How To Read

Reading, as I'm sure you've gathered, is one of my favorite activities.

Recently I've been struggling with carving out the time. It's happening with my book group books as well as the books I have on my own personal reading list. And this is especially disappointing after getting very excited about 10 fiction books I really wanted to read this year, and then succeeding at reading a very impressive total of one so far (to see the list, visit my nascent author page here).

In total, I've read nine books in 2016. To some people who read this blog that might seem like a lot. And to others it might seem like very few. But there's a very important reason that I care about this number. It's just a fact that if you want to be writing, you have to be reading -- regularly.

Usually I read books on my way home from the office (the morning is for work reading). But recently, every night after a long day, I just can't concentrate on the written word. Instead, I cop out by listening to podcasts. There is something incredibly restful after a long day of staring at a screen to listen and free up your eyes to look at your surroundings.

So I am considering delving (finally) into the realm of the audio book. It's not a new concept of course. I remember listening to books on tape in the car with my Mom, and when I was a very little kid I would always fall asleep with the record player spinning out the amazing Sesame Street fairy tales. And of course my parents always read to me when I was small, which I suppose is really the same thing. 

I've written before about the recent podcast craze and I think it's taking us all back in time a bit -- to being much more eager to listen to content, like in the days where people sat around the radio in the evening. I think it's a welcome break from the constant barrage of visual content where we are always looking at screens, including those little computers we carry with us everywhere.

I'm curious to find out how listening might change my experience of consuming a book. And it reminds me that humans have told stories verbally for a long longer time than they have been reading them on the page. 

Like anything, I'm sure there are books that are better for listening to -- at this point I'm not considering reading non-fiction books this way. I would probably find it irritating as I read non-fiction books much faster than fiction. 

Will have a try and circle back to you at some point.

How do you consume books these days? Paper, audio, ebook? And when and where do you read?

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Photo credit: A Fada cathedral 1932 via photopin (license)