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Original poster

How many books do you read in a year?

114 replies

Posey · 05/01/2008 22:14

Roughly. I know it varies and depends on how thick they are etc...

I keep a list of what I've read (anal maybe, but I like it) and realise that I'm reading fewer books these days (although I always have something on the go).

So, to answer my own question, I read 20 - 25 books a year.

OP posts:
oregonianabroad · 05/01/2008 23:01

Sometimes 2 or 3 a week. SOmetimes 2 or 3 a month, depends on how much sleep I am getting.

I love to read.

Quattrocento · 05/01/2008 23:01

Oh I reckon about 100-150 which is a lot really

janeite · 05/01/2008 22:59

I'm always going on about the fact that I wish I'd kept a list of all the books I've read. On average I get through at least one and sometimes two or even three a week; a mixture of fiction (some of it teenage though) and non-fiction (hisotory books and Bill Bryson books) - some of these are re-reads though. As you see, I read extremely quickly but then forget most of what I read, hence some re-reads and hence the wishing that I'd kept a list.

mumjoanne · 05/01/2008 22:59

Posey - what is your best ever read?

Original poster
Posey · 05/01/2008 22:58

Yes I list everything!
Funny what you said about Adrian Mole. I read a book called The Barren Patch when I was in my early 20s. Loved it. Re-read it a couple of years ago and didn't have the same impact at all. I guess it depends on what stage in your life you are at.

OP posts:
Original poster
Posey · 05/01/2008 22:58

Yes I list everything!
Funny what you said about Adrian Mole. I read a book called The Barren Patch when I was in my early 20s. Loved it. Re-read it a couple of years ago and didn't have the same impact at all. I guess it depends on what stage in your life you are at.

OP posts:
mumjoanne · 05/01/2008 22:49

I'm quite a generous rater so not much gets below a B- or a C+. If a start something but don't finish it I give it a U. (Harry Potter got a C - it didn't do anything for me)
I list everything that counts as a novel - not text books. I list the date I finished it, the author, title and rating. It's interesting to see what I rated something when i've read it twice - like Adrian Mole - I thought it was brilliant when I read it in 1986 but then just it was ok when i picked it up 10 years later.

NKF · 05/01/2008 22:42

Do you list everything? Even something you read quite quickly or picked up on holiday? I can see that it would be an interesting record of a life, probably as telling as a diary in some ways.

Original poster
Posey · 05/01/2008 22:39

Ooh I've never thought of rating them.
What't the lowest score you've ever given anything?

OP posts:
mumjoanne · 05/01/2008 22:37

When I was 14 my English teacher suggested we keep a list of the books we read and give them a rating. I've done it now for 24 years - its better than a diary which I would never get round to writing.

When i look back I can remember where I was and who i was with when i read each book.

And to answer your question I read about 2 books a month on average.

My best ever books - which got A+++++ were Gone with the Wind, Secret History (Donna Tart)and The Kite Runner

expatinscotland · 05/01/2008 22:35

a lot.

no lists, though.

Original poster
Posey · 05/01/2008 22:33

I started keeping a list for 2 reasons. Firstly because I had a habit of reading lots of books by the same author and it helped me remember which ones I'd read (specifically at the time it was Ruth Rendell).
And secondly I was given a really lovely notebook and didn't have anything better to put in it!

Its quite intersting looking back, you can see when you had your chick-lit phase or when you first read a particular author.

Funnily enough the year dd was born was my biggest reading year. I had nearly 10 weeks off work before she was even born but couldn't do much so read a lot, and then again after she was born when she spent 22 hours a day breastfeeding!

OP posts:
NKF · 05/01/2008 22:18

I read loads, always have but have never kept a list. Why do you do that? And where? On the compute? I'm curious. If it's so you can help recommend books, then please let me have a peek.

donnie · 05/01/2008 22:16

I wish I read that many - I probably manage 12 - 15 per year.