Books are the training weights of the mind.
– Epictetus
Plates build muscle. Books build intelligence.
Not many anymore. I used to read a lot. I used to read for an hour or two each night before I fell asleep. Now it's 5 or 10 minutes and I'm snoring. So, maybe 25 books a year.
reply
25 books a year are still a great number!
reply
I'm not impressed
reply
You ever revisit a classic you enjoy?
reply
Yes I do. Some I have read a few times: On the Road, The Man With The Golden Arm, Huckleberry Finn, A Clockwork Orange, A Confederacy Of Dunces, I could go on and on. I mostly re read fiction I enjoyed.
reply
A friend suggested me to read On the Road. Is it a good reading?
reply
I absolutely love it, but I feel like you need to have been born at a certain time and place to appreciate it. I think you either love it or hate it. I think Truman Capote said "that's not writing, it's typing." I disagree.
reply
What he wrote initially and what was published was different. Especially the names, and they cut out a bunch. Have you seen his scroll? Its epic!
Its really interesting how he initially wrote the book.
I enjoyed Huckleberry Finn, and Tom Sawyer! Is a Clockwork Orange by Le Carre?
reply
20 sats \ 1 reply \ @siggy47 20 Aug
No, no. Anthony Burgess. Stanley Kubrick also made it into a great film.
reply
Oh right, that is where I recognize the name. I have heard of the movie, but I havent watched it yet because I wanted to enjoy the book first! Do you ever dabble in science fiction or fantasy?
I've always been a slow reader who likes long books, so I've never gotten through them very quickly.
Now that I have a kid, I probably only get through about one book per month. Before that it was probably three.
reply
52 sats \ 1 reply \ @Taft OP 20 Aug
I'm a slow reader, too. I read pretty much the same as you.
reply
That's one reason why I get so much of my information from podcasts.
reply
Same with me, I end up reading a bunch of kids books. If you count them, I used to read a few a night!
reply
I forgot to count kids books.
In that case, I read about 400 books per year. Many of those are repeat readings, though.
reply
I have quite a few repeats every night! haha
reply
Children books count as well! I hope they do 😂 Anyway, I have it very similar.
reply
They definitely help the numbers.
reply
Maybe 20 - 30 if ebooks and audiobooks count.
reply
0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Jer 21 Aug
They count!
reply
I read 30 mins a day, no exceptions, and this allows me to finish about 30 books a year. The best habit I successfully developed hands down!
reply
That's an excellent policy. I also tell myself to read 30 minutes a day, but I'm not as consistent with that as i'd like to be
reply
21 days it's all it takes to create a habit. Also you could familizarize yourself with the B=MAP framework -- I highly recommend it to up your chances for success. More on it here: https://www.habitweekly.com/models-frameworks/the-fogg-model
reply
I’m working on the same habit for writing, an hour per day. Unfortunately, it’s not going that well as I thought.
reply
I guess it'll be harder with writing due to it requiring more creative energy (reading is more passive IMHO), but I keep my fingers crossed for you!
reply
I am writing scientific papers, so it’s not like I have nothing to write about, I just need to convince myself… again and again.
reply
This sounds more like a job than a habit worth cultivating ;-)
reply
That’s the thing, I do it on top of my “core” job, which is why I lack motivation sometimes. One hour a day dedicated to writing hopefully will bring the results.
reply
🤞🏻
reply
Probably about 300 or so (not counting graphic novels). I used to try to actually track my reading, but I'd inevitably forget to do it after a couple of weeks.
reply
Damn, I thought i read but you're ripping through a book a day. Tip my cowboy hat to you.
reply
Not quite a book a day (my wife manages that, though). It also helps that it's my main hobby -- if I started playing the Xbox more again, my reading would definitely slip.
reply
That's a great number! Really impressed. Good for you.
reply
50 - 100
Not so many. Hard to get real books. The easiest to get books are full of myths.
reply
Really? Not so many? 50-100 books a year is a great number.
reply
Books of myths are still real books, though!
reply
About 30-50 books a year. Sometimes more, sometimes less. depending on how life is going that year.
reply
Impressive!
reply
These days only a few but I used to read at least one a month.
reply
56 sats \ 0 replies \ @Golu 20 Aug
TBH, I don't read at all. At least not any book.
reply
66 sats \ 0 replies \ @k00b 20 Aug
Not counting books I give up on: On average, maybe five. In a good year, maybe 10. In a rare year, maybe 20.
The mental circuits I use for reading aren't much different than those I use for coding, at least when it's non-fiction, so it tends to be one or the other. I also can really only do one thing at a time. I find it super unsatisfying to not absolutely gorge on one thing. Even with exercise, I prefer something that's compatible with not thinking about the exercise so I can think about whatever I'm gorging on.
... I should be reading more fiction at least.
reply
It's hard for me to keep track. I start a lot more books than I finish. Usually, if I feel like I've gotten what I needed out of a book, I don't feel the need to finish to the end. I also listen to a lot of audio books while driving, and oftentimes don't finish the one I'm listening to before moving on to a new one.
Altogether, i'd estimate that I start at least 20+ books a year... and i'll actually finish only a few of them to the end.
reply
I don't really count the books and sharing one funny story: I was talking with a friend the other day, and I asked would you rather spend your time reading something created by someone, maybe about five min or a few hours, or reading something that someone spent all their life to learn and reflect on.
reply
on average 1 book / a month, one hour before sleep every night - have read most of the bitcoin books so far with this pace, and i am happy i did
reply
One to two adult books, mostly kid ones. Lots of podcasts though…
reply
Average a book a week. When I travel abroad I read more because that's what I do on airplanes.
reply
21 sats \ 0 replies \ @co574 21 Aug
i read many, i finish just a fe
reply
I agree reading is important. Unfortunately I don't read anymore books like before, in the sense of fiction or normal books. Most of what I read now is about algebra or calculus now. So I tend to read one book, do exercises, re-read again... This year maybe 5 "real" books? I try to diversify now. Now I am reading "This is not Propaganda" and "X64 Assembly Language Step-by-Step" but even the last one is not to build "intelligence", just to learn Assembly. I read "Attack on Titan" also in January... But it is not real literature, just a random comics series... Next year I wish I could focus more on reading books like those of George Orwell, never had the time to read it.
reply
Not enough…although I read a lot of articles on my phone. That’s not quite the same thing I know. 🙄
reply
My goal this year is 40! Currently standing at 27! ☺️
reply
I read a lot. If you want to start (or restart) slowly, just read 10 pages per day. You’ll finish one book per month 👌🏻 it’s a good start
reply
I don't read books now. But there were times when I used to read like 20 to 30 books in a month.
reply
12 to 15 in year.
reply
not as much as I'd like to, but the governments wont overthrow themselves.
i try to read no less than 2 per month on average, tho it varies a lot.
reply
I need to get back to tracking. Reading mostly posts and articles nowadays.
reply
I read an hour a day, but not books...
reply
~10
On the other hand, most of them are huge non-fiction technical books. One of the things I have planned is to start reading more fiction, which would be a totally different kind of experience, so this number might change a bit.
reply
reading books is a form of knowledge, but I prefer reading comics like Detective Conan, Kenji, Kobo Chan, and almost every day I read them, sometimes I read them until I forget to put them back on the table, until I fall asleep, but I don't count them. , maybe I read it almost every day.
reply
It's variable since some works are longer than others. Page wise, it's a crapload. Bookwise, probably around 50-100 a year depending.
reply
0 books now that I have kids. Unless you count the ones I read to them :) Proor to having kids it was probably somewhere between 10-20z
I’m trying to compensate for now by listening to Audiobooks but I hope to find time again to read in the future.
reply
Side note, do you guys count audio books as "reading" books? I find it much easier to listen to audio books while doing chores than sitting down and reading a book. I also find that when I read books, I get tired really quick.
reply
So many active readers, I'm jealous.
My go to is to open the computer and doom scroll (in so many words).
When eventually opening a book (non fiction), I struggle to focus as my mind races.
reply
I get through quite a bit because my job has slow periods. I enjoy rereading books that I enjoy. I just read DUNE again lately. Also refreshed my mind on Bushido.
reply
I was on a roll now I am lucky if I can do 3 to 4 a year
reply
I read about 3 audibles and 1-2 physical books. It gets pretty difficult because I like a lot of podcasts.
How do you guys handle podcasts over books? I think podcasts generally are a little better from my view because they are cover real time current events and that to me is worth it moreso than principles.
reply
Y'all are absolutely wild:
  • Oh, not much, only 25 a year!
  • Oh, just 50 - 100, not that many!
  • Oh, 30 - 50...
Wtf, y'all must be wildly well-read on a multitude of topics, "not much" my ass! 😆😁
reply
Bravo 👏 for epictetus! very wise words, I must sadly admit that until recently I didn't even read the newspaper 🗞️ after coming across 2020 something arose and changed in me, leading me to recognize that I knew nothing beyond my nose, and that led me to seek knowledge and develop new habits, today I can say that I went from reading 0 books a year, to reading at least 1 or 2 a month. Now I have 1 list of books that I have read and 1 list of books that I have yet to read.
reply
Depends of volume of the books atm I'm reading Anna Karenina and it last for a couple months If I read 12 books per year I'm extremely happy
reply
Now that I tear pages off my books and recycle them, I average one book per week this year. Best habit that works for me.
And words build worlds!
reply
1 or 2 I know this is way less but I am trying to read more
reply
Almost exclusively read ebooks on my phone. Average one a month
reply
Well, I would say that before I only read novels or horror novels, well I could read about three or four a month and now I am learning bitcoin and everything related to economics and marketing because I have to read more so I would say that at least I will read more out of 10 for example... I like Latin American authors... I have read all of Isabel Allende's novels...
reply
guys can you give me reccomendations for books?
About a book a week. Usually at least 50 a year
stackers have outlawed this. turn on wild west mode in your /settings to see outlawed content.