I read a lot. Obviously, there are readers out there who completely blow past me, but in the past three years, I’ve read 79, 90, and 102 books respectively. I’m on pace to read 86ish books this year. How do I do it? How do I read so much? I decided to spend a week logging my reading time and seeing what my reading habits look like.
What did I find out? Well, let’s see!
Monday, September 8
- 6:11am-6:16am – 5 pages read
- 6:20pm-6:35pm – 15.5 pages read
- 9:47pm-10:02pm – 13.5 pages read
Total for Monday: 34 pages read
Notes: This was a lower-than-average reading day for me. One reason is that I was reading a book I wasn’t obsessed with. It was a good read, but nothing spectacular, so it’s a lot harder for me to want to sit down and read when the book is just okay.
Tuesday, September 9
- 6:14am-6:20am – 6.5 pages read
- 12:20pm-12:42pm – 26 pages read
- 6:51pm-6:58pm – 9 pages read
- 7:28pm-7:42pm – 17 pages read
- 9:59pm-10:39pm – 26 pages read
Totals for Tuesday: 84.5 pages read (and 1 book finished)
Notes: This feels more like an average reading day for me. I took myself out to lunch and was able to get a lot of reading done on my lunch break (my favorite!), and then was up a bit late to finish the book I was currently reading (The Silent Wife). I probably stay up late to finish a book once or twice a week because, really, who wants to go to bed when you only have 15-20 pages left of a novel? Not me!
Wednesday, September 10
- 6:20am-6:23am – 4 pages read
- 7:45pm-8:06pm – 32 pages read
- 10:55pm-11:08pm – 15 pages read
Totals for Wednesday: 51 pages read
Notes: Not much to say here. It was a fairly average reading day. A few pages in the morning, and the bulk of my reading in the evening.
Thursday, September 11
- 7:29am-7:33am – 6 pages read
- 9:28am-9:34am – 10 pages read
- 1:48pm-1:54pm – 8.5 pages read
- 7:33pm-7:52pm – 38 pages read
- 11:00-11:43pm – 65 pages read
Totals for Thursday: 127.5 pages (and 1 book finished)
Notes: Wowee… this was an insane reading day for me! Mostly because I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish a book. (Way, way.) I worked from home this day, so I got to sneak in a little reading time in between bathroom breaks. (Didn’t you always want to know about my bathroom habits? HA.) The book I was reading also had shorter pages and larger text so I was able to whip through the pages more easily. And I finished my second book for the week! Woo! I rarely finish books that quickly during the week, but it was a very quick read (I think less than 200 pages?) But anyway, a huge reading day for me! I don’t usually read that much on a weekday. Honestly, this was a bit nuts.
Friday, September 12
- 6:15am-6:20am – 5.5 pages read
- 6:34am-6:37am – 6 pages read
- 2:54pm-3:09pm – 19 pages read
- 7:04pm-7:32pm – 33 pages read
- 11:40pm-11:50pm – 13.5 pages read
Totals for Friday: 77 pages read
Notes: Pretty average reading day for Friday! A few pages read before work, and then I had more time to sit down for a little while and read once the workweek was over. During the workweek, I can only catch snippets here and there, but the weekend allows me to just lie down and read to my heart’s content! My favorite!
Saturday, September 13
- 8:09am-8:13am – 4.5 pages read
- 12:18pm-12:53pm – 51.5 pages read
- 6:12pm-6:20pm – 14 pages read
- 8:31pm-8:37pm – 10.5 pages read
- 9:04pm-9:14pm – 15 pages read
- 10:30pm-10:37pm – 13 pages read
- 11:28pm-11:46pm – 28.5 pages read
Totals for Saturday: 137 pages read
Notes: Ah, successful Saturday! I got a lot of reading done! Unfortunately, I could have gotten even more because I was stuck at the nail salon for THREE HOURS but forgot to bring reading material. I haaaate when I do that! Oh, well. I caught a lot of snippets of reading time in the evening while my nephew was over.
Sunday, September 14
- 8:47am-8:51am – 5.5 pages read
- 9:15am-9:22am – 13.5 pages read
- 9:58am-10:06am – 15 pages
- 2:05pm-2:30pm – 25 pages
- 3:53pm-4:04pm – 19 pages
- 5:30pm-6:15pm – 59.5 pages
- 10:14pm-10:20pm – 4.5 pages
Totals for Sunday: 142 pages read (and 1 book finished)
Notes: Oh, weekends. How I love thee for copious reading time. This was my highest reading day yet! (And yes, I read while I watch football. My brother thinks I’m ridiculous, but combining two of my favorite hobbies? Yes, please!) I finished up Arranged, and I’m now reading a book that will take me a while to finish (it’s almost 500 pages long!).
***
So, over the course of one week, I read 653 pages and finished three books. (Well, two-and-a-half, since I had already read half of one book before the week began.) Whoaaaa. That feels so high, but it’s actually pretty normal. (I’m averaging 8-9 books read a month, after all.)
I read 83 pages during bathroom breaks (eh, sorry), 102.5 pages while taking bubble baths, 161.5 pages before bed, and the rest while just laying around. The longest time I spent lounging and reading was 45 minutes, but I typically read in snippets of less than 15 minutes (57%).
As you can see, I make a lot of time for reading! There were many, many days that I spent over an hour reading. In fact, two days this week, I almost spent two hours in total reading! In bits and pieces, but still! That’s a lot of time to spend with my nose in a book. But I do it because I love it, because it’s my favorite hobby. Other things fall by the wayside so I can make time for reading. (And sometimes, that “thing” is called sleep and getting to bed at a normal hour. Sigh. It’s something I’m working on!)
What’s the one hobby you give up other things for?
Hmm. I could do this but I’m a little scared to see my numbers. I’m in the middle of keeping track of my grocery bill and my meal plans, maybe I can add this too.
I’m also listening to an audiobook – should I list the time I listen also?
Fitness whether it’s going to the gym, running, or doing an an workout at home. I make time every day. I also love to read and when I’m into a good book I find a lot of sleep gets missed for it. As well as socializing on my breaks at work, I will sometimes just read instead and be anti-social.
Man, I can’t imagine reading 9 books in a month! I don’t think I even get in that many a year 😛 That being said, I don’t really have any hobbies to begin with! I do enjoy a good book though, I just don’t have the time to sit down and really read through one in a short period of time.
What a fun idea! I’m super impressed with how much reading you get done, especially in such small snippets!
This is such a fun post! I am the total opposite – I like to read in big chunks instead of small bursts. Reading has definitely taken a back seat to my marathon training this summer. My reading has definitely taken a nose dive in the last couple months. So has baking, my other favorite hobby. I am excited to find a little more balance with my hobbies come October 🙂
Wow, this was so fun to read!!! I am terrible at allowing myself to pick up my book and read when I have just a few minutes. I think I would get in a lot more pages if I could get myself to do that. I’m definitely going to work on it!
Reading is definitely something that I give up other things for, or more accurately, I specifically make time for. It has been hard this past year, but I have been doing my best to be intentional about it.
I really enjoyed reading this because I am trying to figure out how I can make more time to read, and it’s helpful to see how you fit it in!
Running is my hobby I give up things for. Mostly sleep, too 🙂
This was so fun to read and so interesting! I might have to do this. My reading really ebbs and flows each week depending on if I’m reading a good book or not. I would say I average 2 – 4 books per month. I usually don’t fit in any reading in the morning so my reading usually happens during dinner and before bed. I would say on average I fit in 30 – 60 minutes of reading per day but maybe I will track my reading one week like this and see how much I actually read!
I love that you read in the morning! I have gotten into the habit of bringing my Nook to work a few times a week to read during my lunch hour. it encourages me to take my lunch break rather than work through it, especially if I’m reading a good book.
Let’s see…I tend to be able to do a few hobbies fairly well: reading, exercising, blogging. I can’t ever do all three at once, so it’s likely to be just two of the three at any given time. This week it’s just one (reading).
I’m also guilty of staying up late to finish a novel! Love the feeling of finishing a book.
Yep. Sleep, food, reading. I have no self control though and simply cannot read in little bursts! I marathon on weekends and at night sometimes.
Oh that’s a fun way to break up your reading. I usually try and do some reading in the morning then end my day with it as well. And sometimes if my schedule works I read during the day too. I seriously just love reading so much.
That is interesting to see the breakdown of how much you read and how often. My reading has really nose dived since moving home since I have more social plans and spend a lot of evenings with Phil. He is a reader but we don’t read when we are together… but maybe eventually we will! I only read once a day right now, usually from around 8:30-9:15 (well on the nights I don’t stay with Phil, when I stay with him I get 0 reading done). So it’s no wonder that I am not reading more than 3-4 books a month! I think I will read more when the weather is colder as my schedule seems to slow down then. We have such a short summer season so I feel like I have to be outside DOING something when it’s nice but when it’s cold I will just cuddle up with a book!
A hobby that I always make time for, though, is running and working out in general. Especially since taking on the 30 in 30 challenges (although this is my 6th and final month of that, I’m giving myself a break!).
This is super interesting! I used to read a lot more than I do now because of kids, but this is encouraging to see that I can sneak some more time in here and there.
I’m so impressed by people like you, who do so much reading. I love reading, but I just… never seem to make time for it. I get stuck in the Internet rabbit hole!
Oh this is REALLY cool. How the heck do you read when you wake up in the morning?? I’m more like a zombie. I read on the bus on my way to work, and if I bus home, I read then too. That’s pretty much my only reading time, unless I get super into a book I find time at home. With all this travel time though I’m breezing through books again which is nice. I’ll usually finish up a book over the weekend to start fresh the next week! It’s interesting to see your reading habits spread throughout the day though. I should start doing it again before I go to sleep!
You’re such a good reader! I wish I made time for reading the way you do. I started reading a book on my ipad in the beginning of the summer and still haven’t finished it. I do love books and reading; I guess it’s just not my favorite hobby at the moment (i.e. running).