According to my Goodreads account, where I track all of my reading, I’ve read 261 books in 2011. In 2010, I read 280 books. Those numbers don’t include any submissions or acquisitions I read for work, so you can easily put those numbers over 300 books read per year. Now, granted, some of those are shorter books, some novellas, a few short stories. They’re not all huge novels. But a lot of them are novel-length. In fact, the majority of them are novel length.
I tell you this not to brag, but because people often ask me how I find the time to read all of those books and my answer is two-fold:
1) I’m a fast reader. I’ve always been a fast reader. I remember them testing me in first grade and saying I read at a 12th grade level. Reading has always been a gift for me, and I’m lucky to be able to read quickly and still comprehend and retain what I’m reading.
2) I watch very little TV. In fact, 95% of my TV watching is sports or sports-related TV shows. The other 5% is children’s programming on the Disney channel, lol! I do have a few TV series I keep up with, but I buy them on iTunes and watch them when I travel (I do a lot of TV watching on planes), because it’s harder for me to focus on reading when I travel.
So the answer is, I make time. Reading is important to me and to keeping up with the industry that puts food on my table. But in reality, I just love to read and it’s what I’d rather be doing than watching TV or other hobbies. Some people knit or garden, I read. Of course, I do have other interests besides reading (you know, like shoe shopping and eating, heh) and sometimes I read about those hobbies. Okay, I don’t read about shoe shopping, but I do read books about cooking, gardening, sewing and crafting.
I also read to support my job. Not just to keep up with “trends” or to know what’s being published, but I also read non-fiction to grow my knowledge of things like marketing, social media, etc. I try to never stop learning. So, yes, I read a lot, when other people are doing other things (like sleeping). I also read every day. Even if I can only slip in 15 minutes, I make sure I’ve read that day, unless I’m traveling (because sometimes my days when I travel go from 7a to midnight).
One of the things we talk about having to overcome in publishing, is other distractions. It’s not the competition from other books, authors or publishers, it’s the competition from gaming, videos, TV and all of the other things people do these days, especially on their smartphones and tablets, besides reading.
Clearly I still choose reading most of the time, but I know many other people–including those who have asked me “how have you read so many books” often choose other distractions. So you tell us? Reading or television (or something else)…what gets more of your time? For something new, I’m adding a poll, for those who don’t want to comment, but of course I also want to hear your comments and thoughts as well! (I have no idea why the poll gets distorted in some browsers. My apologies!)
Tags: you tell us
Reading, without a doubt. There are stretches of time during which I might glom a whole season of some show (as happened recently, after I was introduced to the awesomeness that is “Bones”). But I’d much rather hang out with a book…especially since it can be done anywhere, at any time.
Now, if only I could find a way to crochet and read at the same time. My concentration is not on the sufficient level to do so (and I prefer reading to listening to audio books).
My recreation time is split about 70/30 with reading/tv. I usually enjoy books more, but sometimes the downtime with mindless tv is necessary. One of the reasons I have a kindle and am not looking at anything else is that I don’t want the distractions – when I read, I want to read.
I read more than I watch TV.
There are a couple shows I “have” to watch–they’re on Friday and Sunday nights, so that leaves the rest of my evenings to read.
Without a doubt READING! Ever since I was a child all my spare time has been devoted to reading. If there’s something I want to watch on TV, I’ll record it and watch in between books, after finishing 1 and before starting the next, but books are my escape, my solace, the first thing I go to when there’s even just a few minutes. Other things just don’t have the distration quotent for me that a good book does.
I had to pick “other” because it’s impossible to determine which is more, with my reading so broken up throughout the day. But I’d guess it’s about half and half.
I love TV, I admit it. Though NONE of the TV I watch is “mindless.” I watch for story structure and character development, especially emotional moments. Even with that, TV is so different from my work, it feels like true recreation, and it gives my eyes a break, which I’m chagrined to find myself needing more and more.
But if I had to choose between the two, it would, of course, be reading. I read while I get ready for work (brushing teeth, blowdrying hair, prepping breakfast), in line at the drive-thru, during most meals, when my computer gets bogged down, while I cook dinner, when I’m getting ready for bed, and always, always, for a while before I go to sleep.
Reading by a landslide here. Most of the tv I watch is sports… or ESPN shows… or The League. And I see a trend there. But I read a lot and I read fast. Because I have 3 young children, I also have to be careful about what’s on the television during the day, so often it’s just easier to keep it off or have netflix set up with one of their shows. Besides, I have an easier time escaping into a book.
I don’t watch much TV–maybe an hour a week–but I do sit on the couch next to my husband most nights while he watches TV. I think I’m abnormally good at tuning out my surroundings. My kids make fun of how I can be in the room and totally unreachable.
I have three television series that capture my attention, the rest are simply backdrop to my reading if the television is on at all.
I read constantly! at last count I had over 1000 kindle books, right at 500 books by nook, and another 250 pdf ebooks. Writing new books takes up the rest of my time, but I do occasionally come up for air and watch the SiFi channel and play an XBOX game with my teen.
I read voraciously although when I’m in the middle of writing a new book, I have to be careful not to read too much! Don’t want to cheat on my own characters! I like to watch a whole season of a TV series at once on dvd or streaming if I can, not patient enough to draw it out week by week. (Except for the rare ones that are so good you just have to watch weekly.) Love NFL football, great background for….more reading!
I read on the commute to work (thankfully I’m not the one driving) and usually try to get a little in during the evening as well. On the weekend I try to catch up on my magazine reading. So I would definitely say reading gets more of my ‘free’ time outside of the day job and writing job. There are only a handful of tv shows that grab my attention these days.
I don’t watch tv at all anymore. Once in a while I try to catch some of the football or baseball game with my teen son, but I’m not there for long. It’s all about reading for me!!
It’s probably a terrible thing for a writer to admit but I’m a TV addict. I have my list of can’t miss shows and sandwiched in between those, plenty of movies. I prefer to get visuals with my story, to just sit back and take in the action, the acting, the plotting with no effort to create it in my mind.
Reading without a doubt gets more of my time, probably 75% of my free time, but I still watch a lot of TV. However, most of my TV viewing goes on while I’m online. I multitask and while working on the computer have Hulu running on another screen. I’ve found that few shows take more than half of my attention and those that need it all, like Fringe, I’ll watch on the DVR when it’s convenient for me. Without the ability to fast forward through commercials where would I be. I also tend to have the TV on while watching the 7 month old grandbaby as I can play with him and still keep an ear to the TV. In most cases I probably listen to more TV than actual watching I guess but for most shows that’s all that’s necessary.
I do a lot of both – I read an average 5 books a week but I also watch a lot of TV, most nights my hubby and I watch one channel from about 7.30 on while I am simultaneously recording 2 other channels. I tend to read at the same time I must admit – particularly during ads.
We don’t have a tv at all anymore. I don’t miss it. I read a lot, mostly non-fiction. My day job is weaving, which I very much enjoy. It is almost meditative. So is spinning yarn although I don’t do that so much right now. I love writing and have been working on that really hard for about a year or two now. (I have always written, but I am trying hard to hone my craft) Hopefully, someday, I will have a book out or maybe more!
I watch a LOT of TV. But I can do other things while I’m watching–sew, crochet, edits. And I try not to turn the TV on before prime time. I’ve still read 70 books this year, which is better than last year (though not a dent in the TBR!)
I used to be a voracious reader, then I slowed down for quite a few years and at that time, I watched more TV. However, now that I’ve gotten back into reading, I don’t watch TV at all. I’ve got 100+ hours of shows on my Tivo and I don’t think I’ll ever watch them (but I save them just in case I get the urge again). I’d say I watch about 2 hrs/wk, but I read at least 20 hours/wk.
I am addicted on tv .. and i cant study at all