I am a slow reader. I finish maybe 5-6 novels a year save November (when I do my own NaNoReaMo and read 3 books a week). It's embarrassing, especially when I seem to be surrounded with people who can read a book in a day like it's nothing.
This year my guilt has only increased, thanks to ARCs. Before, they didn't matter because I didn't really have access to them. But a few have crossed my path lately—from contests, from friends who have hook-ups—and I feel really, really bad that I haven't read them yet.
Especially since the books are, um, OUT IN STORES NOW.
I look at the ARCS on my shelf and feel like a total heel. There was someone out there who probably would have read that before the book came out, someone who would have gobbled it up and passed it on like they were supposed to. And here I am, not knowing when I'll get to them.
Talk about ARC fail.
But it's not that I don't want to read! It's just that reading takes time for me. It really does. And it's hard for me to concentrate with my crazy loud kids. I don't naturally gobble up books, though I do love them. I know I will be woefully behind on reading my whole life.
That probably sounds like a long list of excuses, but I promise it's not. What I'm really saying is that despite everything I still make an effort to read. I have to be more choosy, since I can't read 100 books a year, but I do believe in reading and making time for stories. Even if I can't read fast and I don't have a lot of time, I still finish books and try to read more.
At least November is coming up, so I will make a dent then. Do you have any books I should consider for my NaNoReaMo roster?
Natalie no worries! I am a book blogger and a slow reader. I average a book a week (where most bloggers review 3-5 books a week). My ARCs pile up, and yes, I have ones I still have yet to read that are already out.
ReplyDeleteI always feel bad about this, but that is why I have co-bloggers who help me read.
I'm in an extremely demanding accelerated school program, work part time, am heavily involved in my church and occasionally try to fit in a date here and there (important when you are single!). It can take me a while to finish books. What I've done to help is find snippets of time where I can fit in a few pages. I read when I'm blow drying my hair, eating breakfast, lunch or dinner. While I'm cooking in the kitchen. During commercial breaks, on the shuttle from the parking lot to work, at stop lights, in traffic jams, before falling asleep. I've even downloaded books on tape for my commute. You get the idea. It's only a few pages at a time and most of my books have been dropped, spilled on or crumpled but they did eventually get read =)
ReplyDeleteI am in a perpetual state of guilt over my reading list. I'm not a slow reader, and I probably read about 3-5 books a month, but even so I feel it's never enough. And my reading list only grows, it never shrinks. I constantly feel behind.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of a NanoReaMo...I might have to steal that. My only issue is that I can't finish a novel and immediately dive into the next. I need at least day of breathing room to continue to absorb what I read and not get whiplash by starting something else so soon. Fortunately (unfortunately?) I always have a big wobbly stack of literary journals and other magazines, articles, etc. that I need to read to fill the space between novels.
Okay. I'm starting to get stressed about the sheer number of words waiting, unread, at home right now. Agh.
Three books a week is pretty good! I manage about one book a week.
ReplyDeleteJessie, that's only during November:)
ReplyDeleteYou shouldn't feel bad. I know it's natural, because books are kinda our business, but we can read what we can read, you know? Real life comes first, and we can't just dedicate our entire lives to books. Sometimes I feel bad I can't read 100 books a year (I've read 25 so far this year, and my goal was 36, or 3 per month, and I'm behind), but you know what? I read TONS of articles and blogs and magazines, too. I'm not as well-read as some people, but I'm far more well-read than many others, so I just have to be happy with where I am in the spectrum!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your idea of NaNoReaMo!! Is that your own idea? You should spread it around. I might try for it myself.
ReplyDeleteI just can't read as much as I'd like and when I see other bloggers meet the 100 book year challenge, I am blown away! I wasn't happy with last years # though (only 16) so I made a much more attainable goal for myself this year...30 books. I am at 25 right now. I know the only reason I was able to reach this goal is becuase my Christmas present from hubby was a Sony Reader. I take it to the gym and read while I work out.
ReplyDeleteDon't feel bad. I think I've only read about 6 books this year and half of those were for my book club :P I use to read like crazy--and I still get books from the library like crazy--but I am such a horribly picky reader that if the book doesn't interest me, I stop reading. Gotta be the English major in me.
ReplyDeleteAnyway...I do have one book you might like. It's non-fiction, but really interesting. It's called At Home in Japan: A Foreign Woman's Journey of Discovery by Rebecca Otawa. The author was an American who married a Japanese man--and one from a extremely traditional and rural family. The book describes many forgotten aspects of Japanese life in the countryside and her journey to "becoming" a member of the family. It's very interesting and the book is short (only 160 pages and some of those are pictures). I read it in an evening. I'm not a huge non-fiction fan but I really enjoyed this one.
I'm a slow reader too. Life is so busy! I wish I had an extra two hours a day just to read.
ReplyDeleteAs the "preacher" says, there's a time and a season for everything under the sun. We have to look at our own life and not compare it to someone else's. We have to prioritize. Sometimes it just isn't possible to read very many books!! I know; I've been there.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I read a lot (probably too much), sometimes not so much. Anyway, some books I've read recently that I loved were The Demon's Lexicon and The Demon's Covenant by Sarah Rees Brennan. I also enjoyed Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins. Laini Taylor's Fairies of Dreamdark books are amazing too.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I sat in front of you at Kiersten's signing in the King's English, but was too embarrassed to say hi.
Anything by Sarah Dessen. Just discovered her (confession!), and I am loving her stories!
ReplyDeleteAw, Jenilyn! You should have said hi! I always love meeting other writers. I might be shy, but I always appreciate people saying hi!
ReplyDeleteHey- even for us writers... reading still has to be a hobby not a job right?! Read as slow and leisurely and unguilt-ridden as possible!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy!
Am I the only one who doesn't get NaNoReaMo
If I count only novel length fiction, I'm at 22--that I can think of. I think I may be forgetting a couple. That isn't counting the 10 books I started, and gave up on.
ReplyDeleteThrow in a few textbooks, some short stories (I didn't read the anthologies in their entirety), 2 non-fiction "writing" books, and all of the books I've reread, because I'm too lazy to go to the library.
Oh, I just thought I'd throw in that of all of the books I read, my favorites were Soulless, by Gail Carriger, and the Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins. I'd definitely recommend those for NaNoReaMo if you haven't already read them.
ReplyDeleteYou are not alone! It takes me a while to read. I am a teacher full time and I bring a ton of work and lesson planning stuff home. At home, I have two little ones of my own and a wonderful hubby who also works hard, so I make a point of spending time with them BEFORE I get to the work I bring home... and then writing, or blogging, or reading... whatever I'm not too tired to squeeze in. I wouldn't finish ARCs before publication dates, either. :) But I wouldn't feel too guilty unless I'd promised to review them or pass them on. Reading is supposed to be a pleasure... right? :)
ReplyDeleteHappenstance Found by P.W. Catanese!!!!
ReplyDeleteI read somewhere once that Stephen King had said writers should read over 175 books a year. So I went on this mad reading frenzy where I was reading 3 to 4 books a week until I realized that I no longer had time to WRITE. So now I prioritize and though I still usually read 1 or 2 books a week (unless it's Grapes of Wrath or something), I try not to feel bad about all the books I don't have time for.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'd like to offer to take any future ARCs you receive off your hands. Just let me know where I can pick them up. :)
You are definitely not alone. I don't read books quickly either. Jobs, kids, life....these things get in the way! Sure, once in a while I get the chance to devour a book (in days, not hours), usually if it is one I've been anxiously awaiting. I would rather read slower, enjoy what I am reading, and remember it than read so fast that I forget what the book was even about. : ) As long as we enjoy what we read, it shouldn't matter how long it takes. That is my take. Now, with ARCs.....I can imagine feeling guilty....but don't know what the answer is there. We can't neglect our kids. At least that is what I'm told. ; )
ReplyDeleteI have a Little Monster at home and I feel like I haven't been able to get as much reading done since she came around! Because with everything else- taking care of her, the house, husband (he's like my 2nd child), writing a book, blogging etc, it's so hard to keep up with reading. I do try to read a book a month, but that doesn't always work out. As long as we get something in, I think it doesn't matter how much we read. good luck with reading in November!
ReplyDeleteI am a book a dayer. At last count, I was up to 40 since June.
ReplyDeleteBut I also have to be more choosy, because even though I read fast and constantly, I still buy more books than I can read.
I'm relatively slow for an avid reader and blogger...only about a book a week, sometimes a book and a half if I have time over the weekend.
ReplyDeleteYou know, if you need to get rid of ARCs, you can just have a contest or, even better, give them all to ME!!!
Good luck with them and happy reading!