Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Reading 4 Books A Week


For the past few months, I’ve set a personal goal of reading 4 books per week. Needless to say, it’s simultaneously been a perpetual struggle and a constant joy. So, why am I doing this to myself?

A while back I set myself a lifetime goal of reading 10,000 books in my lifetime (a feat that many great authors, statesmen, and philosophers have done over the ages). I realized that in order to reach that goal before death (and assuming I lived for many decades to come) I would have to average three to four books a week for the rest of my life. Sounds straightforward, but trying to balance in work, marriage, a new baby, mortgage payments, and just life in general tends to make finding time for reading a real challenge. Not to mention finding time for writing. Despite it all, I’ve found it an invigorating experience and my reading pursuits continue to keep me on my toes.

So what favorite books have you read lately? About how many reads do you manage per week? How do you make time to read in addition to setting aside time to write?   


19 comments:

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  2. Let's see if I can do this without a generous sprinkling of typos this time:

    Just a difference in personalities and what motivates us with reading-- I would hate if my reading were reduced to a numerical goal. I think it would drive me crazy and I would see reading as one more to-do on my list rather than the lush, contemplative and escapist time that it is. I probably read, on average 4-6 books a month. That's good for me. I am working through Natalie Goldberg's "Wild Mind" and just finished a Deepak Chopra and Maya Angelou book. So good for the mind and soul on so many levels!

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  3. Sweet! I just read some Deepak Chopra, very enlightening stuff;)

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  4. I don't know how you do it. I could maybe read a book a week if I pushed it. I tend to be a slow reader, but it's because I like to digest the words as I go -- figure out why I like them or don't like them. I'm not good at turning off that editor voice as I read. And I can easily take a month to finish a longer book these days. I'm more into quality than quantity anymore. :)

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    1. I def want quality too:) If I'm savorign a read, I'll read it simultaneously with others, so that I'm not under pressure to have it read by a certain date:)

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  5. Having a smart phone with Kindle on it has multiplied my reading.. Also, since I have a 40 minute commute to work, I knocked out a couple of e-books (while I had a free membership at audible.com)
    I couldn't possible read 10k books. I simply don't have enough time..
    But they say that human memory is potentially limitless... I can't begin to imagine how learned you'd be if you read 10k books.

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    1. My commute time is essential to my reading schedule. Basically and hour each way during the work days gives me my prime reading time (other than right before bed).

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  6. I'm so far behind... Hoping of more time to read and write the remainder of the year.

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    1. I often feel the same way, but having goals motivates me to keep moving forward:)

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  7. I wasn't aware you were doing this! Fantastic. I have a feeling your vocabulary is going to grow through the roof when you're finished ... if you plan to finish. :)

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  8. I hadn't thought of that:) Perhaps my vocabulary may improve, but the challenge will be to remember new words without forgetting all the old ones;)

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  9. Mark, I love this. What a great goal. I need to set something like this for myself. Thanks for the idea!

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    1. It's a great goal, something to at least shoot for. Let me know how it works out for you:)

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  10. That's a good goal, Mark. Almost every writer of note says that to write you have to read. I probably read about 3 or 4 books a week regularly, and sometimes more. And I can see it keeps my writer's mind sharpened, because I'm always paying attention to what I think the writer is doing well--or not so well. Right now I'm reading "cosy mysteries" because I'm writing one, and I want to keep the "tone" in my head.

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    1. Wow, that's great! I def agree that it keeps the mind sharp...but the eyes do get a bit tired:)

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  11. Good readers make good writers, right? That's what I tell myself, anyway. But 4 books a week? Holy cow. I'm lucky to finish a book every couple months.

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    1. Well, you do teach, right? I figure you read a few books a week just in student papers...I'm a glass-is-half-full kind of guy:)

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  12. What an awesome goal! I love reading, but can't fit that many books in my week right now. I'm currently reading The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson, and it's brilliant!

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