Monday, December 5, 2011

Monday Memes - Musing and Reading

 This week’s musing asks…
How many books do you read in a week? Month? Year?
I read probably 1-2 books a week and about 4-10 in a month. It really varies, and probably averages on the low side of those numbers. I'm not a fast reader, and the books I read tend to be long and often challenging. I rarely read "light reads"! If I'm reading graphic novels, expect the numbers to be higher; if I have the opportunity to sneak in an audiobook, the numbers will edge up a little, too. But if I'm tackling a chunkster, or just having trouble getting through something, or have too many going at once, or get busy with other things, I'll slow down. I get about an hour a day to read, mostly on my commute; that time is precious! Sometimes I'll read in the evening as well, often a graphic novel.  So it all depends. But even if I'm no speed demon you can be sure I'm always reading!

More Musing Mondays at ShouldbeReading.wordpress.com.

Funny you should ask! I'm reading Little, Big, by John Crowley, a very intriguing fantasy about an unusual family. I'm only a little ways into the book so it's hard to say much more. I don't know if Crowley is usually shelved in science fiction but his book is certainly edgy and different. I'll be able to tell you more when I'm done!


I'm also reading The 14th Dalai Lama: A Manga Biography, by Tetsuo Sawai. So far I'm finding it to be the best of the three Penguin manga biography series; I liked Gandhi and Che Guevara but maybe because I knew the least about the Dalai Lama going in, or maybe because the story is just told so beautifully, this is my favorite one. I have to say I found it odd that the creators of the series decided to include a figure like Guevara, who advocated violence and armed uprising, alongside nonviolent religious figures like Gandhi and the Dalai Lama. But Guevara is certainly a very marketable, recognizable figure and I'm sure that would have entered into the decision. But this one is the book to get, in my opinion, of the three.

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at BookJourney.

13 comments:

Mystica said...

I've not read manga at all though the subject would be of real interest to me.

bermudaonion said...

I have no idea how many books I read in a week, but I'm probably close to you in numbers. The 14th Dalai Lama looks interesting to me!

rhapsodyinbooks said...

I have to admit I liked reading chunksters a lot more before I was blogging, and thereby put pressure on myself to get more books read!

Laurel-Rain Snow said...

I miss reading more chunksters, and I must admit that blogging has changed the books I read. Many I see on other blogs are those with fewer pages...and less depth.

But I've enjoyed finding variety in my reading.

Soon I'll be reading Stephen King's new chunkster.

Here's MY MUSING MONDAYS POST and
MY WEBSITE

Sandy Nawrot said...

I've screamed enough about how badly I want to read those manga books. BAD. So there is that. I am not a fast reader either, but audio helps my numbers. I probably hit 150 a year on a good year. I am scared of chunksters though, which says something about that number.

Zibilee said...

I usually read about 2 to 3 a week, but that is only if they aren't time consuming and difficult. Chunksters and deeper books take me a little longer. I am starting to do more audio when I can though, and it's nice to get more books under my belt while I am doing some of those necessary chores that are boring and time consuming.

I can't wait to hear what your thoughts on Little, Big will be. It was a really strange but lovely book!

Unknown said...

Yes, it really depends on a lot of things.

Here's mine:
http://carabosseslibrary.blogspot.com/2011/12/musing-mondays.html

Anonymous said...

New follower my #MM

picky said...

Grr. I need to read the Guevara, though I've steered clear of it for similar reasons. The other two were pretty cool though.

And you are the second person in the last month reading Little, Big. It's my former thesis director's favorite book, and I haven't been able to get into it. Maybe now is the time.

Anonymous said...

I didn't know Penguin had a manga biography series. That's so cool.

caite said...

I am so lucky to be able to read at work when I work nights, or my count would be way down

Kathleen said...

My numbers are way down the past few years. Ironically I think blogging has caused me to read less because I am busy reading blogs and don't have as much time to read my books. I'm hoping that 2012 will prove to be a year where I have more time to read.

Care said...

I'm intrigued by the title, the cover and what little you've shared about Little, Big. First I'm hearing of it; will go check it out in goodreads now.