I don't like to think I'm judgmental---but maybe I am---just a little!
It all started when I read a blog post called "The Best Books I Read in 2017." Any post about books always draws me in. Even though I already have 125 books on my "to be read" list and 15 books on my waitlist, I'm always looking for new books.
First let me say, that I love this girl and have been following her blog for several years. She has a beautiful family and keeps it real. But I just have to question this. She starts out with this statement:
"111. I can't even tell you how much joy that number brings me. It was the best year of reading that I can ever remember. It brought me so much happiness and made me such a better person."
Here's what you need to know about that. This gal has 5 little girls under the age of 9 or 10! Yes! She's beautiful and so are her girls (and hubby for that matter). But---I cannot imagine how she can possibly read that much and keep up with her kids, running them around, grocery shopping, cooking, laundry and household maintenance. She defends herself (I guess from us judgmental people) by saying that she is a really fast reader, doesn't watch tv and carries a book everywhere she goes.
HMPH! There is is. My judgmental and high and mighty stance. Her house must be a mess. Her laundry must be piled to the ceiling. Her meals must be fast food, take-out or from cans. Her kids must be parked in front of the tv. And the statement about reading making her a better person---come on, really? Maybe a little smarter, but better? HRMPH! (That's sort of like an extra HMPH!)
Okay, let me come down off my high horse. I guess it's possible to read 111 books, be a good mother, keep a clean house and stay on top of your life. I just find it hard to believe. Where is the time for meeting with friends, taking in a movie with the hubs, going to church or spending time at school? Ooops, I guess I just climbed back on that horse!
I consider myself a voracious reader. I've only read 68 books this year. That's a book just about every 5 days. That's about my pace. I don't think I'm a particularly fast reader---although I would love to find a way to test that. I still have a life. A pretty busy life. No, I don't have small children, but the gang is here enough that I'm cooking and getting ready for them periodically. I have friends. My week looks like this: Movie Monday, Stitching Tuesday, Working Wednesday (run errands and work at home--usually meeting someone for lunch), Bridge Thursday and a movie or lunch with a friend/happy hour Friday. In the summer we have pool parties several days a week. Weekends I consider to be "free." I read a lot then. Add to that, stitching and scrapbooking, keeping up with my blog and reading blogs, handling beach business, paying bills and general home maintenance---well, you get the picture---my time just flies by. I read every afternoon for about a half hour to an hour. I read every evening before bed for about an hour. I use my Kindle app on my phone to read while I'm out and waiting for things.
Connie is the only person I know who reads more than I do. On the other hand, I stitch more than she does. Still, it's not a race---or a contest. I'm just sayin'. There's really only so much free time in a day! I'm not trying to be judgmental. I'm really not. I'm just from Missouri---the "show me" state. I find it hard to believe!
And this isn't even my post about the books I read this year! It's coming folks!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I read a lot too, but sometimes think it is not about the number of books we read but the enjoyment we get. We have all become, me included, so obsessed with reaching targets.
ReplyDeleteThe trouble I have with reading books quickly, is that I don't read them 'properly'. Then in a little while I can't remember whole chunks of them! My son works for a publishing house and he sends books he think I might like now and again to get me reading something a bit different. The last one was 'The Underground Railroad' and I would never have chosen it myself but really enjoyed it. The only time I read a book every three days is when I'm on holiday and can sit on a comfy sun lounger all day and do nothing else!
ReplyDeleteOver the past 8 years, I've read anywhere from 58 to 118 books each year. I read all the time, but there are spurts when I read more. Like Jane, I think the enjoyment we get is important!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I don't count magazines, children's books without chapters, or the Bible (which I've read through many times). So, I read a lot more that the number indicates.
I do think reading can help you be a better person, depending on what you're reading. The Bible, for example, and other self-help type books. Even fiction that has a good underlying moral story or dilemma that makes us think about how we would act or react in certain situations.
I am a fast reader and I only managed 14 books this year, lol.
ReplyDeleteI know of others that read ALOT of books, but they consider books on tape to their lists as well.
Oh never thought of adding magazines or children's books to my lists as I think of only adding novels.
I actually think I read more when my girls were young, lol
I think if reading is her only hobby, then 100 books may not be at all out of the realm of possibility. I read 43 books in 2017, and if I had spent all the time just rearranging stuff in my craft room, in reading instead, it would have been easily twice that. And if I didn't scrap or spend time following scrapbooking online it might have been triple. Of course, I'm retired in an empty nest except for college breaks.
ReplyDeleteMany people who say they read fast are in reality skimmers. Lots of people don't need 8 hours of sleep a night to function like I do. All that said, I rarely read at all when I had 2 kids at home and a job, or later just 2 kids. Just trying to reason it out like out. But by now, you might well suspect that I'm from Missouri too.