How many books do you read?

Inspired by a not so interesting article in the Independent, more like clickbait really, is the fact they have manage to generalise a 4 year old who has read more books than you.

Sometime I despair of these articles, but it did make me think of a couple of points. The first is the number of books being read, the second is which books she is reading, which apparently ranges up to college level.

What made my think is that when I was that young, a long long time ago, I was a voracious reader and would go through a book a day if I could. That's roughly a thousand books in three years, although the level of them may not be as high.

The other question that I suppose I should ask, is does it count as reading a book, if you don't understand it. Or rather, if you have no concept of what the words may mean, and all they are are words on a page. I could quite happily read many foreign language texts, but I would have no clue what I was reading whether it is romance or a guide to building a greenhouse. But I could say I have still read it.

So, how many books have you read and do you think that just reading them is enough to count?

 

It should probably only really count as reading a book if you have some idea of what the book is about. Even if you have to go and look up some of the more obscure words or language you didn't understand.

Then again, I wonder if it counts as reading a book if you just idly skim through it, without trying to understand it, even if you could it you made the effort. There's a lot of books like that I have read, but wouldn't have a clue what happened in them half an hour later.

 

Does it count if I just look at the pictures...

Thinking about it, do comic books count? Does each count as a separate book, or do only the collected editions matter, when it contains the whole story.

 

I can't imagine reading a book I can't understand. I also can't image reading one that's poorly written (IMHO). I read for information, entertainment and escape, so a book has to provide one of these or it's adios. Last year I read and reviewed 40 books. I don't have a clue about how many I'll read this year, but I have marked a lot of non-fiction for 2017.

 

I've read a few that are badly written, but I generally get to the end of them. I only tend to chuck 'em early if they bore me rigid. I don't mind most things, but if it's dull, dull, dull I don't wanna know.

 

I sometimes drop the book I am reading when the plot is straying or the kind of writing becomes boring to me. But books that have a good story is good for another read. My book reading is not much although I have more than a hundred books in my cabinet that I had bought.

 

I will soon fall asleep if I ever tried reading a book that I do not understand or it's subject is not able to attract me. I have read someone saying that a boring book is like a sleeping pill if you try it at your bed time. I agree, I am not reading as many books any more like I used to read couple of years before.

 

Very interesting thread you created here @Angel, good start for a debate! I have read far more than I read now when I was single and with no kids, so I had more free time, but this just shows how much I love to read because whenever I have some time I prefer reading over watching TV for example.

As for reading books I don't understand, I don't do that. The whole joy (or realistic drama) of reading is being in the skin of the writer and being transported to that imaginary (or real) world.

 

Let me guess her answer: "more than you"

I read two or three books a week, but they're short ones. If I don't understand it, why read it ? That's not fun, that's work !

 

I heard my name?

Then let me give my own answer: Far. Too. Many.

I managed three today as I was feeling ill and slept in, I read ten over the weekend for the review queue, and beyond that I lost count. I can manage six novels in an evening, if I am not distracted. Allowing for time off, being ill, and life intruding, that would be a total 1500 to 1800 per year, which is why I read free ebooks. And I only count books I understand as being read.

 

Yikes...

 

Wow, Reader!! That is impressive. Do you read across several genres?

Like a few folk here, I read a lot more when I was a kid too; I was always at the library, buying books from the school shop and the like. It's harder to find time these days but I find having several books on the go - strategically placed around the house - is a good way to get more reading time in.

 

It's only actually in the past maybe 10 years that I started reading as a hobby. I'm 39 years old now and before that I hardly picked up a book unless I had to or it was something that I was REALLY interested in. I usually read now maybe 2 books a month. Not as many as a lot of others on here but considering I read maybe 2 books in 5 years before that it's certainly a big improvement!

As for what books you can include as being read, if you don't understand the book or just end up flicking through the last few chapters then I wouldn't consider that as being read. You don't have to particularly like what you read, but at the very least I do think that you have to understand it.

 

I think if we are reading something t should be beneficial and worthy of the time that we invest in it. Usually, we are advised to read a lot of books in order to improve our vocabulary and communication skills. So, simply reading a text is not effective.

 

I understand your point @harijobs, but reading should also be fun also. If you aren't learning from what you read and/or enjoying it, personally I don't see the need to carry on. I wouldn't read a book that I have no interest in just to say that I have read it and I can add it to my collection or just to tell others that I have read it.

I know quite a few people that will take a list of 'the 20 books that you simply must read', and read every one just to say that they have read it. Ask them if they have enjoyed any and I bet most will say they haven't. So what's the point of reading them then?

 

Part of the technical definition of reading is that you comprehend or understand what you are reading. My eyes can scan through a book written in Chinese, but when I'm done I am not going to feel that I read the book.

But the fact that a 4 year old is in the habit of doing it, is a good thing. Habits formed at that age tend to stick around for awhile, and there is nothing wrong with getting into the habit of reading. Or in this case, picking up a book and visually scanning the text.

 

I also read a lot less now than I did when I was a kid, but then again I used to have more free time then... Now I try to keep a physical book on me at all times, but most of the time when I'm doing chores or driving I will listen to audiobooks. That still counts, right? If so, then I probably go through about 4-8 books a week.

 

Read a couple in a week.

Waded through the Booker Shortlist once. Never again! Should be its own genre: pretentious twaddle.

 

I couldn't agree with you more @porridge. Some of the books that get critically acclaimed simply aren't meant for the everyday readers like us.

While I'm obviously no expert in literature, and I'm sure the authors of those books have done a fine job, sometimes they can actually forget just why they are writing a book in the first place. That should be for people to read, open minds and/or entertain. I sometimes think that a 5 star review and an award comes before all that though in some authors eyes, and they seem to forget why they wanted to become an author in the first place.