I am curious about the time people devote to reading a book that they really enjoy in a sitting and whether they have a favorite place that they prefer to read. Reading has always been important to me. In high school I read To Kill A Mockingbird in a sitting. After college I read The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles in a sitting, fourteen hours later I finished. I have read many books over the years cover to cover.
A friend of mine recently remarked this:
“A few years ago I gave myself the gift of putting reading front and center in my life, right behind family and spiritual practice. It makes for a full life.”
So I am curious about the experience of other people’s reading habits.
I miss the days when I used to be able to just sit and read. I can’t seem to do that anymore, though. I’m not sure if I can’t find the right book or if I’ve just become too distracted as I’ve aged (I suspect the latter).
The reading times I have available are mid-afternoon until I have to start making dinner, dinner until bed, and then in bed until I fall asleep, so my self-imposed deadlines interfere, too. Long blocks of unstructured time just don’t exist for me anymore.
I do have my own little reading nook: a curve in the couch that I share with my elderly Siamese.
I guess it all depends on what is going on. If I’m free and the book is really good, I’ll read for 2-3 hours, and then later a few hours, and then before bed. In bed I always listen to an audiobook and set the timer on it for 30-45 min.
Summer I’ll sit in the gazebo, and winter a comfy chair with cozy blanket and fire going.
I have the good fortune to be retired and have the leisure to fully immerse myself into a book I really love. Most people I know read for 30-45 minutes, which to me feels short. I think that there are some books that need a longer session of reading to really get in them to feel engaged. I’m glad you have the opportunity to read for an extended period of time. Thanks for responding.
I love your question–thank you for putting it forth for comments. These days, I do nearly all of my reading with my ears and can listen to a book nonstop for many hours while I am either out for a walk or puttering around in the garden and yard. The books I have read in one sitting include My Antonia by Will Cather, Germinal by Emile Zola, and Cancer Ward by Dostoyevsky. But all of that seems like a million years ago and with so much to keep me busy in retirement, my sit-down reading remains at a bare minimum. That said, I’ve completed quite a few e-audio books at a rapid pace, the most recent ones being Chemistry Lessons, The Jackal’s Mistress, Coram House, Marble Hall Murders and The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris.
I typically read in the morning after the house calms down (dogs napping, people gone) and before bed. I try to read during the afternoon before dinner but that doesn’t always happen especially now that summer is here
I usually read in 30 to 60 minute chunks. But even those are broken by little interruptions usually associated with: let the dog out, let the dog in, play with the dog, see what the dog is barking about. But I couldn’t have a better reading buddy!
I am so impressed by your ability to focus on reading for so many hours. My max time has been 8 ish hours and that’s when I’m someplace like the beach in which case I’ll finish an average length book within 2 days. Otherwise, things like family, chores, errands, etc. seem to break into my reading time. On those days, I’ll get to read for 1-3 hours.
Outstanding question. If I have the day off, I will grab a cup of coffee and sit for 3 hours while the kids wake up and have their screen time. During my day, I read for about 15 minutes when a break arises (15 minutes before leaving for work, 45 minutes during my combined lunch and planning period, and 15 minutes after work). The wife and I just invented in La-Z-Boys, so that is all the nook we need.
I never listen to audio books. Unless I am reading the words silently or out loud, i often lose the emotional connection to the book. I envy your ability to stay focused as you listen to a book.
Hello Kassapa! Thank you for sharing your thoughts about your experience listening to books. I never used to listen to books until my job required me to be in my car two hours a day. Listening to books was one of the only ways I could maintain a reading habit, and then it become second nature. Plus, I found out in the process that listening helped me to visualize more vividly everything that was going on in a book. And because I am a visual learner, listening to books made them become more alive and interesting in ways they had ever been before. I think it’s so great that there are many different formats and ways that books can be enjoyed, and once we have found our reading niche, it’s a place of comfort that keeps us coming back for more.
My favorite places are to sit out in the backyard in a lounge chair with the dogs around, assuming that they, the weather and the bugs are all behaving themselves. And my other favorite place is in our sunroom on the couch with a cup of tea,with the dogs asleep nearby. I can read for an hour or two, easily. And then it’s usually necessary to read in bed for an hour or two before falling asleep.
The summer is my favorite season to read outside. I usually work in my garden, weeding, planting, watering, deadheading and then take a break for 30 or 40 minutes to read a book to relax.
If the weather is nice, I love to sit on my porch. If it is not, I sit in a sunny window inside. I also read at night in my recliner. I am a big reader, so I read whenever I have a chance.
I think that there are probably a zillion things that I don’t know about other people’s reading habits or just habits, and also a zillion things I haven’t even wondered about. I think reading books and how they are absorbed has to do with age. Many younger people I know, listen or watch versus read. Boomers like myself, have been reading since we were quite young. Maybe as some of us get older and our eyesight deteriorates, listening to books become our preference. For the moment, my eyesight is fine, not even reading glasses, I continue to enjoy reading a book silently or out loud.
I will read almost anywhere as I always have a book in some digital format with me (I rarely read physical books). However, one of my favorite places to “read” is in the car with an audiobook. I also love to read on planes. There is something wonderful about being able to tune out the world with a book somewhere one won’t be disturbed.
2 to 3 hours curled up on the sofa if I am really into it, but I usually read in 45 minutes to an hour stretches throughout the day. But, I love a good road trip when I almost always listen for no less than 10 hours a day!
