Monthly Book Reading

Thanks to Chris E's inspiring goal to read 50 books this year, I'm going to try and read 5 books a month starting this month - May. Back when I lived in the city, with no car, no husband and no kids, I read about 4 books a week. It was easy when you had a subway taking you everywhere. You just had your paperback with you and sat down and read for 20 minutes 3 or 4 times a day while you were on your way to wherever. Add to that a 45 minute lunch break where you got to lay on the grass and read, and a book a day was a breeze to go through!

Fast forward 15 years, and now I live in the suburbs with a husband of 11 years, and 2 small children. I'm stuck driving everywhere, so I can't read. Every night I've been trying to set aside 5-10 minutes to get in a little reading, but I admit most of the time I don't get past a single page before I'm sound asleep! Maybe with this challenge, I can get my book reading back up to something respectable!

Right now I have a couple of books started:

1. Bare Bones by Kathy Reichs (book 6 of the Temperance Brennan novels)

2. Storm Front by Jim Butcher

3. Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood by Oliver Sacks

Hopefully I'll be posting in a month that I got through these books, a few more, and I'll be all set for summer reading in June!

What books are you reading right now? About how many books do you read in a month? Do you prefer fiction? Nonfiction? As you can see from my short list above, I try and have 1 fiction and 1 nonfiction book "in the queue" at all times.

Comments: 8

Lori A May 3, 2011, 12:37pm UTC

I read about a book a week . I use to read more but I'm way more busy than last year so I read in the morning before getting on the computer

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Alison H. May 3, 2011, 1:30pm UTC

Good luck with your goals, Rachel! It is hard to find time to read with family demands. I don't even know my rate of reading anymore. Maybe two or three non-fiction or fiction titles a month? I used to keep track. I read a lot of poetry, so I have a stack next to my bed, and I've been reading some nonfiction lately... I'm in the middle of "The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe" by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon. Highly recommended! Next on my list is Ruth Reichl's "Not Becoming My Mother" and "Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal," by Conor Brennan. These are available at our local library.

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Marsha C. May 3, 2011, 5:24pm UTC

I'm doing a blog challenge to read 52 books in 52 weeks this year....not sure how I am really doing with it, but soon will start posting my list to gather. At the moment I have 7 books in that I am to be reading and reviewing. It's hard for me to find the kind of time to read around computer and other things.

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Chris E. May 3, 2011, 7:57pm UTC

That is great that you decided to set a goal for yourself. To answer your questions.....

What books are you reading right now? I am reading " A Life In A Year: The American Infantryman In Vietnam

About how many books do you read in a month? It depends on the length of the books I read. The majority of the ones I want to read soon are over 500 pages so I will be reading less. I am at least trying to average one book a week but it is hard with 3 kids and a husband who works odd hours. That means I have to do pretty much everything on my own.

Do you prefer fiction? Nonfiction? I prefer Non Fiction.

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Cindy B. May 3, 2011, 10:40pm UTC

I hope you make it! I use to love to read ,then my eyes went bad. =/

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Aubrey :) May 4, 2011, 10:49am UTC

I've got a lot of books I'm reading right now. My job that I have requires me to read a lot of books. I do book reviews. It's a lot of fun getting new material to read but a bit overwhelming as well when there is so many to look at.

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Mzzz Sweets - Sandy (Why do I have to add a last name?) May 18, 2011, 11:39pm UTC

I havent read a book in awhile. I was working so much at the job center. By time I got home and picked kids up from the YMCA I was exhausted.

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michele r. Jun 20, 2011, 3:32pm UTC

Reading is one of my favorite pastimes and it is so easy for me to do... I will neglect everything (except the baby) to read. I have to limit myself or else I do not work. I think I could easily read 50 books in a year. Good luck with all of your reading!

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Monthly Book Reading

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