Chicks On Lit discussion

One of the main things that keeps me from reading as much as I'd like to is time. The second semester always gets so busy for me with softball season, and reduces my reading time to five minutes lying in bed before I fall asleep.

Do you actively make time to read?
When do you read in your day to day schedule? [Morning, evening, etc.]
Any strategies that you use to make time to read?

Time is my problem too. I like to read at bedtime but end up falling asleep.

It helps if I try to keep a book in the car and can catch some time while I waiting for the kids at an activity or something.

But in the summer - at the pool or beach - lots of reading gets done. Another reason why I look forward to summer.

I always have a book with me. When DH and I jump in the car to run errands, I have a book or magazine. When I head to an appointment, I have a book. As I eat breakfast, I'm reading. If I'm eating lunch by myself, I'm reading. The problem for me isn't making time for reading; it's stopping reading so that I do other things that need to me done (cleaning comes to mind).

I usually have a book with me everywhere I go, but I'm often too easily distracted by people around me to get more than a page or so at one time.

I read during breakfast too, like you said, the only problem is coming to a closing point before I'm late to school.

Summer is amazing, because there are days on end to lay around and read, and I actually have free time to go to the library while it's open. =]

My "time to read" is at work.

During the winter, out of an 8 hour shift, you might work about 2 hours total. It's really really boring and even though there's a tv in the lobby at the hotel, I truly hate tv, so I always have a book at work.

And when I get home from work I read before bed...and sometimes I read on the weekend when my hubby and I are relaxing on the couch and he has sports or boxing on.

I guess I have a lot more time to read than I had first thought...but all of us are greedy readers and wish we could have all the time in the world to read, right?

My only time to really get into a book is at night after the kids go to bed, at which point I'm usually too tired to read anything of substance that actually requires the slightest bit of concentration. I can sometimes sneak in some reading at naptime, but since I'm pregnant I'm taking my own nap lately.

Part of my problem is all the other hobbies I have that cut into reading time. And if I could just leave the computer alone for an entire day, I think I'd be more productive too.

Wow, it would be nice to get down time like that. You say "boring" but it's time you have to yourself. I can't really whip out a book during class, or my teacher's get offended. =]

I don't know if all the time in the world would be enough. Eternity maybe. Hopefully heaven has an amazing library. =]

I think that is how I became a fast reader. I don't have the time I wish I had to read a book so I just learned to read really fast. It's like feasting on a meal that you know will be taken from you in 30 minutes. I so enjoy the time that I can sit and truly savor the words on a page with uninterrupted time.

I'm the same way--how can I find the time to read? When I was in Junior High and High School, I used to stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning, telling myself, "Just one more chapter" over and over again. It was absolutely ridiculous. Eventually I had to train myself to put a book down when I get sleepy, even if it's in the middle of a chapter. It won't kill me. The side effect--reading makes me fall asleep now. So I do read every night before I go to bed, but only for about 10 minutes. A self-indulgent little tidbit--every now and then, I'll take a book to a bar and just read, read, read, all by myself. Perfect for a Sunday afternoon...

Reading can make me sleepy now, too, but during the summer, when I don't have to wake up at 5:30 to get myself and DS ready for school, it doesn't. I love reading all night long. DH sometimes wakes up to find me still reading away early in the morning because I've gotten so involved in a book. Of course, if I can sleep all afternoon, that isn't a problem!

I have a three month old so it takes me a long time to finish a book! Usually, I still find a little bit of time to get a chapter in here and there but right now my husband is away on business (for a month!) so I really don't get much time to myself...and the time I do get all I want to do is sleep! :) I can't wait until he is back home.

A lot of my reading is a few minutes here and there. I am a fast reader and I bring books with me anywhere I know I might have a bit of time. The last couple of years I go through rounds of insomnia too, and sometimes get a few hours of reading done then. It seldom makes me tired enough to get back to sleep, but it's a nice quiet thing that won't wake up the rest of the house.

Of course, I live for days that I can plunk down in front of the fireplace for a couple of hours or in warmer weather my favorite place is the screen porch, and put in a few solid hours of reading too. Those just don't happen as often as I'd like!

I got the Twilight series for Christmas and spent the majority of my break plunked down in front of our fireplace reading those.

I've heard so many good things about that series. I saw them at the store yesterday and had to restrain myself since I'm already reading 2 books with a few on the shelf 'to read'.

I read when I'm walking to class, when I'm waiting for class to start, when I'm putting my son down for a nap, sometimes in the shower. If you hold the book high enough it doesn't get any water on it. You can only do that for a little while, though, before you just have to put it down. It works best with washing your hair.

Another great time to catch a little is at red lights. Where I'm living right now we have lots of long red lights, so if you just hold the book up so you can see the light, too, you can read and not miss it when it turns green! I only do that when I'm driving by myself, of course.

I often give myself a certain amount of chores I have to do and then reward myself by reading for awhile. My house would be a lot cleaner if I didn't have access to books!

Oh, I'm suddenly reminded of something I saw once that I could hardly believe... I was driving down the interstate one night, and up ahead of me in the next lane over was a station wagon with its interior light on. The car was cruising steadily along, but it kept swerving just slightly back and forth across its lane. I figured someone was lost and was looking at a map. So anyway, eventually I decided to pass the wagon, and as I pulled up next to the car, I looked over. You guessed it. She was reading a freaking novel ON THE INTERSTATE! I could not believe it. 80mph with a novel on the steering wheel. Crazy...

I get books on CD from the library and listen to them while I work or drive in the car. I do house cleaning, so I have about 4-5 hours a day between working and driving to "read" (or be read too) I love it because it keeps my mind occupied while doing mundane chores. Plus I am able to cover alot of literature. Out of all the books I've listened too my favs have been Eat, Pray, Love (Liz actually reads it herself), and the entire Harry Potter series. (it was done brilliantly)

I mainly read in the evenings before bed. The only problem with this is getting totally engrossed in a book and then realizing I should have gone to bed hours earlier.

I also bring a book to work so I can read during lunch hours. This is definitely a plus during the winter since it is so cold outside. It also keeps me from shopping during lunch hour.

I've also started listening to books on cd in the car during my drive to/from work. Time passes so much easier (less stressful) and I find myself not as rushed to get home. I'm actually wishing I had more time in the car!

Ok, I brought a book to the gym yesterday. I thought to myself, "this will be great! I'll be able to sit on one of those stationary bikes thingies and read the whole time." Well, it was far from great. I don't normally ride the stationary bike, so I wasn't used to using my legs soooo much. And I had the book sitting on my lap, but my knees kept bouncing up and down as I was pedaling, so it was making me sea sick trying to read. Then I decided to hold the book up instead of resting it on my knees, but my arms got tired. Honestly, it was pathetic. I gave up after 10 minutes. This is why chubby ol' me usually gives up my gym memberships after 2 months...

Just thought I'd bring back this older thread....it's a great question!

I don't really set a schedule to read..i just sort of fit it in when I'm waiting for things. Dr appts, lines, traffic, while dinner is cooking, during commercials. I do sometimes take a bath with the sole purpose of wanting to read a book and I also go out to eat alone for that reason too.

What about the rest of you?

I tend to read whenever I get a chance. I do try to designate at least 30 minutes of strict reading time but it gets hard when I'm busy. I tend to read during my lunch break at work or sometimes when I get home if I'm not too tired. It depends on my schedule for the day really. I used to read alot when my boyfriend would want to watch football..that way I could half watch the game and mostly read. lol

I bring a book with me wherever I go (it's a requirement when I buy purses that a book will fit) so that I'm never caught with nothing to do. I show up early to class so I can read. I'll also read during lunch if I stay on campus. And I try to stop my homework at 9, so I can read until 10 and then go to bed (I get up a 6, so no laughing!). I get so mad at myself when I will be sitting in bed flipping through the channels because I feel like I never get to read what I want to read, but sometimes I just can't get my mind to slow down enough. Or maybe it's, sometimes I can't get my mind to work enough to read.

I have books hidden around the house. LOL my b/f says I hide books like an alcholic would hide bottles

I have books on my IPOD and that lives in my pocketbook. whenever there is down time, the IPOD goes on. It is a great way to add reading time. I also listen to my IPOD when I am cleaning my house, exercising, gardening etc.

then I schedule my household "chores" with , ten minutes of reading, then I will do this. When that is finished, 10 more minutes. Then before I sit down to watch TV at night, I will read some more. Also, if something stupid is on TV that doesn't require my brain I will read while it is on. I usually never read in bed because one page and I am sleeping. If I am really involved in a book, I will get up earlier and read before going to work.

the big thing for me is that I need to stay off the computer more (video games) and read. The computer is sucking out my reading time.

Oh I agree with you Meg about the computer sucking up my reading time! That's a huge thing for me. It sucks up my time for everything really. Lori, I also bring a book with me everywhere. I have been buying purses lately with that thought in mind of books fitting in there too. LOL Jamie, football on TV is perfect reading time. I do agree!

I'm trying something new by reading for a 1/2 hour when I wake up in the am. I'm doing this as a way to not go directly onto the computer and ease into my day. (I used to read a lot at night before bed but now it instantly puts me to sleep, lol!)

I always try to read with bfast, lunch and dinner, but it's not always a book, sometimes I use it to catch up on magazines. I also bring a book with me every where I go, especially to doctor's appt's.

I haven't accomplished as much reading as I thought I would have by now in 2009 and I've been feeling too overly connected online, so I am making a conscious effort to purge what I do online (back to basics) and watch my time while I'm on there.

A wonderful idea Jo...I'm trying to do that too but I'm like an addict. ;)

Hey Jo - I know what you mean. I am most definitely overly connected this year when it comes to being online.

I feel like I spend the majority of my free time online. I am trying to break that habit and am really trying to spend more time reading. I still manage to read a book, but I've gotten to the point where I am reading the book in snippets at lunch. I think maybe I need to find a really good book and just hunker down with it and read - no matter how much time I have free. I am even considering buying a Kindle in hopes that not only will it make having a book with me at all times easier, but maybe it will help get me back to reading more than I have been recently. Its strange because I used to read so many more books than I do now - maybe being online really does hinder this?

In the past year, I have forced myself to almost give up tv watching to read. Don't know how I had let the balance shift so far but I don't regret my shift back to reading at all. Now that the few shows I do watch are shifting to reruns, I'll have even more time to read!

TV is pretty great at sucking away my time (I guess the internet is not the only thing I fritter my time away on). I'll find myself watching a True Hollywood Story or some fashion type show on Style just because I'm bored and I don't feel like picking a book to read. Because sometimes deciding what to read next is just too much to deal with for some reason, so I turn to my remote. Crazy! I should set an alarm or something and only allow myself an hour of tv or something.

I have to agree with most of you. The computer (mainly GR) is really where I spend a lot of my time and then I wonder why it is that I have no time to read. TV sometimes sucks my time away but I've been pretty good about it. It just all depends how tired I am..sometimes I'm really just too tired to read but watching tv is ok.

Jamie wrote: "I have to agree with most of you. The computer (mainly GR) is really where I spend a lot of my time and then I wonder why it is that I have no time to read. TV sometimes sucks my time away but I've..."

TV is the go-to when you're tired--doesn't make you think. Gotta be able to process to read; sometimes that just doesn't work!

I read all the time. I leave for work an hour early so I can sit in my car and read for forty minutes. I keep a .pdf copy of a book on my computer at work for downtime. I keep audiobooks and an application that has 50 classic books on my ipod. My hours at work got cut a few weeks ago, so I have half days everyday. By the time I get lunch and get home it's maybe 1pm and I pretty much read from then to 10pm when I go to sleep.
I can't find time to do anything else because I'm always reading.

I read whenever I can. Sometimes in the morning (but most of the time not as I get out of bed late enough as it is to get to work). Lunchtime will see me reading some more especially if it is a good book.

At night is when I read the most though. Summertime it slacks off a bit because it is too nice outside but most of the time I read before bed.

ETA: I also will listen to cds on tape while I'm driving into work. Helps pass the time and I have less road rage because I'm not thinking about my bitterness at having to sit in traffic! :)

I like to read on the bus to/from work. I also read on my lunch hour. I find that it brings my blood pressure down!

I'm trying to read Classics before bed. But I should find time to read more.

I read a lot before bed, and while I'm cooking supper. I have found that especially lately I have been on here (GR) so much that I have been adding to my to - reads like crazy - and not reading my books I have now! Crazy. I need to stop that. I get hooked...

Oh I have that problem too Ericka!!

Oh I do that too Kelly Jo, in fact just last night. I always sacrifice sleep when I get pulled into a good book at night.

I just read (was it in Talk to the Hand?) that the reason we get sucked into the computor is that it triggers the endorphines we love that are triggered by the hunt and search on the computor. It triggers the old survivor mode of hunting that used to be for gathering food. That is also why those little hand held games are so poplar.

I'm like the one who would read all day and never get any work done, till lately. I think I hit a point where I am so full after a lifetime of reading, that everything is making me irritable. I stopped the tv, the ipod books, even soft music is too much. I ahve to stay off of facebook. I waited my whole life to find groups like these where we talk and gab about books, and now it is too much. And I don't even have ids or a job to contend with One of you talked about hiding books everywhere like an alcoholic. If that is so then I am like the alcoholic who drinks so much the empty bottles lay everywhere like carcases. But people who don't know will come over and say, "My your husband has quite an extensive library", and I laugh at not getting irritated more because now I wish I owned less books and had put the money away for his retirement.

I never thought my desires would change. Too much like a leopard changing it's spots. Som maybe everyone wishes for more time to read, but now I just accept whatever book I am meandering through and realize that I get to llive a life besides fufilling that overwhelming desire to read 24/7.

I put in a audiobook while I did laundry and cleaned this morning. Made the work much more interesting. It was far better than having the tv on as background noise. I believe someone on this site gave me the idea. Thanks to whoever it was!

I try and read whenever I get a free moment. It's hard though in college..always people around being loud.

Molly wrote: "...always people around being loud." Sounds like where we live right now and we're far from being in college, lol! ('Garden apt' living - it's not for the faint of heart!)

Andrea I listen to books while I do things around the house too - it makes the time go by SO much quicker. I have some packing coming up - hooray audiobooks!

I'm a night owl, so I mostly read at night when the house is quiet and dark. I can really get into the 'feel' of a book then, get lost in it. It's probably not a great idea, because it's always 'just one more chapter and I'll go to bed'....and it never quite works out that way.

Also, during the day, as you've all mentioned, the computer draws me to it when I could be reading....and then there's TV in the evening. Still, I will always find time to read, since I'm a book addict!

I read when I wake up and I read when I go to bed for about an hour or so. If I get all the things I want done for the day then I sit down around 5 and read till 6 make dinner and clean up watch a show and am back to reading. If I work then I go early to sit and read and stop at the library near there and so I have more to read when I get home. I found that I preplan some foods and things for busy days so I still get some reading time in. About the only time I don't make reading fit into my plans is when we go away on vacation, then I have to get out there and explore or whatever!

I keep one by the bathtub, one by the bed, one in my car, and one at work.

Funny. My reading is crazy. As a SAHM I find it difficult to read so I read a few pages after every cleaning activity (as a reward), in the bathroom, when I go outside to smoke (I know naughty habit, I need to quit, blah blah blah -- but it gives me 5 minutes to read), and then when I am getting really into a book.... I just ignore life and absorb it for the hour or two it will take me to finish it. I know it sounds bad, but it's really not considering all the other things I do every day to keep the house running smoothly and keep the kids happy. =)

I try to keep a book with me at all times so I can snag a few mintues whenever I can. When the kids are in the pool, or at gymnastics, I can usually get a lot of reading done. With them all being in school in the fall, I may actually be able to read for hours uninterupted! LOL