I think an important part of reading more books is also categorizing your reading. My reading falls into three: I read something from a writer (fiction, drama, poetry), scholar (history, philosophy, reference), and teacher (essays, memoirs, scriptures). So I can be reading 3-9 books at any one time. My mind tends to drift after 10-15 pages of reading any single book, so I like to pivot to different material that sometimes requires more careful reading to something that is lighter.
Also, don't discount audiobooks! It's a great way to "read" in a different way. I listen to Great Courses and fiction around the house while I'm doing things. I'd argue it's the ONLY way to read fiction. There's nothing like someone telling a good story!
I'm constantly debating with myself whether to read one book at a time and giving it all my focus and attention or doing 3, 4, 5 at a time to have variety, let suspense grow, etc. I do love me a good audiobook performance!
I agree! One thing I like about the slow burn approach is that you can get through some major works without feeling daunted by them (like what we did this past year with war and peace). I’m currently doing this with the Hebrew Testament (reading Alter’s translation with commentary). I also read it WITH the audible book (read by Edoardo Ballerini who is an awesome reader!) and I find it an excellent way of reading and remembering the text. If there’s a book that really interests me (Steve Johnson’s An Extra Life was one) I will drop everything and burn through it quickly though.
Jeremy - thanks for the tips. I'm curious if you focus on one book at a time or go to a few each day as is my habit. It's common to find myself engaging 3-4 books throughout my reading week.
I generally do two books at a time — one fiction and one non-fiction. I read both throughout the course of the day, just depending on my mood at the time.
I'm an early riser and without fail, I get in twenty pages first thing in the morning (thank you, James Clear). I generally read about six books at a time. I usually pick out the biggest non-fiction book for the morning (think the Caro LBJ books) and the smallest fiction book I'm reading. I may only get in 6-7 pages of the non-fiction and then make up for it with the fiction.
I try to read an even number of fiction and non-fiction. My goal last year was 65 books or 20,000 pages. I hit over 20,000 pages with 63 books.
I usually get in another ten minutes of reading while I'm waiting for my wife to get ready for work and another ten minutes when I return from lunch. 15-20 minutes after dinner before I go up to my home office to write. A minimum of thirty minutes at bedtime. 50-75 pages a day, closer to 100 on the weekends. Day after day, month after month. I'm seventy-one. I know I might only have another 600-700 books left to read (or, if you're a stoic, maybe 0). When I retire, I'll always have a book in my hand.
Totally agree with Floyd here. I think it’s really important too to focus on quality reading. I read around 12,000 pages this year (about 35 books). I could have read more probably but I was really happy with the quality: read all of Emerson’s essays, War and Peace, great bio on Thoreau, and the Pentateuch with a commentary to name a few.
I know there’s people out there that love to read all the time. I’m not one of those people. I love to read as part of my day, but for me reading is like working out—if you are exercising more than a hour you’re probably doing it for something other than to stay in shape. I don’t want to read just to read. I read to get something out of it. 😉
I love to do other things. Go to concerts, see art shows (saw the Titian exhibit at the Gardner in Boston recently—I’d drop any book to see 6 Titian paintings in the same room!), TRAVEL, and watch TV (there’s is so many GOOD shows on The small tube right now. Just as good as any book).
As Emerson once said “Books are for the scholar’s idle times. When he can read god directly, the hour is too precious to be wasted in other men’s transcripts of their readings. But when the intervals of darkness come, as come they must,--when the soul seeth not, when the sun is hid, and the stars withdraw their shining--we repair to the lamps which were kindled by their ray to guide our steps to the East again, where the dawn is.”
Jeff, I most assuredly agree with you about "quality" reading and reading to learn something of value. For non-fiction, I tend toward history and biography because it helps frame the present time. I can't tell you how many times, while reading Chernow's Grant I made a note in notebook saying--just like today! I love learning new things and especially like being "surprised." When my brother and I both read Gladwell's "The Bomber Mafia" last year, our first comment when we talked about it was - did you ever think we would be reading about General Curtis LeMay?
As to fiction, although I do have a couple of "thriller" writers I drift into every once in awhile, it's usually literary fiction. Which means I may read something amazing, or I may wish I had an entire bottle of bourbon and a shotgun next to my chair.
I'm not much of a TV watcher (although my wife is just adrift in "Yellowstone" and I'll watch it for an hour a night with her), but can get engrossed in a series if the writing is snappy.
We like to go to concerts as well--I'm hoping for the day I may not have to wear a mask to one.
I think an important part of reading more books is also categorizing your reading. My reading falls into three: I read something from a writer (fiction, drama, poetry), scholar (history, philosophy, reference), and teacher (essays, memoirs, scriptures). So I can be reading 3-9 books at any one time. My mind tends to drift after 10-15 pages of reading any single book, so I like to pivot to different material that sometimes requires more careful reading to something that is lighter.
Also, don't discount audiobooks! It's a great way to "read" in a different way. I listen to Great Courses and fiction around the house while I'm doing things. I'd argue it's the ONLY way to read fiction. There's nothing like someone telling a good story!
Solid tips! I tend to be in the midst of a one novel and one non-fic at any given time.
I'm constantly debating with myself whether to read one book at a time and giving it all my focus and attention or doing 3, 4, 5 at a time to have variety, let suspense grow, etc. I do love me a good audiobook performance!
I agree! One thing I like about the slow burn approach is that you can get through some major works without feeling daunted by them (like what we did this past year with war and peace). I’m currently doing this with the Hebrew Testament (reading Alter’s translation with commentary). I also read it WITH the audible book (read by Edoardo Ballerini who is an awesome reader!) and I find it an excellent way of reading and remembering the text. If there’s a book that really interests me (Steve Johnson’s An Extra Life was one) I will drop everything and burn through it quickly though.
Jeremy - thanks for the tips. I'm curious if you focus on one book at a time or go to a few each day as is my habit. It's common to find myself engaging 3-4 books throughout my reading week.
I generally do two books at a time — one fiction and one non-fiction. I read both throughout the course of the day, just depending on my mood at the time.
“But if you have a feeling like you’d rather watch a little less TV and read just a little more…”
This is me in 2022! Thanks, would be cool to go from 50/year to 75 or even a hundred if I watched less TV.
I'm an early riser and without fail, I get in twenty pages first thing in the morning (thank you, James Clear). I generally read about six books at a time. I usually pick out the biggest non-fiction book for the morning (think the Caro LBJ books) and the smallest fiction book I'm reading. I may only get in 6-7 pages of the non-fiction and then make up for it with the fiction.
I try to read an even number of fiction and non-fiction. My goal last year was 65 books or 20,000 pages. I hit over 20,000 pages with 63 books.
I usually get in another ten minutes of reading while I'm waiting for my wife to get ready for work and another ten minutes when I return from lunch. 15-20 minutes after dinner before I go up to my home office to write. A minimum of thirty minutes at bedtime. 50-75 pages a day, closer to 100 on the weekends. Day after day, month after month. I'm seventy-one. I know I might only have another 600-700 books left to read (or, if you're a stoic, maybe 0). When I retire, I'll always have a book in my hand.
Awesome, thanks so much for the comment Floyd!
Totally agree with Floyd here. I think it’s really important too to focus on quality reading. I read around 12,000 pages this year (about 35 books). I could have read more probably but I was really happy with the quality: read all of Emerson’s essays, War and Peace, great bio on Thoreau, and the Pentateuch with a commentary to name a few.
I know there’s people out there that love to read all the time. I’m not one of those people. I love to read as part of my day, but for me reading is like working out—if you are exercising more than a hour you’re probably doing it for something other than to stay in shape. I don’t want to read just to read. I read to get something out of it. 😉
I love to do other things. Go to concerts, see art shows (saw the Titian exhibit at the Gardner in Boston recently—I’d drop any book to see 6 Titian paintings in the same room!), TRAVEL, and watch TV (there’s is so many GOOD shows on The small tube right now. Just as good as any book).
As Emerson once said “Books are for the scholar’s idle times. When he can read god directly, the hour is too precious to be wasted in other men’s transcripts of their readings. But when the intervals of darkness come, as come they must,--when the soul seeth not, when the sun is hid, and the stars withdraw their shining--we repair to the lamps which were kindled by their ray to guide our steps to the East again, where the dawn is.”
Jeff, I most assuredly agree with you about "quality" reading and reading to learn something of value. For non-fiction, I tend toward history and biography because it helps frame the present time. I can't tell you how many times, while reading Chernow's Grant I made a note in notebook saying--just like today! I love learning new things and especially like being "surprised." When my brother and I both read Gladwell's "The Bomber Mafia" last year, our first comment when we talked about it was - did you ever think we would be reading about General Curtis LeMay?
As to fiction, although I do have a couple of "thriller" writers I drift into every once in awhile, it's usually literary fiction. Which means I may read something amazing, or I may wish I had an entire bottle of bourbon and a shotgun next to my chair.
I'm not much of a TV watcher (although my wife is just adrift in "Yellowstone" and I'll watch it for an hour a night with her), but can get engrossed in a series if the writing is snappy.
We like to go to concerts as well--I'm hoping for the day I may not have to wear a mask to one.
Thanks for the comment!
I love this comment.