How much do you read?

[Rag]

I'm just sort of curious about this. Can you list all the novels/novellas/whatevers you've read? Or if there are too many to recall, how about the number of authors whose fiction you've read?

Not counting stuff I was forced to read in school (mainly because I can't remember any of it), my reading has been limited to Terry Pratchett, Orson Scott Card, Mervyn Peake, Terry Goodkind, Robert Jordan, Douglas Adams, J.R.R. Tolkien, Dan Brown (I fell for the hype. Oh well), and I've also failed to finish books by Anne Rice and David and Leigh Eddings.

It's probably a pretty pathetic range of authors compared to some people, but it wasn't until a few years ago that I started reading as a hobby. I may have to stop by the book recommendations thread once I've finished the two I'm working on now.

[Spike Marshall]

I used to read tons when I was younger. But as I've gotten into writing myself, I've tried to stop reading for fear that it may influence what I write. I've actually been on a writing break for the last few months and have read some great stuff, but to be honest my range of read authors is horrendously stunted.

Also read 'Crime and Punishment'. Possibly the best experience you can ever have.

[Eden]

Not as much as I should. I haven't the time. Having said that, I can't stop buying books. I have about 100 more than I've read.

I do have a shocking pile-up of old Pratchett's to get through, which will keep me going for ages. I tend to read a book every fortnight or so, but I do keep up to date with the literary world.

[~SapphireStar~]

Ive read alot, in primary and high school I always had my head in a good book. I cant recall all Ive read, but Ive read novels by William Golding, George Orwell, Terry Pratchett, Stephen King, J.R.R. Tolkien, JK Rowling, Dan Brown ... just to name a few! I read several books at once and reading has always been a hobbie of mine. I love reading.

[Rag]

I tend to read a book every fortnight or so, but I do keep up to date with the literary world.
That's not reading as much as you should? :eek: It's more like one book a month for me, if that. Though these days I seem to do nearly all of my reading on bus and train journeys.

[Brother]

A lot, put lightly, and I'm about to embark upon an English Literature and Spanish degree so there's a lot more to come. Roughly one a week maybe, dependant upon how busy I am.

[Phaedra]

I've read quite a few books when I was younger, and I still do. As far as I remember, I've J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, Douglas Adams, Christopher Paolini, Shakespeare, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, a bit of Isaac Asimov, and other authors that I'm unwilling to list here because my memory will not permit me to do so.

[Eden]

That's not reading as much as you should?
I don't know... I don't think so, to be honest. While Spike might disagree, I think that anyone with authorly aspirations (or delusions in my case) should read as much as possible. The three steps to good writing being 1) Read, 2) Read and 3) Read, and all that.

Maybe I'm being a bit too ambitious in the old reading though. To be fair, at the moment it's all Pratchett, which isn't exactly helping me develop my talent. It's purely entertaining! :thumbsup:

I love contemporary "straight" fiction, so anything new that comes out in this (extremely broad) genre is of interest to me. I'll read reviews, and if it sounds good I'll snap it up and devour it.

[FadedLies]

Reading is one of the hobbies I do have. Usually I read a bit before I go to bed then sometime during the day I will. So far I've read everything by John Saul and Stephen King as they are my main two authors that I stick to. I have ventured into Peter David as well as S.D. Perry a bit. That's usually about it. I do have the habit of going back to re-read a few books from time to time if I can't find anything else to read.

-FadedLies

[Hellfire]

Reading is one of my favourite hobbies and I just love to lose myself in some foreign world with different people. I don't tend to read as much as I did before because I hardly find the time to do it with all my other hobbies squeezed inbetween. When I do read though, it's either just before I go to bed, if there's nothing else to do or if I'm engrossed in a particular book.

If memory serves correct, I've probably read books by at least 15 authors, not many I know because I like series better than individual novels. I will never leave a book unfinished because I hate not knowing what will happen next regardless of how bad the book is.

[charliepanayi]

I always have something to read usually - if not a new book, than I re-read one that I have at home. I find it the best way to while away the time on the bust to/from university, and in the evenings when there's little to do. I can't really say how many books/authors I've read though, my memory's too hazy there.

[Lord Mark]

I read a couple of books a week if they're available. So its too hard remember them all. I've read tons of Dragonlance stuff, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Michael Crichton, Clive Cussler, JRR Tolkien, and other miniscule (sp?) authors

[Ænorexorcist]

I don't read as much as I should. I'm going to be an English major, so I really should be reading all of the time. The minutes I burn away typing this very post could be spent reading Les Miserables or something like that.

Still, I'm a huge fan of Clive Barker. I recently started reading Abarat, which is one of his "young adult" books, but it's still excellent, regardless of the target audience. Stephen King is also an author I enjoy reading from time to time, though I think his earlier stuff was a lot better. (I enjoyed the first half of the Dark Tower immensely, while the second half seemed like a hodge-podge of ideas that would have been excellent if they'd been separate from each other, but I digress)

[Invazn]

I don't really read as much as should. It takes me a month to read like a 500page book. Suppose to reading like 30minutes a day, but I never do.

[Question Mark]

Well, even though I barely have time to read anymore, due to school work, friends, and girls. I find it hard even to remember how many books I've read, and all their names included.

I know for a fact I've read the first four of Terry Goodkinds Sword of truth series, and the entire Dragon Lance books.

And if I am not mistaken some of the Drizzt series aswell.

[Tine]

I read loads and loads. I spend alot of my time alone, so I spend alot of my time reading books. It's a little sad really, how much time I spend reading.

[Jessica Fletcher]

I read about 2 books a week, mostly in bed. I'm a pretty fast reader, but it slows right down when I'm working a lot of hours. I've been a pretty avid reader since I was a wee bairn, and there's no way I can remember everything. I own a lot of books and I've read most of them, but I get a lot out of the library and make sure I don't get stuck in a genre. I also make myself finish everything I start even if it's godawful. I think if I tried to list everything I've read I'd manage the ones that stood out for being excellent or terrible and a fair few of the average ones, but it'd not be anywhere near complete.

[Diamond]

Quite a lot... but it's not usually books. I read the newspaper [no, not tabloids] every day and a lot of articles on the internet...

I don't get much time to read at home so I often read on the bus/train. :sweat:

[Guest #773]

I read maybe a book a month on average. The pace isn't as fast as it once was, I don't read much at all the pace I'm going. I read the newspaper almost daily as well as an assortment of magazines ranging from religion to science to music.

Most of the books I do read are non-fictional.

[Orca]

People tend to call me a bookworm, but I rarely finish a book in a month. I wish I could be faster at reading but I have this tendency to read every word carefully so I can visualize the surroundings, character, and there situations.

I really don't have a wide variaty of authors... about maybe 5 or 6. Dean Konntz, J.k Rowling, Stephen King, John Saul and maybe another, memory is a little fuzzy.

But yea.. I love to read.:D

[bond4154]

I read a lot, to the point where I have replaced books for friends. Well, not really, but...close.

[Nicola]

I really couldn't name everything I've read. I have to read a lot anyway since I take English Literature at degree level. I haven't had time to read leisurely lately but I don't mind, the books that are set are great anyway. I mostly read fantasy books or the classics. I rarely branch out into the other genres.

[Raebus]

I love reading, besides playing games and watching dvds, it's one of my favourite hobbies. I usually read noir, fantasy and sci-fi with the odd real life fiction murder type books.

[Onyx]

And if I am not mistaken some of the Drizzt series aswell.

Yes... I trully enjoy the Drizzit series. I am currently reading the many and wide views of R.A. Salvatore. Though when I run out of those I usually go into authors like Micheal Crichton. I also read one or two from Dean Knootz. I enjoy reading when I get that feeling. Or when I have read one good book of a series I try and read the rest. Its quite fun to enter a world of fiction.:D

[Lina]

I read more for myself now than I ever did in high school. I try to balance what I read in terms of classic novels and things that are lighter.
Some of the more famous books I've read:

Crime and Punishment (one of the best)
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
To Kill a Mockingbird
Wuthering Heights
The Great Gatsby
The Catcher in the Rye
The Awakening
Heart of Darkness
Song of Solomon
The Sound and the Fury
1984
Brave New World
The Turn of the Screw
Their Eyes Were Watching God
The Scarlet Letter
Of Mice and Men

Those are pretty much the more classic/established novels that I can list off the top of my head. I've also recently read Fight Club and Bridget Jones' Diary for a class, and I had to read a lot of books about Joan of Arc for another class. Then there are things like Harry Potter and Narnia that are lighter and I can read quickly for enjoyment. I've also read a lot of mythology books and of course some Shakespeare. I don't usually go to the bookstore and pick up random modern books unless someone recommends them to me. I do want to read the DaVinci code when I have a chance though, just for the whole conspiracy/mythological element of it.

[Placid Heart]

I use to love reading books, but now I hardly ever do it becuase of th elack of time . But I read the lord of the rings they were good !

[Black Velveteen]

I dont read half as much as I want to. As I'm sure many have said, I just dont find the time for it. I used to fit it in before I went to bed but now I'm just too tired. If I'm on the train then I'm usually good for it. It's a pity really.

[Azrael]

I read a fair amount, and I really like the library it is a great place full of knowledeg and the best thing is it is free to hire books out. I love fantasy novels and have just read a corker, it's called Marrow by Robert Reed.

[Benperson]

I'm only in the 7th grade, so i've only read books like Robert Cormier, Caroline B Cooney, Orson Scott Card, Brian Jacques, and TONS of various classics (20000 under, Enchanted Castle, etc.)

[Hikoshi]

I don't really read that much. I've read all the dan Brown books, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, all the Harry Potter books, etc. But I don't deverse that much.

[Rosaline]

I have a lot to read for school, so I don't have time to read books that I want to read. I have two english classes, American Lit and World Lit and I have to read a book for each one, so you can imagine how hard that must be if I actually want to take the time to read something of my choice.

[Falcolas]

Used to consume novels at the rate of one every 3 days or so. More when I got hooked and couldn't sleep.

Now, fewer. Need for an upgraded prescription and a desire for more interactive and social entertainment.

[Helluin]

I have to read so durned much for grad school that I almost don't read normal books.

Jung (yay!), Freud (sigh), Joseph Campbell, Kerenyi, Chris Downing and James Hillman are my main authors. Not exactly mainstream...

[Raven]

I used to spend every spare second reading a book, but then I realized I was missing out on a lot. Now I read only when there's no one else around to talk to.
I don't really have any restrictions or preferences on what I read; if it's in print, it's good enough.

[Tine]

I read a lot, to the point where I have replaced books for friends. Well, not really, but...close.

Ditto...I read books alot, whether game guides, college text books, story books, I read alot.

[Reggie]

If I have a good book I'll spend about 3 or 4 hours reading it in the evening. However, I can be picky about books so I end up reading a book I've already read before for about 30 minutes instead...I really need a new book.

[Diz-ney]

I love reading I just can't find time or I can't find the right books. I mean I just wish I could read more.

[Elric]

Yes i love to read too!

I remember when the first tome of JRR Tolkin (The fellowship of the ring) was published in Greece (many years ago...) i read it in 2 days!!!
I like to read : Masterton, Tolkin, Moorcock, Salvatore, Brooks, Kay, Feist, Dan Brown, Brite, Michael Curtid Ford, Manfredi, Barker and greek writers as well.

I also read anything about brainteasers, quizzes, comics, food safety science (my job), Bussiness management (my job) and paranormal (not my job but i handle relevant situations every day...)

And yes i read every day.

[NMK]

Hm, I'm not a big fan of reading but I do read sometimes, mostly Manga etc. etc.

[Nicola]

Thought I would revive this thread as it is quite interesting.

Since I found LibraryThing I have been able to keep track of what I have read, what type of books I read the most, and what I tend to most enjoy. But that site only has books that I own, not all the past books I have read, which is quite a lot. If you're interested my profile is here: http://www.librarything.com/profile/CareALotsClouds

I mostly read Wilkie Collins novels. They are huge books (700+ pages normally) and I spend a lot of time on him. As I said 18 months ago in this thread (I was in my first year in my degree), I read for my course. I have taken a wide range of modules so my reading has been quite diverse (apart from contemporary literature - but I have module for this started four weeks from now, so hopefully I'll catch up a bit).

I have gaps in my reading such as horror, romance (as in the genre, not the time period) and twientieth century writing. I took an American Lit course, but hated it so much I hardly read any of the set books and I disgarded the subject as soon as possible - so I'm not that familier with the likes of Henry James and Nathaniel Hawthorne. I've one of each and hated them.

My interest is in Victorian novels and novels from the Romantic era which included gothic literature such as Mysteries of Udolpho, Frankenstein and The Monk.

My favourite authors are Wilkie Collins, Jane Austen (somewhat typical I know, but I love her so much), the Bronte sisters and J. K. Rowling.

I have to read about four books a week.

[Sensi Hawso]

I'm that pathetic person who stays home at weekends and reads lovely big books while everyone else my age is sneaking into bars.

I wish my library was larger :)

[Rosaline]

I don't know if I could name all of the books I've read, but here are a few from my shelf (the majority of which are classics that I had to buy for school, but I enjoyed myself anyways) and some that I can remember XD:

The Aeneid
A Tale of Two Cities
Madame Bovary
Crime and Punishment
Wuthering Heights
Macbeth
The Taming of the Shrew
Jane Eyre
The Catcher in the Rye
The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Short Stories by Leo Tolstoy
The Dubliners by James Joyce
The Metamorphosis and other stories by Franz Kafka
Lolita
The Kite Runner
Lovely Bones
Tess of the D'Ubervilles
The Notebook

I wish I had more time to read, but since I work a lot now, it's not happening. I hope when I take an English Literature class at school, I have more motivation to read lol.

Personally, I really like Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Ubervilles and want to read Jude the Obscure next. The Kite Runner was also a really good novel, and I plan on reading the author's newest one.

[Sensi Hawso]

I LOATHED "The Catcher in the Rye"!

[Rosaline]

I LOATHED "The Catcher in the Rye"!

Why? o.O

[Sensi Hawso]

Offensive language, premarital sex, alcohol abuse, prostitution and teenage depression.

It was like reading the newspaper. :sweat:
I really disliked Holden!

[Nicola]

Offensive language, premarital sex, alcohol abuse, prostitution and teenage depression.
That sounds fucking wicked. ;)

[Rosaline]

Offensive language, premarital sex, alcohol abuse, prostitution and teenage depression.

It was like reading the newspaper. :sweat:
I really disliked Holden!

Holden was a refreshing narrator albeit he was a bit emo at times.

I remember in 11th grade we had to write a passage for the book, using Holden's voice...but we had to censor ourselves XD.

[Acrimoniously Challenged]

I try to read alot but if there is nothing good out I have no problem reading the same books over again as long as they are a good read. I am a Harry Potter fanatic and proud of it but I also enjoy reading anything by Trudi Canavan and Dean Koontz.

[Stygiandeath]

Hmmm I probably read around 2-3 books a month most of em being 400+ pages but I'm running out of authors believe it or not so if someone has some suggestions for me it'd be nice if you'd recommend me some I like every type of book fantasy, romance whatever really so if you could jus message me or post here I'd really appreciate thx = ).

[NoG]

Of course, I read more in the summer but I'd say I read a book a week. (That may make it seem like I have no life but really, I find the time for both ;) ) During the school season I only have time for what my classes give me which so far, after two weeks, I'm starting my third and fourth books. I love to read and I used to read more. I regret that I no longer go to the library and pick up random books as much as I used to.

[Yuna47]

I never really read much at all until about a year ago. It's been mostly Dean Koontz, CSI mini novels :p, James Patterson, Richard Montanari and Cody McFadyen who only has a couple of books out but they are pretty good!

But soon, I'm going to have the joy of sleepless nights reading through anatomy, biochem and physiology books although I wouldn't recommend them for bedtime reading unless you have insomnia! :D

[Zidane702]

Anyone read Hero and the Crown?
Is there any good authors anyone could refer me? Because I really love reading but I've just lost my interest in books.

[NoG]

I read the Hero and the Crown and its sequel which wasn't as good.

One of my favorite books, that I would recommend for any science fiction fan would be The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. It's deep.

[Zidane702]

I'll definitely check that out :]

[NoG]

Well, if you finish it, you should tell me what you think too.

[Zidane702]

you'll be the first :D

[ZombieG]

I normally read a book every few weeks. Various subjects. Now, I'm reading Stff by Mary Roach.

Edit: Charles Dickens' literature is boring.

[DrBernie]

well, i used to read occasionally, then i stopped reading for big gaps at a time.
i find it hard to find a good book, but when i do i can't put it down.
in the past two years i've read many books, this year especially, reading around a chapter of a book every night when i can.

[VincentTheEmoGoth]

I used to read all the time and get a book finshed in a few weeks. Now days i hardly never read. I have been reading BATTLE ROYALE now for about a year and still got a long way to go. I only read now when i got nothing else to do.

[Mord Sith]

I'm ALWAYS reading. It's amazing how quickly you can read a book when you completely dedicate yourself to it. If I'm going to read something, I make sure I have the time to do it properly, because I don't like having to stop for long periods of time. The only reason at the moment that I have a chance to read is because I'm working in dreaded retail (for now), and NO ONE shops in January. That works out at least 8 hours a day to read (I'm a terrible employee).

I couldn't possibly list everything, or authors. I like to think I have a very varied taste and selection. My library is growing quite splendidly, too.

[JayRYR]

ummm....lets see...i havent read any of the school books that I've been given this year...but I read constantly and I'm fast...it took me a day to read both the 6th and 7th harry potter books and others. My favorite authors...hmm...Dan brown, J.K.rowling, Charles De Lint, Celia Rees, Frewin Jones, Franklin W. Dixson, Laurie Stolarz (can't remember her middle name), Elizabeth Rose Sabith, Elizabeth Haydon...um thats all I can remember at the moment. I got like twenty books over Christmas break and I have one more to read before I'm done with all of them...well actually its two books in one so two books.

[Sensi Hawso]

Why do you ruin a potentially fantastic list of authors with Dan Brown?

[Nicola]

Lol, I read Dan Brown and didn't read any further into her post.

[FinalFantasyAddict]

Way too many to remember....but I read so much that it tends to get on people's nerves. Also, too many authors to list.

[Ohmia]

To be honest I would only read when I'm bored but if it was a book that I got really into then I would finish the book. Like now I'm reading a couple of books some I like, some I love, some I just read because well I'm bored. So I would read about eight to eleven books=)

[Nicola]

I had said in a previous post about my gap of knowledge with contemporary literature. I have finished my 'Writing Now' module now and just want to comment and question it. I found one thing in common with all of these books and that's that they all try to be controversial in some way. They miss out on realism by trying so hard to either try and get as many readers as possible, or to be nominated for Nobel Prizes. Tell me if it's just the authors I had to read and that it's not he general rule of recent trends in novels:

Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code
Sarah Waters, Affinity
Monica Ali, Brick Lane
Alan Hollinghurst, The Line Of Beauty
Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake
Michael Cunningham, Specimen Days
Ian McEwan, Atonement

I think I liked Affinity the most, and I found Atonement okay, the others I felt nothing for whatsoever. Every week my tutor would turn to me and say 'Well, what do you think of this one?' He would only have to take one look at my face to say 'It's okay, we like tough critics in students.' Oh dear. :(

[Sensi Hawso]

I'm glad you liked Affinity Nicola, Sarah Waters is one of my favourite authors. :)
If you are interested you should check out Fingersmith, it's like a feminist take on Oliver Twist, with a couple of lesbian moments thrown in for the sake of it.

[Spike Marshall]

Seriously, those are the books they gave you as pieces of modern literature? Where are the authors who actually work with the text to be evocative, who create challenging, gripping, enlightening narratives? That just reads like the remanants of Richard and Judy's book club.

Before you give up on modern literature completely please give 'The Affirmation' by Christopher Priest, 'American Gods' by Neil Gaiman, 'Kafka on the Shore' by Haruki Murakami and 'Infinite Jest' by David Foster Wallace a chance. These are all authors who work with the text to create truly inspired pieces of work.

[Nicola]

I have to read 'The Prestige' by Christopher Priest this semester, Spike. :) I'll tell you what I think when I get to it.

The module was trying to give us the 'trends of recent publishing'. Basically, 'what sells'. I found it very sad, it was by far the worst module I have ever taken. Like I said, I only really enjoyed Sarah Waters, although I do usually like Margaret Atwood. I'll looking those authors once my degree is over (which frightfully is only a matter of months), but nothing seems to beat the good old Victorians. :)

[Sensi Hawso]

Trust Spike on the Christopher Priest suggestion, he's a pretty fabulous author for this day and age. I'd also recommend The Prestige by him. Very different from the movie adaption, and no Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale to ruin it.

To keep on topic, I read alot but not as much lately, just finished The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon, a satisfactory read.

EDIT I was too slow in replying, I hope you enjoy the The Prestige Nicola, it's one of the good ones. :)

[Spike Marshall]

A populist reading programme?

You poor thing.

'The Prestige' is greatness, it plays with narrative conceits to create its puzzle, but its impact will be diminished by the filmic adaptation. Even seeing the trailer takes away from the fidelity of the book.

[Nicola]

My friend made me watch the film version some months back. I was so bored to tears though that I do not really remember it (it was straight after the Illusionist, which also bored me to tears, even Edward Norton couldn't save it).

Unfortunately, I think I remember the twist at the end, does that ruin the whole book for me? I'm sure the writing itself should sustain the enjoyment in reading it?

[Sensi Hawso]

The endings are very different, same basics but completely different settings, the movie really left out loads. I hope you are pleasantly surprised. The narration in the book ingenious.

[Spike Marshall]

Yeah, the book isn't about the twist as such. It's about madness and the desire to find the truth. The only thing which you'll miss is the realisation that Borden is 'writing' as two different people in his diaries. One of the few times when I realised what was happening and immediately went back and reread most of what had been written.

[paco fajita]

Oh good grief. I read at least two novels a month. This month it's Wicked. I just finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Yeah, I'm behind.

[Thorn]

Oh god... There was a time in my life, as far as i remember when i was 15 or 16 or something like that i just fell totally into books. I've read through almost whole my life, as a seven years old child i was studying (yeah, not reading) the greek mythology and then i just read anything,
but at the age of 15/16 it was a boom. I was reading all the time and everything, from Byron to Blake, from Crowley to Nietzsche, from Andersen to Hitler.
Now i have about 700 books in my home of which 90% i've read
so i'm readin' pretty much ;)

[Nyx Raven]

I want your house Thorn! I would be soooo happy. I read a lot and I learned to read in second grade so I was really late on the whole reading process, but I read constantly! I find them better than the movies...for instance C.S. Lewis, the author of the chronicles of Narnia, love them so far, they're just a pain is the butt to read and I'm only on the third one, which is the up coming movie prince caspian I believe...only it's completely different from the book...at least trailer wise anyway, I may jsut die when I see it.
Anyway I read others but there are so many I can't remember.