| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Started to read your post...too many words. Also, it's time for my favourite tv programme.
|
I found that reading in bed solved this: I read at other times but that 30-minutes-a-day gives me momentum and stops me losing track.
I think the main problem is that adults with busy lives are more mentally fatigued and need to 'unwind' when they have downtime. Kids can 'play' more, physically and mentally, because they don't have succh demanding lives.
On the one hand, I recently noticed that I haven't read a book in a month. On the other hand, I am hoping that it is only because I don't much care for the two books that I am reading.
I had a bunch of smarty-pants friends in late high school and college. Almost without fail, when I talk to them 20 years later--lawyers, union organizers, kitchenette salesmen, none of them read anymore. :(
That being said, there are many, many reasons I rue the day that I left Boston and moved back to New Hampshire (which is still better than Old Hampshire) but probably the most important was, living out in the boondocks of East Boston it took me an hour on public transportation to get anywhere, so that was TWO HOURS A DAY where I did nothing but read. And gawk at women.
I don't get in many chances to read for two hours straight anymore. (Or more, accurately, read for an hour straight twice per day.)
|
|
New Hampshire (which is still better than Old Hampshire)
For starters.
I am engaged and have a young child and I can attest to having almost no life outside of work/family. The time I spend reading in bed is usually a lovely shared time with my fiance.
Given the authors you have mentioned, I would recommend Patrick Rothfuss as a writer to look out for. Also, the Pathfinder Tales novels are mostly page-turning romps.
Even a few years ago I was at least getting some quality reading time in. Now, with two jobs and the stress that comes with, I just can't get the time.
New Hampshire (which is still better than Old Hampshire)** spoiler omitted **
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_reading
I used to be a voracious reader, especially in my 20s and before. But for some reason that began to tail off, and now I hardly read a book a year (not counting gaming books, and even those I only read the parts I'm interested in).
At this point in my life I know why I don't read as much, and I'm afraid it's too late to try and get back into the habit.
I read two novels in the last couple of weeks. Lately that's been 3+ months worth of reading. Unusual, but pleasant. I read a book every couple of days growing up. Most of my reading is technical (for teaching / classes) these days. And some for gaming of course, which, come to think of it, is another type of technical reading. Adulthood with wife, kids (even as they technically start to become adults), and career is a time sink. I'm 55. Hopefully retirement will provide more time for reading. And gaming :) As for this website, I spend quite a bit of time reading here. It's how I keep myself awake while I grade papers which I just finished yet another stack of. On to the next :D
|
|
Elizabeth Gurley FlynnNew Hampshire (which is still better than Old Hampshire)** spoiler omitted **
Bevis of Hampton
Peyton Place.
The novels of John Irving.
About 6 years ago, I came to the horrifying realization that reading novels just doesn't thrill me like it used to. Gone are the days when I would read a 900-page trilogy. These days, I read a few hundred pages of a book, get bored of it, and put it down.
Why is that? Several possible explanations come to mind (and perhaps more than one of those reasons are factors). Maybe I tell stories to my kids so much that I get tired of stories. Maybe I've developed a taste for other kinds of entertainment that spoiled me for books. Maybe I've read so many books that the cliches are starting to grow old. Maybe I've just gotten fussier, so that the flaws in writing stand out more for me.
(My limited time, due to parenthood, is no excuse. My high school kept me busy too, so that I had little time to read back then, but I could still stick to a book for as many months as it took to finish it.)
Meanwhile, my old high school friend, who used to detest books, now reads novels voraciously. The world is going topsy-turvy.
|
The Kindle Paperwhite has actually helped me read more. Like many of you, I often find that bedtime is the first chance of the day to read for pleasure. My Kindle allows me to read in bed with the lights off; on its lowest setting the backlight bleed is very negligible, so my wife can sleep without fighting the table lamp.
It's also very, very light--less pain when I inevitably doze off and knock myself on the nose or forehead.
|
|
... Maybe I've developed a taste for other kinds of entertainment that spoiled me for books. Maybe I've read so many books that the cliches are starting to grow old. Maybe I've just gotten fussier, so that the flaws in writing stand out more for me...
Me, too. I still buy the occasional fantasy novel, and I subscribe to the Pathfinder Tales line, but I almost never get more than a chapter in before I feel like I know exactly what's going to happen next.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
... Maybe I've developed a taste for other kinds of entertainment that spoiled me for books. Maybe I've read so many books that the cliches are starting to grow old. Maybe I've just gotten fussier, so that the flaws in writing stand out more for me...Me, too. I still buy the occasional fantasy novel, and I subscribe to the Pathfinder Tales line, but I almost never get more than a chapter in before I feel like I know exactly what's going to happen next.
For a long time now I've been of the opinion that suspense is often used to cover up bad writing in much the same way that spices in the Renaissance were used to cover up bad food.
I don't need any suspense about what note is coming next to enjoy this. For me, it's not now about being surprised, it's about hearing the notes done well. A good book is similar.
I've found myself to have no patience at all anymore for books where the only reason to keep reading is to find out how they end.
I used to read one hell of a lot. Now that I dont have 2-3 hours of public transportation to do everyday, it has gone down. I do kinda regret it, but it has allowed me the time for more TRPGs.
|
|
Scissorfight
I love Scissorfight, damnit. But this will, I think, hurt you more than it hurts me...
Frank Turner
Sutter Cane.
I hardly ever read novels now, because I've switched to audiobooks. You can get a one-book-a-month subscription fairly cheaply. Then you can 'read' while exercising, doing housework, shopping, driving, etc.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Yeah, if y'all'd been reading Sutter Cane you wouldn't be lamenting you don't read as much as you used to...
Mine pretty much follows Geraint's I read when I can often laying bed but when I get home I want to unwind which currently involves running my magic archer through Dragon's Dogma.
|
Heheh, I'm actually reminded of a woman I read about who claims she read 25,000 books in her life, that's just amazing :P
And impossible. First and foremost because of the time it would have taken her (let's be very generous and assume she was, say, 107 when she said that? so she had about 100 years to read? that's 250 books per year). Secondly because I find it hard to believe she started counting right away.
Old Hampshire sucks!
|
|
Or she could be 91 and read lots per month ;)And impossible. First and foremost because of the time it would have taken her (let's be very generous and assume she was, say, 107 when she said that? so she had about 100 years to read? that's 250 books per year). Secondly because I find it hard to believe she started counting right away.
Heheh, I'm actually reminded of a woman I read about who claims she read 25,000 books in her life, that's just amazing :P
What can I say? some people are impossible. I know some very fast readers but nothing as extreme as this... still, I wonder if this lady would be able to answer easy trivia questions about books she read, say, a week before. Find it hard to believe she'd be able to give good answers.
|
|
What can I say? some people are impossible. I know some very fast readers but nothing as extreme as this... still, I wonder if this lady would be able to answer easy trivia questions about books she read, say, a week before. Find it hard to believe she'd be able to give good answers.There certainly are extreme cases, I doubt if you named the first hundred or even thousand books she'd read that she'd remember them.
@Geraint, I'll challenge that: I say it's not possible because the Chinese kept a detailed record of their history, their works alone would've most likely taken a lifespan to read :)
I've actually begun reading another book: wolf brother, though given that I started several days ago and am still on chapter 8, I'd say my reading is taking a massive backseat.
Turns out you're right: I was recalling an apocryphal quote about Coleridge which has long been debunked.
Since organised manuscript copying began it has been impossible...
It is possible for a modern man to read every word we have of Ancient Greek (including inscriptions, a copy of every inscription found fits on one CD: I have a copy) but only because so much was lost over the years.
Which just means that it has always been more important what you read and, perhaps, how you read than how much you read.
It is possible for a modern man to read every word we have of Ancient Greek (including inscriptions, a copy of every inscription found fits on one CD: I have a copy) but only because so much was lost over the years.
Which just means that it has always been more important what you read and, perhaps, how you read than how much you read.
It's also somewhat amazing how much ancient Greek isn't lost. We may have close to .5% of their literature as a whole, which is pretty impressive. And we've got a much better proportion of the good stuff. ;)
If you wanted to read every surviving Anglo-Saxon poem (Beowulf et al), for example, you could do it in an afternoon.
With kids and family and all, anything that needs a longer respite like reading has taken a back seat. I remember when I could go into a book store, come out with an armful of books and magazines and have read them all by the next weekly visit.
These days I probably read most when I am on the porcelain throne...