Sunday, November 18, 2012

TSS: How much do you read


Hello everybody!, wow, it's been a while since I've actually done one of this. I've been blogging, and as I mentioned in the last TSS I did the the 24-hour-Read-a-Thon, so I have a couple of reviews ready to be posted. Is just that for a while I didn't have a particular discusion in mind.

So what is it that I want to discuss with you guys today? Well, this week in Book Riot, Kit from Books are  my Boyfriends, wrote a very nice piece titled: How many pages do you read a day?, and that got me thinking.

First of all I was unable to give a straight answer. Until this year when I joined Goodreads, I only new the amount of books I read in a year, thanks to my spreadsheet on Excel. I knew what books and in which order did I read them through the year, that's it that's all. Now I "know" how many pages I've read so far, how long it took me to finish a book, etc...well the information is there, I don't actually know, sorry.

But then, I mentioned it, and someone else, far more eloquent than me pointed out the same point: There is pages and there is pages. You see, when I was a kid I read the whole Goosebumps collection, and that added to a nice amount of books and hence pages. But reading such books was not as demanding as when I tried (and failed) to read Don Quixote, the unabridged version (in my defense I was barely 15, it was a hard read people!). 

I'm not saying that one is better than the other, because I do not believe so. I've read very "simple" books (no in content, but as how easy it was to read) that were very good books, and I've read dense-like-a-brick books that although interesting made me want to hide in a corner because I wasn't enjoying myself anymore.

And then you have audiobooks. I personally haven't fall for them, although I think they are a really good option for a lot of people. But I feel that we cannot  put in the same platter the books (paper or e-reader) that we read and the books we listen too, unles you actually sit down, doing nothing else than reading the book; I mean that your whole attention is on the story, not something else. Why do I say that? I am a fan of podcasts, and sometimes at the lab I have the Science podcast or the Naked Scientists podcast in the background while doing my experiments, so I pick up some of the stories, and once in a while I will hear a "keyword" that will shift my attention to the broadcast. But I cannot said that I listened to the whole thing, except when we are in the car, and I think the same applies to people with an audiobook while, for example, doing an experiment.

So what do you think? Do you know how many pages you read during the day? do you think is fair just say a number, independent on what you are reading?

Thanks for stopping by. If you have the time, I invite you to see some of my latest reviews, and as always, have a wonderful week.

8 comments:

  1. I don't know how many pages I read a day. I do read every day. I do read a lot every day.

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    1. I try to read everyday, but sometimes (specially if I had to read articles) my y=eyes are just begging for some rest. But I think that's the important part, to read everyday, regardless of the amount of pages, and mostly to enjoy it!

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    2. Interesting that you mention tired eyes. After looking at a computer screen all day at work, I still want to read my books when I get home but my eyes are seeing fuzzy print! Its very frustrating.
      Years and years ago I used to use a spreadsheet to track my reading. For the last 10 years I've been using and highly recommend Collectorz.com's Book software. I LOVE it. It instantly downloads all the book information, plus cover shot, of whatever book you want to add. It includes page count, pub date, format, etc. Even a summary! There are fields for date read, place purchased, rating, etc. You can sort everything extremely easily. No, they didn't pay me to say all of this, I just really want to spread the word! :)

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    3. I've never heard of it!, I will definitely check it out now! Thanks for stopping by!

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  2. Since I only read paper books, it's easier for me to keep track of the number of pages that I read in a day. I average at 50, and I can read more if I have nothing to do. But whenever life gets in the way, I read less. Sometimes, I wouldn't be able to read a single page.

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    1. I know what you mean, sadly lab life gets in the way a lot! Ironically sometimes I have to stop reading my books to read articles...not so fun

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  3. I've noticed that I read about 50-60 pages if I read on the bus ride to and back from classes (I mostly read on the bus). I think it's fair to say a number, unless you're counting comic books and children's books (those with three lines of text and a big picture on every page), because "demanding" is a bit subjective and can depend a lot on the person.

    I found Don Quixote very demanding (I have never read anything else like it). I was about that age when I read it, but I was not allowed to fail because it was mandatory reading for school. I would have failed otherwise and I have to admit that there were pages or part of pages that I skipped.

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    1. Ever since I stopped taking the bus I feel that my average reading went down, off course. And I agree with the children's book; I know there are a lot of good one out there, but is not the same type of reading.
      I read a simpler version of the Quixote for school too...I have to agree, is very demanding!!!

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