race for me. I think the more you read, the faster you eventually get at it. Some fiction writing is easier (and faster) to read than other types, too.

Non-fiction is a bit different. I don't binge on those, but read them steadily, depending what subjects I'm currently curious about. I tend to pick and read only one or two books about a topic, usually more comprehensive works, though it really depends on the intensity of my interest. I typically read non-fiction more slowly and for shorter periods to let the material settle on my mind.

Fiction is more like watching a movie, non-fiction like attending a seminar or a workshop.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

In my mind, readers who read a seemingly incredible amount of material (over the course of a year) do so because they know what they like. And because of that, they're familiar enough with what they like that they're selecting works that they won't have any problems comprehending at their particular reading speed. Happy/engrossed readers read a lot (fast or slow). And in my opinion, most fiction readers aren't really that concerned with retention to begin with. They'll just read it again if they forget stuff (and they liked it well enough the first time).

This describes me pretty well. I can read a lot because I enjoy the material I'm reading and can't put the (figurative) book down.

[Atunah]

I don't know my speed by minute either, don't care. I do know somewhat how long it takes me for an average sized book, because one, I been reading for so long and two I have the time left in book thingie now on my kindles. It seems to be fairly spot on for me.

I don't speed read, I don't skip or fly through section of a book. If I did that, I'd stop reading that particular book. I don't see the point of skipping. For me I want to be immersed in the story and if I could think of skipping, it would mean I wasn't in the story. But that is all personal. There aren't any wrong ways reading books. It is whatever is enjoyable. Assuming we are talking about leisure reading here, not school projects or stuff for educational stuff.

I had to relearn to read in a new language so I did my school required stuff already, just not english. So in a way reading was and still is a bit of a educational thing as english is not my first language. I think though that I am now at the same level I used to be in my first language. I have no way to compare though and I don't really care. Honestly its a wee bit easier reading english than reading german.

I know what I like by now and don't force myself reading stuff I have no interest in. I figured, any reading is going to flex my brain in some way.

[4691mls]

Atunah, your English is very good - I would not have guessed from reading your post that English was not your first language.

I do sometimes skim over long descriptive passages unless the author describes things in an unusual way that captures my attention.

I will also skim over an action sequence such as a fight or chase. It is hard for me to picture those when reading so I've pretty much given up on trying.

If I am reading a mystery and halfway through, the main character spends a couple of pages recapping all the possible suspects to date and their motives, I usually skip that.

[sufue]

With a very limited sample set of of three people (first husband, second husband, son) that I've tried to share/read the same newspaper or magazine articles with at the same time, and even one time, on vacation, share a book, back in DTB days, there can be big differences in reading speeds. I read pretty fast and the few times we tried it, I would go nuts waiting for the other person to finish and be ready to move to the next page. Sometimes I'd end up re-reading almost the entire page before moving on, so that would be a factor of 2 difference in reading speed right there.

So without being argumentative , just commenting, and keeping in mind my small sample set - I still think there can be pretty big differences in reading speed.

Originally Posted by issybird

{edit}
FWIW, I read somewhere that reading speeds don't differ as much as people think and I suspect there's a lot of truth in that.

[sufue]

Oh yeah, and like a lot of others here, I just don't like watching TV or videos that much, so that's where my time for reading comes from. I probably watch 4 hours of TV a week, and that more just to be sociable with my husband, rather than 4 hours a day.

And, also as others have said here, my reading speed can vary a lot depending on what I am reading: fiction vs. non-fiction, fiction where I'm just reading for the story vs. fiction where I'm enjoying the writing, textbooks/technical books I'm trying to learn something from vs. casual reading, first time through vs. re-reading... So in phases where I'm reading a lot of fiction, that can be a book or more a day, whereas if I'm in a non-fiction or learning phase, that might be a book a week.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

I do sometimes skim over long descriptive passages unless the author describes things in an unusual way that captures my attention.

I will also skim over an action sequence such as a fight or chase. It is hard for me to picture those when reading so I've pretty much given up on trying.

If I am reading a mystery and halfway through, the main character spends a couple of pages recapping all the possible suspects to date and their motives, I usually skip that.

So you skim descriptions, action sequences and characters. You must blast through a book!

[anacreon]

I learned to read age 5 and haven't stopped since. My mother fought me through childhood up to Uni so that I would turn off the light at night (I remember reading with a pocket lamp under covers). Now I'm retired, I still tend to read during the night, but when I start to sleep on my feet during the day, I read books interesting enough, but fragmentary enough to be able to drop them and go to sleep, poetry for instance. I also read queuing, on the go, in waiting rooms, and now I'm retired, during the day sometimes.

I do tend to spend a lot of time in front of my PC though, and I do have outside commitments and meetings with friends and family. And I never counted books read - it doesn't make sense to me, every book is different, and I always read several books simultaneously. When I've binge read an author or a genre, I need to change genres, that's when I read serious books.

And I don't agree that one doesn't need to read fiction slowly, it all depends on the book: some prose demands to be savored, just like a good meal (I like cooking for others).

[issybird]

Sometimes when I read the posts in threads like this I think of the Lake Wobegon Effect. Even if, by the nature of the site, results skew a bit to reading slightly faster than average, I have my doubts that the mean reading speed here is significantly faster than that of other literate people, even given a few outliers. There are always going to be a few outliers, emphasis on the few.

Speaking of myself, I couldn't begin to say how fast I read and as has been said above, my reading speed varies widely with conditions anyway. And what difference does it make anyway?

It seems to me the point of these threads is about finding/making time to read and developing strategies in aid of that. Otherwise, I find there's a competitive edge that makes me uncomfortable. We say it's not a contest, but it apparently is. However, the only contest should be against yourself and your goals, if you care to think of it that way. Or just read.

Carry on. But the first time someone claims he started reading in utero, I'm going to call foul.

[Flaneurette]

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

I can't believe I'm the first to say this....but you can get a lot of reading done if you're an indifferent housekeeper.

Yep, have to agree with this! Also my kindle has really helped me read more, faster. I am able to concentrate on the text and not futz around with getting comfortable and look up words in the dictionary etc. Lately I check out ebooks from the library with overdrive/Libby even if I already own the hardcover because having a due date really motivates me to just read it already. Does anyone else do this? I also don’t watch tv at all but I do waste a lot of time online...