Booking Through Thursday #1

Would you say that you read about the same amount now as when you were younger?

Well, given 37 years of reading experience...and very little consistency across said years...
Compared to one book every night at bedtime when I was 4, I'm reading less books, but definitely more in page count. Another big-volume era was probably from 6th-10th grades during the summertime; I'd bring home whatever I could carry (this was before backpacks were standard issue to children--my son has 2 already!), usually about 20 books, and I'd have those read within a week or two. Another time in my life when I had the time to read a lot was post-divorce, when I was working part-time in schools. I'd say I could finish at least 12-15 in a month's time. In contrast, during college, I would read maybe only 20 books per year, most of those being textbooks.

Nowdays, I am doing good to finish one per week, even though I'd set a goal to read 100 books in 2007. It's November already, and I think I've barely cracked that halfway mark. Definitely not a good rate if I want to keep readers coming back. I think that's why I've been seeking out reading challenges--they're helping me to focus on very specific steps toward meeting bigger-numbered goals. A secondary benefit to these challenges: they're forcing me to keep my reading diverse, and I'm both staying out of ruts and getting obsessions out of my system.

Why?

Ah, the reasons are many: I am married, and my time is not all my own. I have a two-year-old and my time is not my own. I have a much larger house (compared to past big-reading eras) that I'm supposed to maintain. I do dishes and laundry for three. I have farm animals that need attention. I live in the country, far away from all of my friends, and the time involved not only to stay in touch but to actually nurture the relationships (seems to be) pretty high. Oh, and I spend time on the internet (which I didn't have before 1997--after all my high-volume eras).