How long do you read? Please answer so I can improve my skills.

[ihavebrownhaira]

Hi my name is Matt. I began to read heavily when I was 16. I am now 18. The one thing I regret most about my childhood is not reading enough. A lot of the classic literature I do not understand. Like Faulkner and Shakespeare and some Tolstoy. Guys like that confuse me. I enjoy Mark Twain at times and Hemingway at times. I love Bukowski. I enjoy Steinbeck and Vonnegut. But I was wondering how long do you hold on while you read? I try to read for an hour or two. I try not to read for more than two hours straight because it hurts my eyes. In my opinion reading for an hour or two is impressive. I read on average 3 hours a day. I was just wondering how long some of you experts read? I've read some of your post and a few of you I believe are idiots and you try to sound fancy by using long complex sentences. Its silly. reminds me of a woman in my psychology class, but if you can understand the great novelist of the past I'm sure your doing something right, but anyway. I am rambling.

[Delta40]

When you say impressive, what exactly do you mean? Be specific about what you hope to achieve from your thread, especially given that some of us are idiots.

[ihavebrownhaira]

Considering the average American reads about .25 books a year and considering that I work a job and go to college full time I believe reading a few hours a day is impressive. I would just like to see how long other people on this forum read a day. not to put myself down or bring myself up. I am simply interested.

I would like to achieve immortality from this thread. No. I simply want to see how long you guys read at a time. How long does it take for you to sink in and swim around in the book. Sometimes I swim and I drown and I never come out. That's when I usually give up on a book.

[Delta40]

LOL. I am going to disappoint you brownhair. I read for approx hours at a time but it is on screen and a requirement of my job. I read on material on this site as a distraction and dabble in books as I lay in bed, which puts me to sleep within minutes. I tend to read on weekends sporadically. I am immoral but not immortal.

Good luck!

[Shea]

Before my life filled up with work, marriage, and now a son, I use to read all the time. When I had a free day, I would sit in my favorite chair with a stack of about 5 or 6 books on one side of me. I'd read a chapter, and put it down, read a chapter of the next book, then put it down. Read a chapter of the next... and so on. I would (and still could if I had the opportunity) do this all day long, stopping only for meals. Now, I'm lucky if I get in an hour. Even visiting this site is rare for me anymore.

I have yet to read Tolstoy, but I have trouble with Faulkner and some Shakespeare too and find that it helps to use a guide. I love my Bevington edition of Shakespeare! I have a Bacchelor degree in English Lit and taught high school English till I burned out (which was unfortunately very fast). If you're enjoying Twain, Vonnegut, Hemmingway, and Stienbeck, then you're doing better than 95% of the students that I taught.

Twain is fun. I need to read more Twain...

[weltanschauung]

i didnt know reading was an olympic sport

[subterranean]

How do you relate the two

longer hours of reading=improved reading skill??

[bazarov]

Considering the average American reads about .25 books a year and considering that I work a job and go to college full time I believe reading a few hours a day is impressive. I would just like to see how long other people on this forum read a day. not to put myself down or bring myself up. I am simply interested.


Average American reads 25 books per year? :lol: Where did you find that?
You lost your childhood; that was time when I had time to read 5 hours a day. Now I am happy with 1.

[subterranean]

You lost your childhood; that was time when I had time to read 5 hours a day. Now I am happy with 1.

I'm sure that 1 does not include 'reading' Litnet :p.

[bazarov]

I'm sure that 1 does not include 'reading' Litnet :p.

No. That's exchanging of opinion. :lol:

[ihavebrownhaira]

Hey guys. This forum is great. I'm serious. Its fun talking with bookworms like myself. Thank you for the information you are providing me.

Shea I am actually interested in becoming a high school English teacher. I've gotten on very well with my teachers in the past. Maybe you can offer me some advice. How tough is it earning your bachelors in lit?


I relate how much a person reads to their skill in reading because in my opinion practice makes perfect. And it is like a sport or a game in my opinion. Whats the line the Beatles sang, " The love you give is equal to the love you make." I forgot. Oh well. Its 7 am I have to go to school. I am hunched over and there is a toothbrush in my mouth. Toothpaste is literally slopping all over my face because I was trying to kill two birds with one stone.

Keep posting guys!

[ihavebrownhaira]

Oh I would like to add. Shea, I believe every human being should be required to read The Mysterious Stranger. I believe in order to live on this planet one should be required to read that novel. It is absolutely amazing! Blows my mind!:flare:

[Natasha]

helo mi a new frn

[Natasha]

hello am natasha i study litterature and want to learn more wih u guys

[Mag Master 21]

It depends on the book... Some I can't read more than an hour before falling asleep, while others will keep me up all night no matter how late it gets. I've gone from 10 minutes to 10 hours reading. I guess it really depends.

The reason you may enjoy Steinbeck and Hemingway (they are my favorites as well), is because they don't use pretentious sentences (as you described) that other authors seem to over indulge in. If that's the case, avoid Joyce like the plague.

If you really want to be blown away, check out the Russians... as many others on this board will soon suggest. I read Notes from the Underground and immediately purchased 16 other Russian lit. books the next day.

[ihavebrownhaira]

10 hours. Jesus. That is a lot of reading. Your brain must have been on fire. That is very impressive my friend. I am jealous. You have the attention span of a god. Jesus christ 10 hours.

You are absolutely right. I enjoy the simple straight forward style. I don't believe its because I am simple minded. It has to do with my personality. The music I listen to is pretty straight forward, but it has style. Style is the answer to everything. Doing a dull thing with style is better than doing a dangerous thing without style. Stole that line from a Bukowski poem haha. 10 hours my friend. Jesus christ jesus christ jesus christ. Pass that gift on to me. How do you do it?

[subterranean]

No. That's exchanging of opinion. :lol:

Excuse, excuse. ;)
ihavebrownhaira, as I posted before, longer hours of reading doesn't exactly improve your reading skill. You could gain much more by only reading for 1 or 2 hours a day compare to 5 or 10 hours if you really know how to read. But again, as someone mentioned, depending on the topics/contents, you may need to spend more hours on certain books compare to others.

[ihavebrownhaira]

subterranean homesick alien I completely agree with you. I believe if one knows how to think critically and analyze ones reading that they can gain much more from the text in a shorter amount of time. I also believe it depends on what a person is reading. I believe a person can gain a lot more from reading Edgar Allen Poe for 2 hours than reading Nora Roberts for 10 hours. Shes horrible. She should be banned and hung for writing that mass produced garbage.

[ihavebrownhaira]

This is not enough! How long do you people read at a time?!:lol:

[papayahed]

hmm, depends on the book. Most of the time I read for about half an hour before bed but sometimes if the book is really good I could sit most of the day and read, allowing for bathroom and eating breaks of course. That's about a solid answer I can give unless I got out my stop watch and timed my reading but then again I'm not the most proficeint reader here.

[weltanschauung]

subterranean homesick alien

50 points just for that :thumbs_up

i'd show them the stars
and the meaning of life
they'd shut me away
but i'd be all right
all right..

[ihavebrownhaira]

Yea man we have a radiohead fan haha!

[Wilde woman]

I was wondering how long do you hold on while you read? I try to read for an hour or two. I try not to read for more than two hours straight because it hurts my eyes. In my opinion reading for an hour or two is impressive. I read on average 3 hours a day. I was just wondering how long some of you experts read?

It really depends, but I usually read about .5-2 hours a day. Usually late at night and sometimes I'll read through the night if the book is really good. I got my BA in comparative literature...does that make me one of your "experts"?

I don't think reading for long periods at a time makes you a better reader. When I read for too long, the words all just start to blur together. I think a better measure of a good reader is how long it takes a person to finish a book. Some people stop and start again, letting months at a time pass and by the time they return to the book, they've forgotten everything they've already read. By the time they finish it, they've gotten nothing out of the book other than the meaningless claim that they read it. Doesn't matter if you finished The Light in August if it took you a year to do it.

BTW, if you like Faulkner, Steinbeck, and Hemingway at age 18, you're way ahead of most high school students. Admittedly those aren't my favorites, but you must be quite intelligent if you can understand Faulkner on your first read-through. Absalom, Absalom! was the first book I read for class when I went to college; it almost scared me away from the major. :D

Good luck!

[kasie]

Ihbh - if you are at college full-time and you have a job and you manage a couple of hours reading a day, then, imo, you are not doing too badly!

As other posters have said, it's not the length of time you read but the quality of that reading that counts. Half an hour's reading with no interruptions or distractions is better than many hours with a book but with friends talking at you or the television or radio burbling away in the background. And, as Wilde woman said, the length of time it takes you to finish the book is relevant too - that reflects how closely you have been able to concentrate on the text and how you have been able to absorb it as a whole rather than in scattered passages with wide gaps of time in between.

I am retired so in theory I could read all day - but I have too much to do! I read most days, sometimes just over a meal but sometimes for several hours at a time, though my eyes ache next day if I do that too often. I once read through the day to three in the morning in an attempt to get through The Brothers Karamazov in time for a seminar the next week and awoke rather bleary-eyed next morning to discover I had burst a blood vessel in one eye, so beware eye-strain from reading too long at one sitting. (No, I didn't finish it in time for the seminar, I was banned from reading for the rest of the week by a tut-tutting doctor, and no, I've never been able to bring myself to go back and finish it - I only have to pick it up to re-live the horror of seeing my red-eyed reflection in the mirror. :) )

[ihavebrownhaira]

A burst blood vessel from reading? Jesus rice. That is scary. Your poor eyes my friend. We must be gentle with our eyes. They are our friends. My Grandmother is 86 and even though she is deaf and overweight with heart failure she still has beautiful eyes. And she stares at me and her eyes are black at night and there really is not much going on up there, but they are still strong. And she is strong even though there is not much going on with her. She reads quite often. I have fairly poor vision which I believe is genetic. But a popped blood vessel. That sounds terrible. Can you read now or is it permanent?

:bawling:

[optimisticnad]

LIke others have said, it really does depend on what you're reading. For example, Umbert Eco is a bit more taxing than ...Nora Robert! :lol: So you will get less done. I usually read 20 minutes in one sitting, then move on. In a day I'd say I do an hour minimum - not all in one go. I think this way is best - gives you more time to digest what you've read. Reading isn't a passive activity like so many people think, it's active. And if you feel you're just reading but not absorbing/understanding/analysing than you need to stop and take a break. I'm a quick reader - very quick - so I'd say I get more done in my twenty minutes than others do in half an hour. But This isn't a competition and everybody works differently.

[sofia82]

As others said, it depends on the book. Maybe one hour or maybe till the book finished considering meals and other interruptions ;;)
And also it depends on the day (work, homework, other things). Regarding this, one hour some days to 7-8 hours other days. And sometimes nothing. Once I used to read 10 hours a day of course all 10 hours were not just for reading novels and poetry for free time but exams :)

[Shea]

Shea I am actually interested in becoming a high school English teacher. I've gotten on very well with my teachers in the past. Maybe you can offer me some advice. How tough is it earning your bachelors in lit?

Well I went the round about way, since I was pre-med, then nursing. But when I settled into lit, I found it very easy I think because it truely was what I was interested in. Even though, I'm currently not working in a field where I would use my degree directly, I still appreciate my experience and would really love to go back and get my masters.

The best advise that I can give you is to substitue teach a lot. I only did it for about a half a year before I got a teaching position and then I hadn't subbed at that school. A big part of me misses being in the classroom, but a slightly bigger part doesn't miss having way more students than I could handle, dealing with kids that needed to be in special ed classes (since I never recieved training in that), or pointless staff meetings at least 3 times a week where nothing was ever accomplished.

Anyway, I don't want to turn you off of pursuing it, because it can be very rewarding, but part of my problem was that I didn't have time to look into the school that extended the position. The school year had already started and I needed the job. If you have the luxury, hold out for a good spot. (btw, I also taught at a very racist school, which made certain pieces difficult to teach due to stubborn, thick-headed....) I'll stop now...

Oh, and a book that I would recommend, probably because it's what I'm reading right now, Douglas Adams' Hitchhicker's Guide to the Galaxy. That is a fun read!!

[andave_ya]

because I'm a senior, probably no more than half an hour a day, an hour or so on the weekends. Although I do snatch a minute here and there - mea culpa mea culpa - so perhaps a bit more :lol:.

[kasie]

Thanks, Ihbh, the burst blood vessel healed itself and has not recurred, so far, but I do have to be careful not to read too long at a sitting or I can feel the eye-strain setting in again. You are right - eye-sight is precious and we should do all we can to preserve it.

[librarius_qui]

I try not to read for more than two hours straight because it hurts my eyes.

Hi, Matt! Concerning this above, I'd visit a doctor, and, maybe, get a pair of glasses. It is possible to read all day long.


I was just wondering how long some of you experts (...)

I'm definitely the expert one ... Actually, I read very little, compared to my will of reading, and compared to my writing, not only in forums. (I write stuff for myself, that I dare consider literature, though I don't have any intention of ever living of what I write, for ... personal reason.)

I don't think it a ... not understandable thing not to read Shakespeare easily! It's poetry and theatre at the same time, and the language is very old. I've been trying to read a bit of Chaucer, which is a bit as tough as, I think.

I'm in the middle (or at the beginning) of some classics, for example: Don Quixote. I'm stuck in it :sick: but striving with myself always to get back to it. & It doesn't happen only with me.




Hi my name is Matt. I began to read heavily when I was 16. I am now 18. The one thing I regret most about my childhood is not reading enough.
(...)
I've read some of your post and a few of you I believe are idiots and you try to sound fancy by using long complex sentences. Its silly. reminds me of a woman in my psychology class, but if you can understand the great novelist of the past I'm sure your doing something right, but anyway. I am rambling.

If you played enough in your childhood, you sholnd't regret. If you didn't play enough in your childhood, it's never too late, but you're probably find out about it when you're 30 ... Music is a good activity as well. What I mean is: reading is important, but not the most important thing in life. And it's awful to have it as an obligation. It should be a pleasure!

About your rambling, I don't think I quite got it :D


Libri#

[ihavebrownhaira]

I do wear glasses and not reading over 2 hours is just an excuse. Well the eyestrain thing is an excuse. Really I have a hard time doing that because I am energetic. I can read 2 hours then rest 5 minutes and continue reading.

I also play a musical instrument. I play guitar and I would say I'm average. which is nice. I'm average at most things in my life, but this thread isn't about me its about you.

HOW LONG DO YOU PEOPLE READ!

[LostPrincess13]

Well, it really depends on my mood. I'm not sure if you'd count Harry Potter, but one time, I'd read it from the moment I wake up in the morning until I fall asleep at night. I only stop for food and bathroom breaks.:lol: Drives the people here mad!:D

[ihavebrownhaira]

Harry Potter was amazing. I flew through those books too. Very many people did. Great writing. I was disappointed with the Beetle the Bard tales or whatever they are called.

[ihavebrownhaira]

I need more information! How long do you read people of the world all the boys and girls?

[a_little_wisp]

Well, it really depends on my mood. I'm not sure if you'd count Harry Potter, but one time, I'd read it from the moment I wake up in the morning until I fall asleep at night. I only stop for food and bathroom breaks.:lol: Drives the people here mad!:D


I actually did the same thing. On the nights it came out, I'd start a pot of coffee, sit down in a comfortable position, and read.

With a couple of the books, I didn't even touch the coffee. I'd just stumble downstairs at 10 AM and go "Dad. That was. EPIC." And then cry and go to bed.

Um, for school reads? I will sometimes spend .5 - 2 hours on them, depending on the size of the work- I believe reading critically is terribly important. As long as you read critically, I don't think the time should matter.

However, for thick, delicious fantasy novels that get me hooked, I will spend up to 5-10 hours reading consistently, nonstop until I drop. This usually happens on weekends, and it's probably not healthy.

I guess it really depends on the material. :/

[ihavebrownhaira]

Please I would like about 10 more posts. Just 10 more telling me how long you read when you dive into a book. Its almost like a survey. Please. I don't want to be annoying and I promise if 5-10 more people can answer TRUTHFULLY I will be satisfied and I will rest. Please.

[Delta40]

man you're the little kid in the supermarket hassling the parent for a bag of lollies aren't you brownhair :-)

So cute and endearing but still in need of a gentle kick up the ***.

Here - have a post eaten from within by termites.

[ihavebrownhaira]

Joseph your a brilliant man and your a dangerous man and you have style and according to Bukowski a dangerous man with style is an artist and you are an artist and you need to write the best novel you can write. Sit down and pound it out and read a great novel. Read Tolstoy and write a novel. Just sit and let the thoughts flow, but be short and simple and contain some fire within yourself and you can write a great novel.

I'm going to respond to your message in my inbox. You say very powerful things and I need to think and let the thoughts soak in so I don't say something meaningless. You know what I mean?

I like to read for longer periods of time because, I like really sinking in. I have never read over 3 hours straight because I can't and I believe its good to rest the mind. Like music. I pick up my guitar, play for a little, relax. Think about whatever. Eat. Sleep. Use the bathroom. Then I pick it up and fiddle around then I set it down. Its all preference. Personal preference is all it is.

[ihavebrownhaira]

man you're the little kid in the supermarket hassling the parent for a bag of lollies aren't you brownhair :-)

So cute and endearing but still in need of a gentle kick up the ***.

Here - have a post eaten from within by termites.


I agree. I believe the only things that will lead to any stability are love, a good fight, and a drunken night on the town. Three things I have never possessed in my eighteen years, but I am looking forward to them.

[Delta40]

A wise woman once said don't wait for the light at the end of the tunnel. Walk down there with a box of matches and light it yourself.

[ihavebrownhaira]

I say take a seat halfway through the tunnel and know that you can approach the light, but only approach it when your ready and until then go to sleep.

[ihavebrownhaira]

So how long do you guys read at a time when you sit down to read a novel?

[C I Morris]

I have and always will read untill i finish the book.
Some christmas's and birthdays have been a blur because i have asked for books.
they wont buy them for me anymore hehe.

[de Renal]

brownhair, I am sorry to hear that you find Tolstoy uninteresting, because he was my favourite writer when I was your age!
but, ontopic - in my opinion, it is not important how many hours you spend reading, or how many books you read during the year. what's more important is that you understand what you read and have fun while doing it.
even though reading is my favourite activity ever, I find joy in other things too. so I wake up early in the morning and spend an hour with the books before work. and an hour in the evening. and doing so, I read between 50 and 100 books a year, which I consider a lot, having in mind that I have full time job.
you shouldn't worry about hours spent over the book, it's individual anyway. all you should do is find your way to make opinions about what you read.
that's all.

[Biefall]

I think it all depends on how much the writer "captures you" and how entertaining the lecture itself is.

I couldnt read Homer for more than 20 minutes .
I cant stand Herman Hesse's Steppenwolf longer than an hour.

But I can read Perez-Reverte or non-stop till I fall asleep in my bed, same with many fantasy writers.

[_Shannon_]

I read for like 15 minutes at a time--half an hour max. I have a gaggle of children and it's all I can squeeze in. Still, I can read some big books, and some heavy hitting authors. I try to cycle through and read shorter and less demanding stuff in between. It keeps me from burning out. Different sorts of reads require different amounts of my soul to read.

I think learning to read something bigger and weightier takes some "training"...but at some point you have to just jump. I have found when I am trying something new or something that feels a little out of my depth, it helps me to find a few other people (in real life or online) to read along with me.

I also didn't really read much until I was 15 or 16....and now I think I am pretty well read, at least compared with the "average" person. Just keep reading, and choose great books working through the canon, working through lists of "bests", Pulitzers, National Book Awards, Booker Award winners, Nobel winners....

[eoinh]

good afternoon fellow literary purveyors. The key is to think. I am a sociology and psychology student going into third. My humble advice is all I can give and this template has worked simply marvelously 4 me. Read a book for an hour then for the next few hours no matter what your indulging in sex, tv etc think about the topic identifying all perspectives of the texts this is the key to all enlightenment especially the more complexed works like Byron, Joyce, Pope and Shakespeare.

[Calidore]

good afternoon fellow literary purveyors. The key is to think. I am a sociology and psychology student going into third. My humble advice is all I can give and this template has worked simply marvelously 4 me. Read a book for an hour then for the next few hours no matter what your indulging in sex, tv etc think about the topic identifying all perspectives of the texts this is the key to all enlightenment especially the more complexed works like Byron, Joyce, Pope and Shakespeare.

Oh, the girlfriend would love that.

As we bask in afterglow, she asks, "What were you thinking about, honey?"

"I was pondering the Tolstoyan relationship between "free will" and "necessity" as it applies to War and Peace. How about you?"

"I was thinking about how much I love being with you. You a**hole."

"Well, ah, obviously I was mostly thinking about you, I just, um...."

[Delta40]

I read and then fall asleep. The rest of the time (in between working) I try to compose something that might twang a heartstring of somebody on lit-net.

You see I've noticed there are very many well educated folk on this forum and can quote you from Descartes to Shakespeare and add an analysis of the whys and the wherefores about the colour tights they wore for a particular scene to what does two simple words actually mean. but they don't write.

I'm the opposite and I guess we're all made differently. Some know how a car is put together, others just hop into one and drive it.

This might not make sense because I've taken an overdose of a benzodiazipine with a glass of cabernet. There's a forum for that too but those members would know more about wine than me.

Is cabernet the suicide drink of choice out of interest?