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How many #Books do you read in a Week? #amreading

By 29/09/2015September 20th, 2018books
Reading novels and short stories

Reading booksI read two books a week these days. Less, sometimes, depending on how big, or difficult the book is. I’m trying to squeeze in more reading time, but it seems like an uphill battle. Reading books is even making me anxious these days: I’m not reading enough, I feel.

I have a sky-high To-be-read pile: enough to last me years if I keep reading at my current rate. Books crammed into shelves, books I keep borrowing from the library, those that nestle, invisible from the outside, in my iPad.

They make me anxious, all these books I haven’t read. Some days I wonder whether I would ever finish my TBR pile. When I die, I want a just-finished book in my still-warm hands.

I’m thinking of taking a Reading Sabbatical next year– a month or two (or more!) when I would do nothing but read, no writing or blogging if I can help it, just minimal life-activity. Reading books all the time, every day, with no thought to anything else, just the way I used to, on summer vacations long ago.

What about you? How many books did you read this week? Ever had a panic attack about the number of books still on your To-be-read list? What is your strategy when reading books? Thought of taking a reading vacation? Want to add to my TBR list? Fire away in the comments!

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Damyanti Biswas

Damyanti Biswas is the author of You Beneath Your Skin and numerous short stories that have been published in magazines and anthologies in the US, the UK, and Asia. She has been shortlisted for Best Small Fictions and Bath Novel Awards and is co-editor of the Forge Literary Magazine. Her literary crime thriller series, the Blue Mumbai, is represented by Lucienne Diver from The Knight Agency. Both The Blue Bar and The Blue Monsoon were published in 2023.

I appreciate comments, and I always visit back. If you're having trouble commenting, let me know via the contact form, or tweet me up @damyantig !

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136 Comments

  • arunprasadhm says:

    Hearing Reading vacation for the first time and that sounds interesting. Used to read one book a month but now struggling to finish a book but your post is inspiring, I will start again.

  • uniqusatya says:

    reading vacation sounds good…i too should think about it 😉 oflate reading became a big task for me in my pending list 🙁

  • Jaylee James says:

    Oh man. Taking a reading holiday would be AMAZING but I don’t have room on my crammed schedule for it. Have you ever participated in one of those “24 Readathons”? There’s Deweys, and then some thematic ones like an LGBT lit readathon or #weneeddiversebooks readathon. Spending a day reading is much easier than taking a whole month. 🙂

  • alslaff says:

    Appreciate your recent likes. Your title caught my eye because I’ve never finished reading a book in my lifetime! I read very s_l_o_w_l_y; love to read faster. Now that I’m closer to 100 than 30, my hope is to finish reading the books sitting on my shelves that I’ve wanted to read forever.
    The pile grows and my love affair with books continues. Trust me, I can tell; you will never run out of books.

  • There’s nothing much better than reading a book before sleeping.

    I have a crammed bookcase in my front room and a book by my bedside. I don’t read as many as two books a week or even two books a fortnight, but I do love to read.

  • I try to read 2-3 books a week. I’m old enough that books were one of our only forms of entertainment and education. And there’s nothing more exciting to me than finding new authors. The wealth of great writing that we have access to today is amazing.

  • D.G.Kaye says:

    My dream would be to take a few months off of everything and tackle my towering TBR. I miss the days when I could read 2 books a week. I’m having trouble finishing one book in a month lately.

  • GirlAstray says:

    “When I die, I want a just-finished book in my still-warm hands.” – that´s such a cool sentence! Perfect for being quoted 🙂

  • ecarron1 says:

    I try to read a book a week. And I also have piles of books (and ebooks) that I’ve bought but haven’t read yet. Just like @lauraalyce said, I can’t get enough.
    It’s comforting to always have reading on hand though. It would be worse to run out of books and not know what to read next.

    (Thanks for liking one of my blog posts, btw!).

  • If audio books count then 2 and I’ll read 4 more by Saturday night.

  • I never thought there were so many people just like me, who consumed crazy amounts of books. Great comments here, Damyanti.

    I read about two a week–enough that I am concerned about the Kindle cost (now that many books are now $10 or more even digitally) so have started browsing the library shelves.

  • Haha yes, I’ve had panic attacks but thankfully I’m medicated. I have a list of books I want to read and I don’t know where to start! Second, if that’s a picture of your library at home- I love it! Growing up my parents had something similar w one of those built in ladders and I’m dying to do something like that in my home, but since I’m slumming and doing the struggling author pauper thing- my decor ideas will have to wait! Any recommendations? I like doing some books on audio too- I interchange, and have found by doing so, some books are meant to be heard on audio- especially if they have a full cast or more than one narrator- Girl On the Train is a perfect example. I felt like I was in London and joining her on each of her benders lol. Next on my list was, a The Golden Earrings, but I’m open to suggestions. Especially a good comedy. I have yet to find a book that tops Bridget Jones (I love British humor).

  • sonorasam says:

    I typically am reading 2-3 books a week. I’m a mood reader which means I usually read based on how I am feeling. Lately I have been reading a lot of world history. For those who enjoy words and literate writing, try Churchill. He’s witty, knowledgeable, and of course one of the 20th century’s great leaders. No, I do not have panic attacks.

  • theburningheart says:

    Well, it all depends on several factors, the length of the book the subject, the author easy or complicated style he writes, does he make you stop and ponder, or it takes you on a rush ride, where you can’t stop reading despite being past midnight, and you got to get up for work early?
    For example I just read a book of 544 pages in four days, but the book took a grip on me and made me discover new authors I want to read including 3 more books of the same author! (Rafael Cansinos Assens)
    Other books seem they take forever like I have at work Travels in Arabia Deserta, by Charles Montagu Doughty, and read him when work it’s slow which is often on my line of work, and give me plenty of time to read, two books with a total of 1165 pages, I am in page 147, and it seem I cannot read more than two pages at a time, and then switch to another book of a different writer, at this pace I wonder if I will ever finish with him!
    I am an inveterate reader since I first learn to read at five years of age, and i can’t tell you how many books I have read, and seems i will never finish reading all the books I want to read, as I was writing this, a friend interrupted me and guess what, we talk for twenty minutes about the books we are reading!
    I ride the bus rather than drive, so it give me chance to read on my long commute, bookshelves had become unpractical, I have a storage facility to keep the books I finish reading so they do not overwhelm and take over my place, on my night table, and near by I keep at least fifty books at hand, some for consultation, others waiting to be read.
    At one time I used to borrow books from the library, but they switch policies on lending them and shortened the time you can have them without giving you chance to renew them and keeping them longer, making it bothersome to return books half read, plus their hours are limiting and hard for me to access, so I give up on them, and now buy every book online, call me old fashioned but I will not use a tablet period.
    Yes, I spend a lot of money on books, even if I try to get them as inexpensive as I can, however I had discovered they are worth every penny I paid for them, and also my time, and better I will get going I have the day off, and a friend is picking me up soon, we will go to a cafe, and I will take two, or three books with me to read and chat over books, Roberto Bolaño’s The Savage Detectives, are waiting for me, see you! :-),

    • Damyanti says:

      Thankyou for such a long and thoughtful comment. I borrow from the library, and often end up paying fines when I can’t finish on time!

      Bolano is wonderful, I’m sure you’ll enjoy him.

  • cmwriter says:

    After I read something nonfiction like Lawrence in Arabia, I have to take a breather with a Michael Connelly book. My TBR list/pile is long.

    • Sha'Tara says:

      Although reading is probably my life’s #1 “accomplishment” and love, I also have discovered that with several books on the go, they have to be a balance of light and heavy reading because in order to enjoy my reading I have to enter into the story, as in dreaming and I can only take so much of heavy drama, especially when it too closely resembles the “real” world.

  • I read five books a month, along with listening to podcasts and the occasional audiobook. So I guess that averages to 1-2 a week? But mostly one!

    Stephanie

  • I mostly read thrillers and around one a week. I only read first thing in the morning for up to an hour and sometimes late afternoon when I’m too tired to do anything else. Reading is hugely important for writers and I find all sorts of ideas for my own books.

  • 2readmom says:

    I’m trying to play catch up on all of the free books I’ve downloaded to my Kinlde, I’m finishing them like debt . . . biggest to littlest, and trying to leave reviews for everyone (most of them are indie books).

  • Lucy McB says:

    Ah the pre netflix days when i read two books a week. Currently aiming or one a fortnight now 🙂

  • G.B. Miller says:

    On average, it takes me two to five days to read a book. I normally get my books from the public library, thus the high turnover rate, even though the library has a 3 week lending date. My TBR pile is usually no more than two books, one fiction and one non-fiction. Lately though, my non-fiction picks have been disappointing, either because the writer isn’t very good, the writer already covered stuff about himself in a previous volume (seriously) or the bio in question was written w/o the participation of the subject in question.

    if you’re looking for books to add to your growing list, I can suggest my two paranormal/fantasy books. However, if you’re squeamish about stories containing graphic sex, then I would strongly suggest bypassing them. I’ve learned long ago not to take offense when people decline my writings.

  • Shivesh says:

    Two books per week that is anxious enough!
    I am reading 4 books in parallel but not able to finish any single of them.
    Thanks for reminding me!

  • Woah, two books a week? I barely manage two books a month. But that was mostly when I was working on my own book.
    You seem like an interesting person. It was nice stumbling upon your blog. You have my follow 🙂

  • I wish I could find more time to read. Your idea about a sabbatical sounds like a good one. Pursue that. Hope you go far, Damyanti.

  • I used to read 100 or more a year, but slowed down to do more writing. My problem, I owe so many reviews. Love to read, hate to review, but I know how important that is for a writer. Double edged sword. But to take time off just to read, awesome!

  • Ananya Kiran says:

    Nice read.. Love ur writing style..

  • Sounds great. A reading sabbatical. I wish I could take it soon. Reading the beautiful books in a secluded hill station. Nothing can be better! 🙂

  • macjam47 says:

    I just finished reading Your Own Kind by Linda Fagioli-Katsiotas, and just tonight I started Tiger Tail Soup by Nicki Chen. I’mm just a couple of pages in and already I’m hooked.
    A reading sabbatical would be fantastic, though to make a dent in my TBR, it would have to be for a few years.

  • I get a lot of crap about how little I read. Between writing, work, school and my family it happens in spurts. I would say it takes me about 3 weeks to finish one book. This is another reason why I do not write very many book reviews for my site lol. Like you my TBR pile is ginormous

  • Jim Kane says:

    A good question! I have reduced the number of books I have read over the past three or four years. Many of the books I have read I do so for review but felt the quality of my reviews start to slip. So I cut back. I have one book on my TBR pile for review and then I plan to read for the enjoyment (and post my thoughts and ratings on Goodreads for many of those books) for the rest of the year.

    I think a break is necessary from time to time.

    Regards

    Jim

  • Last year I read over 100 books (and that doesn’t include the magazines or some of the study books). I thought that was pretty ambitious and that I was crazy to pull that off around home schooling 3 kids, having a baby, two moves and a book release. That was a level of reading I was never going to reach again. Then all of a sudden I pull up my Goodreads reading list and noticed that I’m packing away 7 books a month…without any kind of goal or push. Around the kids. Around the baby. Around writing. I think we train ourselves into it.

  • jlcanfield says:

    I too have an ever growing pile of TBRs. Your idea of a reading sabbatical sounds like a perfect plan to dwindle a stack down. I plan to let mine get a little bigger than I will take them, build a wall around me with them and start reading. Hiding behind my wall of books should give me time to get some read. I am reading quite a few books now, but they are textbooks, not ones I picked.Oh well, as long as my pile gets bigger than I should be happy. After all, I prefer to live on a planet where many good books are waiting for me to devour then a place where there are none at all.

  • misskzebra says:

    It depends on the length and the type of read. I tend to go through phases of reading. I’m working on Wolf Hall at them moment which was pretty hard to get in to, but I’m enjoying it now, and then my next read is Our Endless Numbered Days, then Elizabeth is Missing.

  • So far this year I have read 28 books. Well, I’m nearly done with #28. I add to my tbr list daily. You can find the books I’ve read and the reviews at my blog.

  • stuffeyefind says:

    “I’m very important. I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany.”-Ron Burgundy

    I read a book a day or thereabouts mostly non-fiction. I read Hemingway had 8,000 books in his library, Tolstoy and Twain were similar. These were some of the best authors and it is a safe assumption that they were also good readers. I’m surprised that people that write don’t read more before writing.

    • misskzebra says:

      Agreed. I went through a phase of reading nothing but blogs for a while. Some blogs are great, but when I actually next picked up a book, I was pretty awed by the quality of the writing, and it made me realise how much work I had to do.

      • stuffeyefind says:

        Thank you. Reading and writing are younger adaptations than our oral tradition. Maybe, it’s not that blogs are “less” they just contribute to society much like the oral tradition passing relevance and sacrificing structure.

  • Sammy D. says:

    You had me smiling at this one, Damyanti. I just returned from a trip and the whole way home I thought of the numerous stacks of ‘to be reads’ waiting impatiently for me at home. Panic does enter the picture! It seems summer was an accumulating season (oddly) because several of my blogging projects led to future projects requiring much reading. The book stacks might be seen as ‘stuffed animals for grown ups’! I’m both eager and apprehensive to dig in.

  • Goandria says:

    As much as I love to read, my responsibilities and the fact that I’m a slow reader means I typically only get one book in per week.

  • I read about 4 to 5 books in a month, depending on a book’s overall length. Really long books (anything over 600 pages) can take longer. (It took me about a month to finish George R.R. Martin’s A Dance With Dragons….) But I’m reading faster than I used to; I read only 24 books last year, and I’ve already reached 30 for this year. 🙂

    In terms of strategy: I actually have a “priority stack” by the comfy chair in my bedroom. *lol* It’s maybe 2 1/2 feet tall, and alternates between 2015 books and older books. Whenever I take the top book on the pile to read, I put a new book on the bottom, and everything keeps moving up from there. It’s a system I just started this year, and it’s actually helped a lot with taking care of new releases right away while keeping perspective on older books I’ve yet to read.

    My TBR list is pretty massive, too. Though my Goodreads TBR list is much “longer’ than my actual list of unread books at home – which might be a good thing! 🙂 I don’t think I could ever do a reading vacation, though – the creative parts of my brain would be screaming to write the whole time!

    • Damyanti says:

      I’m determined to do that reading vacation– I feel I can do this for myself, or maybe should do this for myself, so I’ll die with fewer regrets 😉 . I steer clear of longer books except whn I’m on vacation. I read a 500-pager last week, and it took almost the entire week. When I say two a week, I mean on average– I know I borrow and finish 8-10 books a month, so…:)

  • Almost Iowa says:

    When the weather is warm and mosquitoes chase after other things, I read two books a week.

  • simonfalk28 says:

    “I’m trying to squeeze in more reading time, but it seems like an uphill battle.”
    I could have written that. Sigh! Sometimes it even seems like a trek to Everest base camp to squeeze in more reading time! It’s been a long while since a one-book-week for me, let alone two. But I love that you hold the baton out to us. Keep those posts up. Your blog is still an inspiration to some of us small time readers and bloggers. 🙂

    • Damyanti says:

      Simon, it is you and my other blogging friends who inspire me– I keep going on with this blog because you all keep showing up. Blogging and reading are at odds with each other these days, but I’m addicted to both, so this was a way of having my cake and eating it too 🙂

  • Bikramjit says:

    Easy to answer this … a big FAT ZEROOOOOOO 🙁 … gosh I use to love reading , just dont get time now

    • Damyanti says:

      It’s not how busy you are, but what your priorities are 🙂

      • Bikramjit says:

        Priority goes for a six when you have a arrest 10 minutes before shift finishes and then you spend 4 hours doing the paper work..
        Etc etc..

        Sadly my work is such no two days are same..

  • Murees Dupé says:

    I have a panic attack about my to-be-read list all the time. It helps that I now know someone else also has this struggle. Two books a week? Wow. I’m bad. I read about two books a month, if I’m lucky. When things get tough, my reading is the first thing that goes. Maybe I should change that.

    • Damyanti says:

      Reading is the last thing that goes for me, the first to go is blogging. 🙂 I’m just trying to keep calm and read on!

  • oshrivastava says:

    Reblogged this on oshriradhekrishnabole.

  • Shirley Muir says:

    how many hours does it take you to read a book?

    • Damyanti says:

      Depends on the length, and difficulty. If it’s an easy read, and a 300-page book, about 6-8 hours. If it’s a dense book, about 20 hours for a 300 pager. I try and read a combination of both at the same time– two lighter books, and a heavy one.

  • Normally, I read two books at the same time but reading one, it’s Warrior by Olivier Lafont. They sent for review. I have quite a few books waiting and from next week, will try reading three books and let’s see how I fare:)

  • One, on the history of China.

  • I like the comment by Nassim Nicholas Taleb: “If you don’t feel that you have not read enough, you have not read enough”

  • Arlee Bird says:

    Books per week? I wish. I’m lucky to read a book each month. I’d love to take a reading vacation. This summer I read more books than usual and it was wonderful.

    Arlee Bird
    A to Z Challenge Co-host

  • Two books a week was my average before kids! I miss those days. During the summer, I managed to read two books a month. This last month was mad rush to finish books before school started back up, so I got in three books this month. But I also read multiple books at the same time, so that’s part of the reason why it takes me a while to get through one book.

    The other day, I was looking for some books I had and I found several that I had not read yet! I’m also turning forty this year and the realization that I might not read all the books is very real to me right now.

    A reading vacation sounds like heaven!

    • Damyanti says:

      Jennifer, I try and squeeze in as much reading as I can, and stay away from the internet and television as much as possible. If not used wisely, they become the enemies of my mind.

      • I haven’t watched TV in weeks! I miss certain shows (thank goodness for DVR), but I agree with you, TV is a time commitment I can’t do. Social media is one I’m really trying to cut down. I think I’ve gotten better, but I’m still working on it.

  • Never heard of a reading vacation before! Sounds like a great idea! I’m doing one a week at the moment- once you commit to it it really makes you focus and enjoy what you read!

    • Damyanti says:

      I try to do two a week, if I lag behind, then I do three in a week to make up :). If I’m reading longer books, I forgive myself for failing to make 8 books a month. It helps that I read both as a task, and as a pleasure.

  • I love reading but can not manage more than two in a month, sometimes just one depending on the length. I have a huge reading list and at this rate would never be able to finish it up. I don’t think I am well read yet and also would ever have enough if it.
    The to read list is ever growing as i discover new books, subjects everyday. Sometimes i even tend to be confused about which book to pick up next.

  • Sha'Tara says:

    I just began following this blog, so this comment by way of intro. I have a business to run, so my reading is for pleasure and usually, to learn something about the cosmos – so I read more sci-fi and any other genre as a rule, although I have a “stack” of epubs from Project Gutenberg in the hard drive – and they are getting read. I don’t do the TBR list, in fact I have to discipline myself to leave the reading alone long enough to have a life – and that’s been my life’s story. I look at my shelves, sagging under hundreds of favourites in paperback, and I look with envy at my growing folders of epubs. Choices, choices. I usually have two, three or more books on the go at one time: one on this laptop, one on the android, one in my kayak pack for those sunny days on the river and one in my business van, for those moments between jobs, coffee and lunch breaks, or stuck waiting for a train. Currently reading a V.I Warshawski private investigator mystery; a Peter F. Hamilton sci-fi, “The Dreaming Void” and I can’t remember the title of the paper back in the kayak pack – sci-fi is all I know. I like your blog. Thanks for inviting me to join up. BTW, I don’t do Facebook or twitter, but this is better.

    • Damyanti says:

      Welcome to this space, please make yourself at home! You sound like me. I have books stationed at various places, and even sneaked away in my phone. I try and read whenever, wherever I can. I’ve realized that’s the only way I’ll get any reading done.

  • Steph says:

    This year some events took place to get me behind schedule. I’m forcing myself to forgive myself for it. Usually I average a book per week.

  • andfreed says:

    I read about one book a month on the average.

  • Lata Sunil says:

    My TBR Pile is equally high. I even moved all the books I have read to another cupboard, but my book shelf is still packed. But, thats only so much I can do and wait for another day. Its a familiar feeling.

  • Birgit says:

    Oh gosh I love reading but I would never put that stress on myself otherwise I simply would not read

  • issue47 says:

    Not sure how you feel about Two and Half Men, but one of my favorite scenes was the one where Alan was crying in the bookstore

    https://youtu.be/wA55YIwe7iA?t=1m49s

  • trE says:

    I read about three books per month, a bit longer depending on my schedule from day to day. I’m never anxious about getting to the books on my list. Right now, I’ve 3 more books to read after I finish my current book. I just welcome the new book when I’ve finished one. I savor my reading experiences though. Reveling in each one gives me a center of peace feeling.

  • lauraalyce says:

    I would love to be able to read a new book every week. Alas, life interrupts far more often than I’d like it to. My current reading project is over 1500 pages of quite small print, and contains very dense and intensive subject matter, so that was never going to be done very quickly anyway. A reading sabbatical sounds like a fantastic idea, although the likelihood of that being possible for me is small.

    My TBR list is enormous, and frequently grows as I discover new subjects and genres and stories. I’m working through it, but I always have that little fear in the back of my mind that I’m not well-read enough, and that I’l never get the chance to read enough. However much “enough” is… well that’s another topic altogether.

  • jollygreenmj says:

    I’m usually such a quick reader, but it’s been taking me about 2-3weeks just to finish ONE average-sized book >_<. I'm hoping that once I cut my schedule down to just one full-time job, I'll have time to do one a week!

  • I wish I could read 2 books a week, but with school & my too busy life it’s not usually possible. In a normal week I read about a book (normally around 300 or 400 pages). I feel like I am drowning in a TBR pile I will never be able to finish in my lifetime, so yes, I know what you mean! :/

  • Jeff Japp says:

    Not enough to ever make it through my list 😉

  • ccyager says:

    Right now, I’m reading one book about every 7-10 days, depending on length and what else is going on in my life. No, no panic attacks about books to read. Oh, yeah, I think often about taking a reading vacation, every week in fact. I try to spend my Sundays reading, but since I began working part-time, I’ve had to do more writing work on Sundays instead of reading. Do you like mystery novels, Damyanti? I recommend P. D. James’ mysteries — they are literary and engrossing. And then there’s MY novel, “Perceval’s Secret”…..(smile)

  • ms_marianna says:

    I manage 1-1.5 books a week IF I’m enraptured. I read a mix of new books interspersed with re-reading books by personal faves i.e. Octavia Butler, Anne Macaffrey, Sheri Tepper (to name but a few). I find if I start a book, put it down but don’t pick it up within a week, I’m not into it so I let it go. Sometimes its about timing or the book is not for me. This minimises my TBR pile which usually sits around 2-3 books at any one time (both paperback and ebook).

  • Charlie says:

    I don’t read as many books as I’d like in a week, unfortunately.

  • meshelkelly says:

    It depends on my schedule, but I typically have an e-book and print book going at the same time. Depending on the size and my interest in the story I can read 2 of each a week.
    My TBR list is so long. I’ll never finish!

  • Uday says:

    See back when I was in college, I used to chew one book every two to three days. But now it’s just too difficult to keep up with reading. I maybe read two books per month. Three if I really struggle 🙁 I am coming to a realization that at this rate I might never even hit the 1000 mark and it scares me.

  • Reading for pleasure, with its attendant mile-long TBR list-is not something that stresses me. I tend to take a rather Whovian approach to what has yet to be devoured. To stress over such things is to make them work, rather than the delight they are intended to be. So I simply keep adding to the list, reading at my own pace, and making time for such things in my life. I feel pleasure reading is something one always should make time to do.

  • Tate Simba says:

    I love to read but I wish i had more time to do… with uni and friends and family things like that slip to the back of my head. but i certainly think i should try to get back into it

  • So, I have this problem where I read a lot but never finish. I am constantly ping-ponging between novels, articles, memoirs, or poetry collections. I am truly a jack of all books, never quite mastering the conclusion. I think it may come from a deep seeded fear of finishing a novel. That sentiment of both satisfaction and “what now” always sinks into my heart as i close a back book cover, forever resting its spine onto of my coffeetable collection. Yet, i know i need to learn to commit to these words and follow through with the dialogue. No story is ever finished fully without appreciating its ending. We all need closure.

  • I love to read and I’m feeling a little starved lately. I’ve been lucky to squeeze in two chapters a night, so books are taking me weeks. Errrgh. I love the idea of a reading sabbatical. Even if it’s just one day a month to turn off all technology and immerse myself in a book. You’ve inspired me to do just that!!!! I’m marking my calendar this minute. 😀

  • Dan Antion says:

    I usually don’t finish a book in a week. I am almost done with my current read, which I started three weeks ago, but I’ve been traveling for two weeks and I carry so much crap that I don’t add a book to my load. I am reading a couple of eBooks, but I prefer a real book so I don’t read them very fast at all.

  • Lekeisha says:

    Depends on if the book is engrossing. I once read 5 in week. Last week it was 3. I am currently juggling 4, so maybe I will finish them. There are times when I only read 1 a week. Depends on the book, my mood, or my time.

  • I have, on average, 3 books going at any given time. I’d say I read about 4-5 books a week.

  • I average one a week, plus an ongoing audiobook for while I’m exercising. I have 21 books on my current to read list. I was hoping to finish these by the end of the year, but it’s not looking good! Plus, I always find another one to add to this list. I try to keep the 2 different books I read simultaneously, in different genres so as not to get confused. I have a lengthy sci-fi novel 2/3 of the way done on audio and I just started a biography on my iPad. I’m also one of those people who will finish a book I don’t really like, otherwise I feel guilty! Crazy, right?

  • Started a new book on Sunday.. I think I should be able to finish 1 more of the same size and maybe fit in a cheesy chick-lit in as well.. *don’t judge* As for the remaining 3 questions : YES, YES and YES!! Of course, I have panic attacks at the thought of NOT being able to read all the stuff that I DO want to read! But that would mean effectively stopping whatever I’m doing (ehh, living life) and just read (seductive thought!).. I’ve actually thought of not doing anything for a couple of months and just catching up on all the reading thats been piling up.. but, *just* then reality intrudes.. *buzz kill*

    Well, I shall hope the day comes soon.. and though I understand the temptation, I, for one, would be very sad indeed to see you disappear from the blogging world! Even for a couple of weeks. 🙂

    As for a reading strategy, that was a surprise.. I never thought of reading like that.. But I do have a strange mind, so I read different books at different times of the day.. that means at any given time, I’m reading at least 2-3 books.. Kinda messes you up,, but hey, as I said above – don’t judge 😉

  • There was a time I took finishing a book — no matter how good or bad — as a badge of honor. Not anymore. If the book doesn’t ‘speak ‘ to me I stop and move on. I have several books going at the same time. Right now, I have one near my treadmill and a different one I’m reading on my Kindle. The treadmill book doesn’t show a lot of promise, but the mystery novel on my Kindle is wonderful, so the author will receive some love from me. 🙂 Talk about love, on my royalty statement this month, it said that several thousand pages were read from my book via kindle and the borrowing site. What an amazing thing to be aware of, as a writer. I sure appreciate it.
    Best of luck and happy reading.

  • If you count audio books ( I listen as I drive my rare blood runs ) I read two to three books a week. Last week I “read” FAREWELL, MY LOVELY & THE HIGH WINDOW {both by Raymond Chandler} and LEGACY OF HEOROT { a Sci Fi re-telling of Beowulf showcasing the dangers of disturbing the ecology of an alien planet.} I much prefer audio books as I can squeeze them easier into my work day. Kindle books are next since I carry my Kindle with me most places. It is hard for me to read print these days as it is not as convenient. Happy reading.

  • Susan Scott says:

    iT all depends .. A book can grab me so I have to finish it. Some books require more attention than others i.e. when they’re so good I don’t want to speed read them … Just about to finish Robert Harris: An Officer and a Spy, a novel based on the real life story of Alfred Dreyfus in the 1800’s when he was unjustly accused of being a traitor to his country (France) and the awful lengths to which the army and govt went to keep him imprisonised on Devil’s Island.

  • Jon Chaisson says:

    This is more a question for my wife. She goes through books like I go through sugary things. I’m a deliberately slow reader; I like to take in the flow of the book as well as the prose. One book usually takes me about 2-3 weeks, unless it’s a quick read or a YA…in that case more like a week or so. Current reads are Wesley Chu’s TIME SALVAGER (definitely a step up from his Tao books), Kate Elliott’s COURT OF FIVES (I’ll read anything from her), and Haruki Murakami’s WIND/PINBALL and A WILD SHEEP CHASE (becoming a big fan of his stuff and catching up with the older titles).

    Now, for quick reads? I’ll zip through any manga tankobon that I pick up in like an hour or so. Satoshi Kon’s OPUS and his DREAM FOSSIL anthology, the latest NARUTO volume, for starters. Pretty much the only comics I pick up now are manga. 🙂

  • There are more than 15 books in my to-read list Damyanti 🙂 And many are in the electronic format that makes me to procrastinate the reading hours. Nice post about books :):)

  • I read four or five books a week, usually. (Sometimes many more, if I find a new-to-me fiction writer who’s come to my attention with a longish series to devour.) That hasn’t changed much since I retired a few years ago. My TBR stack is horrendous, but mostly electronic. I have electronic Shelves for Preordered and Must Be Read categories on my Nook.

    In order to bring a new printed book into the house, we pretty much have to toss one out.

  • A book a week? Well, maybe if it’s a short book! Right now I’m reading Lisa See’s thriller FLOWER NET. I’m nearly done with Polly Iyer’s GODDESS OF THE MOON. I’ve been reading off and on for a year now Lady Murasaki’s THE TALE OF GENJI. And I’ve just started for my bedside reading Edmond Gosse’s GOSSIP IN A LIBRARY. Oh, and I just picked up Washington Irving’s THE ALHAMBRA. What a book! So when I start to panic…I just pick up another book and start reading. Madness! It’s all madness! I love it.

  • rehmanjafar says:

    My to-read list is pretty long and I some months ago bought 8 new books. I haven’t read a book this week but back in time I was reading 2-3 books. I hope to find more time to read.

  • jolynnpowers says:

    read about one every two weeks so around 26 book a year but I write 52 blogs a year so you can see where I spend most of my time.

  • Back when I was in the thick of editing, it was 1 or 2 a week. These days, it’s probably one every week or two: nowadays, I read lots of shorter form fiction, from drabbles and flash up to novella length. You are doing quite well, Damyanti, to read up to 2 a week–my 2 cents’ worth, anyway. A book sabbatical would be nice, but I doubt I could ever fit it in; and especially not for an entire month or two. In a couple or few months, a friend of mine will likely be self-pubbing a fantasy novel, so I’ll recommend that one once it’s out in the world.

  • Wow, “books in a week?” It takes me multiple weeks to read a book. Gosh, I should have taken that speed-reading class.

  • jessmbaum says:

    It’s so random with me. Sometimes I’ll fly through a couple in a week and sometimes I’ll get so busy that it takes me 2-3 weeks to read a book. haha

  • neilirving says:

    I’m lucky to read one book a week but some weeks I can read two or three but the to read list never gets smaller 🙂

  • bibliosa says:

    My TBR causes me panic attacks all the time. It’s gotten to the point where I don’t really like reading reviews anymore because I don’t want to think the book is interesting, and then add it to the TBR thus increasing the list. It’s sad. When I’m not busy I read about two to three books a week, but these days I’m lucky if I manage one. A Reading Sabbatical sounds amazing!

  • Wow, I do good to read two to three a month. And sadly, I will never run out of reading material.

  • Shirley Muir says:

    I am a short story writer so I am trying to read more short stories than novels. I believe that if I read 24 short stories by one writer it’s much more useful to my own writing (right now as I’m trying to learn fast) than reading one novel by a writer. I am currently half way through Tove Jansson’s Travelling Light anthology and the stories are so varied in their subject matter, message, complexity, length and style of writing. And I have an anthology of 100 Stories about Women edited by Victoria Hislop. I regularly dip into it and read Katherine Mansfield or Carol Shields or Anna Kavan and am fascinated at how different they all are. But I did read Robert Galbraith’s The cuckoo’s Calling last week and thoroughly enjoyed it. phew!

  • wooknight says:

    I have this problem quite a bit and being a day time programmer exacerbates the problem with boring technical books that get added to the pile . However I do have a suggestion that I had outlined in my blog couple of days ago in a post called “The art of Re – Reading books” . I believe that “How to read a book” by Mortimer J. Adler can alleviate some of the pain that we bibliophiles tend to feel . I would love to hear what you folks think

  • PESidaway says:

    I seem to be reading a lot of long books at the moment (500 pages +), so not anything that can be finished quickly …

  • brunda bru says:

    books can e really addictive ,the number of books I read depends on the number of books I buy, sometimes I buy eight together and I can’t do any otehr job until and unless I read it and I go with the hardbound type reader…My list consists of Emma,sense adn sensibility by Jane Austen and also would love to read percy jackson books as my 12 year old friend mentioned it to me…:)

  • I read quite slowly, at the moment I’m finishing Brandon Sanderson’s whopper, The Well of Ascension, which is absolutely amazing, by the way. I’m also starting The Red Eye readalong on Goodreads, spooky stories, starting with Frozen Charlotte, that sounded fun in the lead up to Halloween. I’m falling behind on my Goodreads target this year so trying to catch up!!

  • I agree, there is never enough reading time and I always have several on the go. I is the writing that gets squeezed. I did suggest a reading holiday to my husband, but he wasn’t buying. Still I did manage three in our ten-day holiday (two long plane journeys).

  • I am a book a month kind of guy. Although, I am reading three books at the moment so now I am three books in three months kind of guy.

  • Alicia says:

    I usually read two books a week. J am used to a big TBR list, but I do start to panic when I fall below my two books a week goal. Or when I buy too many books…

  • Put me in the one a month category. Writing time takes precedence of reading time. Which means most of my reading is while I’m fighting sleep in bed (not very productive) or on weekends.

  • I have been slowly reading the same very thick book for over a year. When I first started graduate school, though, I read three or more books each week. Never word for word, but hard-skim. Purpose determines pace.

  • In a week? Zero. But in a month 1 or 2 depending on how crazy life is. I’m a slow reader and I have a 7 year-old who interrupts me every three seconds. haha!

  • Luanne says:

    Sometimes it takes me 3 weeks or so to read a book. When I was young I read a book a day. And I do get the anxiety from the TBR pile. Ugh. And anxiety if I don’t have a good looking TBR pile. Speaking of looks, is this a stock photo? I am trying to figure out how anybody could find a book that is shelved according to the color of its spine. Sometimes the spines don’t even match the covers!

  • wcs53 says:

    I set a target of 75 books for this year (about 1.5 per week), but I am falling behind. I’ll probably end up at around 65. I’d love to break the 100 barrier some year, but I just don’t seem to have the time these days. I have a ton of books on my ever-growing TBR pile, too.

  • It depends on the book. I’ve read books in a couple of days, and others it’s taken me a month to finish. I tend to panic more when I *don’t* have many books in my TBR stack–a big TBR stack means I have lots of good books ahead of me 🙂

  • Paul Davis says:

    Holy crap. Like, I’m at one a month. I read smaller books in there, but they’re more essays, manifestos, or treatises. Two a week!? I need to up my game. I have a library, and half the books I have not read cover to cover. Often my books are for research, and I read what I need.

    Um…add Seneca on the Shortness of Life and Boneshaker (steampunk during the Civil War, very anachronistic).

  • mudpilewood says:

    Interesting questions. I used to read a book a week, before children, husband, dogs, volunteering etc. In other words when I was young free and single. It seems like reading gets shoved on the back burner as I get older but then again I tend to put writing time before reading time. I am now dreaming of minimal life activity and starting to panic.

  • I read one book per week. Yes, I have this panic attack, often.