How many books do you get through on average per year?

Originally posted by DarthAwesome
I dont think there is such a thing as "important works of literature" they were all created by someone for others to read and enjoy. Its up to the readers to weigh them and decide how they feel about each book individually. What I might consider as the best book ever another might think of as trash.

While that may be true on an individual basis, the larger the numbers the less subjective it becomes. Nobody could deny Homer, Shakespeare, Joyce, Hemingway etc.. are important works of literature, even if you personally think they are 'trash'. Their sheer influence defines them as important.

Everything you read today is derivative of something; nothing is truly original. So the more influential the work, the more important it is.

If you are a slow reader or busy,audio books are a good thing.You can listen in the car,exercising,going to sleep. Not sure if its 'reading' though Should increase your yearly total. And isnt it funny that we spend so much time looking at a screen these days and scrolling instead of turning pages. I was reading a book the other day and I was thinking how annoying it was having to turn the pages And hold the book open

reply to post by benrl


I agree to a point. For me having print in the hand allows me to control my daydreaming. I can bury my nose in the open pages and cover the outside world, lose myself in the earthen smell of old paper, and let it fall out of my hand as I dose of into a propelled dream, without ever worried about it hitting the floor or changing the topic.

For the vagabond a good book is as good as a great friend.

Veritas surfeit.

Read-on.

reply to post by benrl

“The decline of literature indicates the decline of a nation.” - Goethe

People may be more literate in today's TXT world, but one look at the Bestseller's list (dumb thrillers, cookbooks, biographies of D-list celebrities) shows you that it just means more people are reading garbage than ever before.

reply to post by FOXMULDER147


I agree the books that are popular today say alot about the readers. And I agree with what you were saying about the classics. There is so much crap around that you cant get through it all. You need to look for the 'hubs' and go from there. Be easy to get lost in crap if you just pulled random books off the shelf.

Cover-to-cover? Probably 50-75. There are quite a few books that I read a good portion of, and give up on -- usually because I loose interest. I'll also re-read books I really enjoy. I've read Brules by Harry Combs and Sometimes a Great Notion By Ken Kesey at least a dozen times.

An engaging series will increase my reading speed, such as Diana Gabaldon's work.

Not as many as I'd like to. I need to get an e reader or kindle that will read aloud to me. I'm really audio. I remember everything I've heard....even if I say it out loud myself. I manage to read about 100 books a year, mostly from the library. I check out another 200 and lament that I didn't absorb any wisdom by having them in my bedroom for 3 weeks before returning them unread.....thus my plan to get a kindle....

I always search for interviews with authors in MP3 format....anything that can be downloaded to MP3 format rocks my world.

Not sure how many I read per year, but I read every single night. Mostly SciFi/ SciFi Fantasy. There is nothing like losing yourself in the pages of a good book.

If I had my way, 365 books a year. Life doesn't always allow for that so I would say closer to 200 however new books and not re-reading? 166 and I can say that with accuracy based upon how many books are on the most recent bookshelf I have bought. I spend way to much money on books. Just bought 9 more yesterday.

I love to read, and I read way too fast. When ever I read to my daughter, she always complains that I am reading to fast, even though it feels like I am reading at a crawl, because I can't speak nearly as fast as I read, plus I am trying to read at a normal speaking pace, but I always end up speeding up. I don't mean to.

some people post absolut BS... ~ 400 books a year...in 5 years you'ld have such a huge library...and the time factor...i dont buy it...whatever

if you count reading pages in the internet i read about ~20-50 books a year...but "real" books...1 or 2..maybe 3...the things i read are not possible to publish...or extremly rare...deepweb mfw =)

“The decline of literature indicates the decline of a nation.” - Goethe

yepp - books are dumbing people down if they are fictional and/or propaganda...and mostly these bookworms believe they know truth because they read books - the old fashion style of gaining wisdom.. so it has to be accurat...fail...

It depends on what you read. I read lots of arts and crafts books. If I only counted hard-core difficult reading, I'd have to say about 12 books a year...

Originally posted by Hessdalen
some people post absolut BS... ~ 400 books a year...in 5 years you'ld have such a huge library...and the time factor...i dont buy it...whatever

if you count reading pages in the internet i read about ~20-50 books a year...but "real" books...1 or 2..maybe 3...the things i read are not possible to publish...or extremly rare...deepweb mfw =)

“The decline of literature indicates the decline of a nation.” - Goethe

yepp - books are dumbing people down if they are fictional and/or propaganda...and mostly these bookworms believe they know truth because they read books - the old fashion style of gaining wisdom.. so it has to be accurat...fail...

edit on 2-12-2011 by Hessdalen because: mindcontrol

edit on 2-12-2011 by Hessdalen because: mindcontrol

I don't buy many books. I check most of what i read out from the library. The only books I buy are technical in nature.

I read my 1st grown up book when I was 8. It was called Partisan, since then I've been hooked.
When I have a book in my hand I'm left alone in peace.


bliss

I read around 25-30 books a year, with the vast majority of them being history.

Each to their own and I can understand some people might not want or like to read. However I feel very sorry for these people as they are missing out on so much. People who try to argue that reading is pointless or a waste of time end up sounding very embarrassing, as I think they make themselves seem utterly stupid.

I'm 23 and hardly anybody I know these days even bothers to read, which I feel is quite sad. There seems to be a perception, especially among my age range and younger that reading is boring or some kind of intellectual highbrow kind of thing.

For all you avid book readers, second hand and discount stores are essential. yard sales are a great place to find cheap books as well. Many are like new and you can get them for like .50 cents or a buck.

I read about 7 books a year not allot..I pick my books up at flea markets and garage sales ..I'm reading The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde its a sophisticated but crude novel its about the story of man's eternal desire for perennial youth so far its been a good read i should get back into reading more its something i love to do..peace,sugarcookie1

reply to post by argentus


Same here, 50-75 sounds about right. In recent years I've been reading much more nonfiction than fiction, because it's become harder for me to find fiction authors I like. I agree, the bestseller lists are not much help. What has given me great tips on new authors though, is the LibraryThing website, whose administrators and users are professionals in the library field. They give a lot of information on new titles, and plot summaries to back that up. Here is the link:

www.librarything.com...

This year, I've probably read 25 adult books. Likely several hundred children's books. I usually read a lot more in my downtime, but this has been a weird year. In a normal year I probably read 75-200 books, when I was younger it was more like 400-500 books per year.

I don't have a smartphone or tablet or e-reader of any kind. I don't even use text messages. I work on a computer, play games on computers, etc, but still prefer the nice papery smell of a well-worn book for entertainment purposes.

I get books from the library if I'm not sure whether or not I'll actually want to purchase it. Well, the exception is for Jim Butcher - I always pre-order his books because I know they'll be good. Otherwise, secondhand books work for me.

Not as many as I would like these days.
The only chance I get to relax with a proper meaty book is a few pages sat in bed.

5 if they have pictures, if they dont well its a lot less


For real about 50 or so mostly covering gynecological and mammary exams they also have pics

For real this time about 50 covering bios. to sci-fi.