How often do you read books?

[pentangles]

I love books, and tend to think that the typical human lifespan would never allow me enough time to read all of the books I'd like to.

That said, I have slipped out of the habit, thanks to the internet, and do most of my reading on there. But it isn't the same at all. I challenged myself to read a book of Virginia Woolf's short stories recently and wow did it feel different! It affected my mind, attention and thought processes in a completely different way to online reading. All positive! I ought to have known better, as a life long lover of books, but it seems the internet has taken me over a good bit.

I so want to get back into the habit, yet I still have a pile waiting, and can't quite get my head around why I don't delve in. WTF?? This used to be my most cherished pastime. I feel a sort of resentment that something scuppered it. Anyone relate?

I've always got a book on the go and carry one to most places, ie work - I'll read it on doorstep if no one else around and waiting to get in, most breaktimes, on the bus, in the evenings if we're not doing anything else/not much on tv, going on a bike ride this morning to garden centre and will be reading in the cafe there, even take it in the car just in case. I've usually about 10 in hand to read as I regularly look in charity shops for favourite authors.

I agree that talking to other people that read really helps. I'm on the 26 book thread, also in a book club (although that has paused at the moment) and we sometimes talk about books at work, we were thinking about setting up a swap shelf but I'm not sure if there are enough of us to make it viable.

I read every day, both kindle and physical copy books. I have a fear of having nothing to read so do have an extensive to be read pile. I have tried to cut down on my phone scrolling as I am really unwell at the moment and it is too easy to slip into the doom scroll.

Read when you want to.i ha e times whereiread a lot and tines where I don't touch a book.

I always have a book on the go and always have done. Constantly have a huge to read pile. I read anywhere and everywhere, I read most days and if I have a day where I don't get chance I actually get a little bit antsy, like withdrawal symptoms! I do spend too much time online, yes, but don't let it distract from my actual books.

I think that apart from book clubs- I am in one- reading what you want to read helps. This may seem really obvious. But it's not!

I read mostly crime fiction- which some people sneer at- but I love. I also read historical fiction and non-fiction. I used to enjoy Booker nominees. I don't any more for various reasons, so I have stopped. Some of my friends only read very worthy books- for lack of a better term- so they hardly read at all because they can't get through it.

All the time. My job requires it, but I’d be a voracious reader in any job. If I have free time (say have rented a cottage solo for a weekend, and it’s too rainy to walk much) I could easily read three or four novels between waking and sleeping. (I’m a fast, gulpy reader, too.)

I think our brains have changed, definitely. I have observed how I feel when I read a book, compared to reading online, whether forums, articles or stories. There is something indefinable about the physicality of the 'book'. It is an intimacy that is difficult to describe to those who don't care. It becomes a part of you, essentially, and leaves a longer lasting trace...

Yes, time is a huge factor for many. But I think the internet has altered how we collect and store information. A lot of what we might read online, including MN, runs past like a conveyor belt, rarely stopping for a moment.
Do we feel impelled to take these smaller, bite sized chunks of information over the more time consuming leisure of book reading? It's a fascinating topic.

It makes me wonder how we now store that info, and what impact it has on neural networks (not that I fully understand my neuro terminology!).

Glad it’s not just me op.
As a young woman I was always reading; even with children and a job I would fit in five minutes here and there.
Now I’m retired and could read for three hours a day but somehow can’t, which I think is related to my phone use.
I volunteer in a charity shop where we sell three paperbacks for £1, so I have a huge pile waiting for me. Unfortunately I just can’t settle down to them.

I read almost every day. I've read 46 so far this year. I read a mixture of physical books, audiobooks and books on my kindle.

@pentangles you might enjoy this book! All about how our brains have changed so people now struggle to concentrate, and what you can do to try and change that.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stolen-Focus-Why-Cant-Attention-ebook/dp/B096LZDY32/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=9BCQWNGSBJG6&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KFTFsxsKPLhzsDipti2gDYXOvhVvxPqpLwRQrkm9CFQyWQIIOUMIftSDK72Ly9Hk0U5CVWSNnJN16_hBaL7eVZzGAIcO9CUmutkXpk5u1rvUAQMqGq_FBh3OG2Y7x2TC3Y0Srzgz286oa49WnPgAoa0i1TFqU-zplRYF1eHLG09TnMYz7IuKaRn71DSpAGMsAQTIQRBVyXbFQtKNLQRJ-A.wIWKLmGMZk4k2oar6w1Pq2b-XKzNbWBKtbr3fIWiWfE&dib_tag=se&keywords=johann+hari+stolen+focus&qid=1717676572&sprefix=johann+hari%2Caps%2C86&sr=8-1

I got out of the habit of reading.

Partly having young children so not being able to get absorbed into a book.

Partly having a partner who is not a reader.

Partly feeling guilty for taking the time to sit and read, surely I should be doing something useful instead.

I downloaded the kindle app and BorrowBox onto my phone so I can read eg when waiting for dc at clubs instead of scrolling. I’ve started using my library more. I try really really hard not to feel guilty for reading!!

I read every day. 26 books read so far this year - I love the Goodreads app!

Constantly. I read on Kindle, library books on Kobo, and the odd physical book, too.
I don’t leave the house without my book, and feel twitchy if I’m stuck somewhere with nothing to read.

I don't read as much as I did...., Internet ect But what I found helps is that I sometimes set myself a rule that when I sit down in the evening I will read 20 pages before looking at a screen.... it works for me...

Reading is one of my biggest passions( Kindle now)..l.get withdrawal symptoms if l don't have a book on the go.
I can't sleep if l haven't read any of my latest book on a night.

Everyday. Since I was a small child I have very rarely not read at least a few pages before going to sleep. Although I do use a kindle a lot these days.

I read every single night before going to sleep and always have. I don't get through books that fast because I'm not reading very much at a time. I get through more in the holidays (teacher).

I read every day, always have a book or two on the go. I do read physical books but also love my kindle because I can skip it in my bag and read of the train or waiting for the kids coming out of school. I’ve always been a bookworm.

I tend to only put stuff i'm not too invested in on my kindle. I think I still love the feel of a real book in my hands to get that old thing back

I do read every day, but only in tiny chunks. It's like I have lost the ability to go full on. I look at my piles of books from over the years and would love to re-read a few, yet never manage to find the headspace to pull it off.
I don't believe that I am busier than back then, I think my brain is altered by bitesized shite.

I second GoodReads as a motivator. I'm reading at least a book a week since signing up and finding better books too. It's a motivator to see the list of read books and find the next one. And I'm an English teacher so should know better but had also fallen out of the habit for my phone.

Everyday and I have a huge pile of unread books. I have a Kindle but am not keen on it. My concentration is shot though. Possibly the internet/scrolling phenomenon or perimenopause brain fog or a combination!

Every day. I usually have two or three books ongoing, at least one will be non-fiction.

2 new book arrived this week - more technical in nature. But I finally realised o need my glasses to read after dark and that has helped me read 2 books in the past 10'days...I'm getting old...

I read a lot of books on my phone, using Kindle Unlimited or my local library app, which is free. It's not as satisfying as reading a physical copy of a book, but much better than random scrolling online. With the kindle app you can usually read the first chapter or two for free - great way to get a taster and to really expand the type of books you read.

I like a charity shop browse for books, great for holidays if you can bear to leave the books behind!

I tend to buy poetry in hard copy - doesn't work me on screen, and I know I'll re-read it.