It’s obvious that I love to read. I’m always found with a book (or ereader) in my hands. Even if I’m supposed to be doing work, I would much rather read. When I was younger, my parents would punish me by taking away my books and not my TV privileges.
But I have also been told that I read at a ridiculous rate.
I’ve never really tracked how much I read; it’s never been something I’ve cared about. But I found out about Goodreads back in 2016 and decided to track my books. At first, I just used it to mark books to add to my TBR. But in 2017, I decided to participate in the yearly reading challenge. I put my goal as 150 books and considered that lofty.
I ended up reading 358.
When I tell people that I finished a book in one day, or when they see this stat on my Goodreads page, it stuns them. People ask me, “how do you do it?”
Well, it’s simple, really. There are 2 things I do that really help me reach this goal.
The first thing I do is make reading my priority. When I mean priority, I mean nothing else comes before it. This has obvious cons to it. If you are working or in school (and I’m doing my masters), you have other things that need to be put before reading for fun. And when you come back after a tiring day, reading might be the last thing you want to do. But my need to get through my books and find out what happens is stronger than that. I literally read every spare minute I get. Commuting? Read my book. Break time? Read my book. Cooking? Read my book. I even use it to motivate myself and give me something to look forward to when I have to complete a task that is boring. I also hate going to sleep when I haven’t finished a story because the events in the book will fill my mind … so I sacrifice sleep for my books.
Now, I don’t recommend this for everyone. I’m clearly insane, and have not set proper boundaries for myself when it comes to reading. There are times when this obsession with reading burns me out, and then I stay away from my books for a week or more. These breaks are really important for me because they give me the time to feel excited for a book again, instead of making me feel like reading is a chore. I also know that even if I take a break, I will be able to catch up fairly quickly because of my obsessive tendencies. But the point is, I have an insane (and potentially unhealthy) obsession with reading a book whenever I can (and even when I shouldn’t).
The second thing I do is more about how I actually read a book. I skim when it comes to descriptions. Yes, I am that person, the one who doesn’t read every word in a book. Here’s the thing: I read to get to the crux of the story and to form a bond with my characters. Descriptions, while necessary, are not as interesting to me as the dialogue and the events happening. If the book is describing the scenery, I will most likely skim through it to get the main gist of things. If the book is describing what the character looks like, I will skim that and just focus on any major identifying features. Most of the time, I have my own image of the characters in my head, regardless of the way they are described in the book.
Now, I don’t do this for all books. There are certain stories that need every word to be read. These books take more time to read, and I relish them just as much as the books I skim. But for me, the most important thing is the story itself and the way the author ties in the setting with the characters and the plot to create an amazing journey for the reader. And I can get that even if I skim.
Like I said before … I’m insane when it comes to reading. Please tell me how you sane people read books!!! Do I have an unhealthy obsession with reading?!?!?
More importantly, how do YOU read? What do you focus on the most in a book?
~~ Let’s have a discussion ~~
Ohh I’m like you too…. Reading comes first.. and I’m not working these days, so I read almost all the time.. and I skim the descriptions too, especially if they are about the scenery.
But I also have the habit of rereading my favorites a lot, so I managed 200 books last year. My this year’s challenge is only set to 130 but I think I will exceed that..
It’s great knowing about someone who reads faster than me.. 😊😊😊😊
Glad to know I’m not the only one who skims and puts books first! I don’t reread too often, mostly because I don’t have enough time, but hopefully I will be able to reread some of my favourites soon!
Sometimes even though I have too many on my TBR, I end up rereading my favorites coz I’m too much in love with the characters and don’t want to leave them yet 😍😍😍
Hahaha I think I would get too stressed over the number of books left on my TBR list to be able to ignore it!
Wow, that is a lot of books. I love to read but I never skim. I love all the descriptions and like to take in every word, hence my yearly reading target is much lower than yours. Your discussion posts are really interesting because us readers do vary in our ways and habits.
Amanda
Oh, I’m so glad you like the posts! I’m always nervous about the content so it makes me really happy to hear you like it!
I wish I could slow myself down enough to read every description, I feel like it would make the story come alive even more….
I can be a skimmer too. I find myself skimming more though when a book hasn’t captured me yet and I’m just trying to get to dialogue or something big to refocus my attention!
Oh yay, another skimmer! And yes, if a book is moving too slowly, I will definitely be skimming until I get to that dialogue or scene that will grab me!
That’s a lot of books! I think for me, I try to set aside time to read in my spare time if I’m not doing anything instead of watching TV or scrolling through social media, and I read on the subway. If I’m really into a book, I’m prepared to put aside time before other not so important things (like being lazy on my phone) and there are times I have skimmed too!
I know, I have a bit of a problem when it comes to reading 😂😂
I read on my commute, as well, and I’ve started using audio books here and there so that when I’m doing something mundane, I can listen to a book and get some reading done!
I listen to audio books sometimes too but they’re hit or miss depending on the narrator. And I have to really pay attention, sometimes I drift off into my own world and it’s so annoying having to rewind 😂😅
Yeah that has definitely happened to me before which is why I resisted audio books for so long. But now I’m starting to get into it!
You. Are. Insane.
But then again so am I when it comes to how fast I can write, edit and format blog posts I suppose. Still, I’m a super inconsistent reader, like I have to make myself read sometimes. It’s not because I don’t want to – it’s because I during the day when not at college I prefer to write and do other things. I prefer reading at night tbh which is good but also bad since if I’m not in the mood – no reading gets done.
Last year I read 75 books xD I think my problem is I prioritise writing before my reading, I love doing both of course it’s just I love writing, creating worlds and getting better. Readings a ton of fun though, and I’ll always love it and do it likewise with writing haha. Great post girl!
It’s really cool how you prioritize writing because that’s what I struggle with the most! I get inspired at times but it is quite random so I don’t get much writing done. It’s funny how our situations are reversed! Glad you liked the post, lovely!
WOAH THAT’S A LOT OF BOOKS
I’m barely getting any time thanks to school but like you I do read in every spare minute possible. As long as my parents don’t spy me….
Omg yes my parents used to check in on me all the time! I used to have a mini flashlight that I would hide and use to read books late at night after my bedtime and I was always scared my parents would catch me!
Hopefully you get more time to read once you’re on break!
YAS
That 45 days long break is what I’m living for rn!!!
45 days only?! Isn’t that less than 2 months?? We get at least 2 months here for high school and 4 months for university as break in the summer!
It begins May end and ends first week of July but it used to be longer 😭😭😭
They’ve started to cut them down 😬😬😬
Damn that honestly sucks so much! I hope you get a ton of reading done!
that is an insane amount of books omggg i respect ya for it tho!! i would totally put books first on the list but dang i feel like i would get in so many reading slumps if i read non-stop for a full year gahh. lovely discussion!
Haha yeah I definitely get into slumps, which is why I am currently 10 books behind schedule on my Goodreads challenge! But eventually, I find myself interested in a book and get out of it.
Glad you liked my post!
Oh wow, that’s A LOT!! Maybe I should learn a bit from you, I’ve been reading soooo slooowwwwww lately. The exhaustion, brainlessness and lack of time are getting to me, lol 🙈 I think you have a pretty cool kind of insanity 😂
It happens to all of us, trust me! I’m about 10 books behind on my reading goal on Goodreads but I’m hoping I will catch up eventually. Haha thanks for liking my insanity! Sometimes, you just need to wait for the right book to get you out of that reading slumpa
Yep! I’m behind too, and somehow started reading three books at once… I must be crazy 😂
It happens to all of us, trust me! I’m about 10 books behind on my reading goal on Goodreads but I’m hoping I will catch up eventually. Haha thanks for liking my insanity! Sometimes, you just need to wait for the right book to get you out of that reading slump!
I’m reading a lot less this year (purposely) because I’ve changed my priorities a lot. I still CAN read a book in a day, and sometimes I do, but I definitely don’t read a book every day. I am impressed that you do it ALL the time. Of course, I also have a husband and kids so reading can’t actually be my highest priority. 🙂
Hahaha I’m a bit insane and I’m lucky my partner is understanding enough to let me read whenever I want. I am definitely not doing a great job this year (I’m about 20 books behind) but I feel like there are so many amazing books that are being or have been released and I just want to get to all of them! Thanks for commenting 🙂