Sarah and I know that reading is many people’s favorite leisure time activity. It can feel challenging to fit reading into a busy life…but it doesn’t have to be.
In today’s episode of Best of Both Worlds, we discuss our current reading lives, where we fit reading in (Sarah does it structurally in the morning and then before bed — I’m more of a read-more-if-I’m-into-a-book kind of person…). We also discuss paper vs. electronic. While I like the paper experience more than electronic, I’m on Team E-book just because of how convenient and easy it is. One reason we spend so much time scrolling is that our phones are always with us. But if they are…then an ebook can always be with us too!
Are you an on-paper or on-device reader? We also have a listener question from someone who wants to create a “words of affirmation” type folder but is trying to figure out how, practically, to do this.
Please give the episode a listen! And if you’re thinking of joining our Patreon community, now would be a great time to do that, as we have a Zoom meet-up this Wednesday. We’ll be discussing “Superficial things” — favorite beauty products/tools, etc.
I am at 124 for the year – and this includes a dozen or so middle grade books. If I have to sit through 500 pages of Rick Riordan’s prose, I am counting it. I read pretty broadly but literary fiction is my preferred genre.
My goal was to read fewer, longer books this year – StoryGraph suggests I’ve read 17 500+ books this year, including Kristin Lavransdottir.
@Coree – amazing. I guess I am pretty high up there too if we count my 23 Magic Treehouse and 19 Dragon Masters books too! And why not? They are stories!
I liked hearing your 2500 books quote as I took particularly pleasure in having my favourite pod-casts cross over with Gretchen Rubin saying you said this to her in a recent episode of Happier!
I think you both balanced it well and agree that ultimately if you want to ‘read’ more it’s helpful to embrace all the ways to read including e-books, audio books and paper books. I think it gets complicated with adding a lot of rules to it to have what ‘counts’.
I am with you, Laura, I LOVED the libby app (not the kindle one) particularly while I was breast feeding both of my kids. It was so easy to read a novel in those times just one-handed. I don’t really love to read on my phone but it worked well at that time. And I LOVE audiobooks for long car trips with the family. We’ve delved into Harry Potter and Percy Jackson and it keeps the kids more or less engaged for longer periods to reduce the fighting in the back seat.
@Jen – so fun that the 2500 number made Happier! And yep, it is possible to read electronically in the dark, one-handed…less so on paper for sure.
I think you asked “Let us know what you are reading” as in the present tense, Ms. Laura Vanderkam – which means that I cannot mention books that I’ve already finished reading. I’m reading “From Eternity to Here” by Prof. Sean Carroll, “Gulp” and “Spook” by Ms. Mary Roach, “The Singularity is Near” by Dr. Ray Kurzweil, “Pronoun Troubles” by Prof. John McWhorter, and “Says Who” by Prof. Anne Curzan right now. I prefer not to mention all of the books that I’m reading right now as that’ll make my comment more than 500-word-long. I sometimes listen to audiobooks or read paper books when I’m walking from point A to point B.
I’ve actually not received anything from you in the past that asked me which activities I would first choose if I had sort of time to myself, Ms. Laura Vanderkam. While reading is an activity that I’ll frequently choose to make time for when I have sort of time to myself, I don’t think I’ll make it the very first choice.
That being said, I do care about how many books one can read in one’s lifetime, yes. Since the “2500 books” number comes from you, Ms. Laura Vanderkam, I think I can trust that number.
Loved this episode! My personal rule is that I always have an audiobook, Kindle book and physical book I am reading. Audiobooks are a game changer for household chores. Love being able to read more books while I fold endless piles of laundry and nightly dishes. Makes the time go by fast! Kindle books are my go to in the car, traveling and before bed. I keep a physical book in the couch secret compartment so I can always pull it out when I sit down. My kids play right in front of the couch in our living room so I really try to be intentional about them seeing me read physical books as I feel they wouldn’t know I was reading on a phone. I get through far more books than I would expect with this strategy as a busy mom of 3!
@Annie – I have never really gotten into audiobooks but I totally see the appeal – it’s certainly one of the reasons podcasts have been popular. There are a lot of minutes of the day where you can’t sit and look at something…but you can listen to something.