If you read 50+ books a year, how do you do it?

[Pigtailsandall]

I admit, this is just me being nosy, but I'm hugely impressed and astounded by people who get through 50+ books a year. I'm interested in how people do it- during what gaps in your day do you read, do you have many books on the go at once, do you have time for other hobbies? In other words, what does your reading day/week look like? Are you a fast reader? Do you read evenly throughout the year?

My goal is to read 24-26 books this year, essentially one every two weeks or so, and I know come summer months I'll struggle to keep that pace as life will get busy.

I take a book EVERYWHERE.
But basically I have a health condition where I need to rest a lot and I spend most of that time reading. I also can't look at screens for long - I was amazed how much spare time that freed up.
In the evening I'll often lock myself in the bathroom with a book and have a good soak. No phone.
Sometimes if I'm struggling with a book I will set myself a goal: "no doing anything else until I've read 30 pages".
But my kids are older so I have so much more opportunity than the average mum.

Re your goal: Work out how fast you read, eg average of 30 pages an hour or whatever, then how long would you need to read per day to finish a book of 300 to 400 pages in two weeks. Set that time aside and if necessary, log it somewhere to keep on track.

Good luck OP, i hope you can do it!

I read about this many.

I read every day. Before I go to sleep and usually when I wake up as well. I always have a book on me for when I need to wait for something. I usually have more than one on the go.

I have family and caring responsibilities and work more than full time hours. Reading is my time for myself.

It does depend on reading speed but if it’s your main hobby and passion, it’s really not that hard to read a book a week. I read on Kindle so I know it takes me about 5 or 6 hours to read a shortish book. That’s less than an hour a day - I have a train commute so I read a bit then and then a bit more in bed at night before going to sleep.

And I should add: I have two kids and a very busy job!

I read very quickly which helps. I read for an hour before bed every day and sometimes for longer in the evening if DH is watching something I have no interest in. I also read when on public transport as it is easier than having signal dip in or out or when waiting for DC to finish appointments.

you turn the TV off. I also read really quickly and I read 72 last year.

My mum probably read that amount per year, but she lived on her own and reading was her main pastime, not a tv person, in winter she would sometimes read two books a week as she didn’t go out as much, less in summer

I'm not really into watching TV, so I spend a good couple of hours reading every evening. I read over breakfast and lunch, and listen to audiobooks when walking the dog and doing chores. I read/listened to over 100 books last year, but it's my main passion in life and I'm quite a fast reader as well.

I once counted the number of books I read a year and it averaged at about 140 ( I don’t have children!) it depends on the books really - it took me a week to get through war and peace (never again!) but a lot of modern fluffy books you can get through in a day. I do read quickly, but nowadays I get through about 70 a year.

when one of my siblings told me you don’t get much time to read when you have kids, I immediately thought stuff that, I’m not having kids. Reading is too important.

This is me.

i don’t buy a handbag unless it’s big enough to fit a book in it. Always, always have a book with me.

i have a new electric car - charged it for the first time a few days ago and sat in it reading for an hour while it charged.

in London for the weekend - two books plus of course always have kindle app in my phone. Read book on the train and reading a bit this morning as the shop I want to go to doesn’t open until 12.

I’ve just finished my 21st book since Christmas. I do read quickly, I can read a book in an hour or two (if I don’t have any interruptions).
Have the kindle app on my phone so read for a bit each morning (dog wakes me very early most days) and a bit every night before going to sleep. But also whenever im parked in car at pickup or waiting for appointments. Have been known to be making dinner with one hand whilst reading 😂
After my divorce I had about a year where I read nothing because my mind wouldn’t just stop and let me read. It took me a few years to get the knack back.

I have audiobook playing while doing housework, on public transport, driving.
So read loads that way..

I can read 4-5 books a day, or I did when trapped in hospital for two months.

iReading has kept me sane. There are some wonderful authors. For example Dianna Wynne Jones, Garth Nix, Barry Huggart, Dionne Lister, Fiona McIntosh, Lindsay Davies, Terry Pratchet, Emily Rhoda and J K Rowling.

Oh, sorry additional information:

my kids are older now obviously so I have more time. But even when my kids were young I always had a book with me. Kids swimming lessons - reading on the seats. Waiting outside brownies (too far to go home and back again) - flask of tea couple of biscuits and read for an hour or so.

sometimes I read trash or easy reads - Thursday murder club and the like - normally I have a couple of books on the go one easy read one less so.

i actually really love war and peace and once spent a plane ride to New York re-reading it.

i grew up with no TV and very little radio. I read a LOT as a child and I am now a pretty quick reader.

i also (try to) read in the language I d as k currently learning which is German. I have an app for that as I’m nowhere near good enough to read actual books.

I hit 50 on my good reads list last year plus I also read around 100 short stories (3-10k words each).

I carry a pocket sized kindle and pull that out to read a few pages instead of scrolling on my phone during idle moments.

I also spent a while going through all my apps and disabling the majority of notifications leaving only important stuff. It only pops up when someone is directly trying to contact me plus stuff like my bank now. This means I spend way less time on my phone as I'm not "just checking" something after getting a random notification giving me a lot more kindle time.

Lastly I tend to have an audiobook playing whenever I'm doing something that requires my hands to be busy but not my brain e.g housework. I tend to play video games in the evening instead of watch TV and many games pair well with audio books too.

Sometimes I read 3 books in a week and then don't read anything for two months. Sometimes I'll spend a month only reading short stories. I never push myself to read if I'm not in the mood as that rapidly kills the fun for me. I just average it out over the year and it works out to approximately 1 book and 2 short stories a week.

I don’t usually manage 50 in a year, but I pretty regularly reach 40. It isn’t particularly difficult, even with kids. I have 20-30 minutes each way on the train, maybe three or four days a week, and half-an-hour last thing every night. I don’t really read outside those times. Reading-before-sleeping is the most important thing and not just for numbers – I sleep so much better after I read compared to when I don’t.

You need to be disciplined though. No scrolling on the train. It’s funny because once you’re in the habit you look up and realise you’ve acquired a superpower because almost everyone else has their noses in their phones instead!

I am a fast reader and I read my kindle pretty constantly eg whilst commuting rather than scrolling.

Thanks all, interesting to read about everyone's habits. I do have a small (and energetic) child who takes up a lot of brain space. We get up at 6.30ish so reading in the morning isn't an option. My commute is short, so I usually cycle. If I take public transport, its ten minutes of walk, then tube for ten minutes, and another ten minutes of walking, and I usually listen to podcasts.

I will try and take a book to work though. I don't often get much of a break, but I will try to squeeze in twenty minutes at lunch time. I think it would be good for my mental health too!

I usually read at bedtime too, but often manage only half an hour before I fall asleep!

My commuting book is different from my bedtime book. Sometimes I have two of each on the go at once, just to keep momentum up if there’s a day when I’m not in the mood for fiction.

Also choose the commuting book carefully – it has to have short enough chunks that I can usually stop at a suitable gap once I reach the station.

I read 59 books last year as I started logging them. Thank goodness for Borrowbox. I am a fast reader anyway but I always read at night for about an hour and also in the morning around 30 minutes. If I am having dinner alone I get another thirty mins in. Weekends I read longer in the morning. So I guess I read for up to 14 hours a week and more if on leave from work.

I read in queues, on the bus/train, at lunch, occasionally when walking if it's safe, in the evenings instead of TV or during ads and boring bits, in the bathroom. Not usually in bed. I have my kindle for on the go, a main book and a bathroom reread.

Also my kids are teens now, so that helps 😀

I don't usually read that many, but last year I was off work sick, and I read around 60 plus books. This year I've managed 3 so far. I don't think thats too bad considering I'm working full time, in uni and have two children and 3 cats to care for. I think if you want to read more you need to make an effort. Avoid doom scrolling, watching rubbish on tv. I find if the book is a page turner I fly through them!

I don't watch much TV and I don't have social media. I don't think it's a lack of effort but lack of available hours. I usually still sit with dc at bedtime, and by the time they are asleep there's still stuff to sort out, and I also try to go out a few times a week

I will make a point of reading at lunch time though, bar days when people shove in lunch time meetings. I don't use much public transport or drive (cycling is also my main exercise and I am too scared to listen to anything whilst cycling!)

I do think people who can read a whole book in a day are impressive!

True, having a commuting book with short chapters is key. I will consider this when I choose a book for work. I often get interrupted even if people see me reading so I can't take anything too literary/heavy with me!