SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

When do you find time to read? How do you decide what to read next? Do you have different books for different parts of your reading time?

Haha! Good question … at the moment … 'what's my reading schedule?' - it's non-existent.
I tried to keep a schedule, but then I see something somewhere and just start reading - and all the meticulous planning is off. So I don't keep a reading schedule anymore, but I try to somehow at least do the BRs I initiated.

I typically only read on days off from work. By the time I get home, I'm too tired to truly focus on the words. The weekend gives me plenty of hours to indulge without skimming or neglecting my family.

My next book is often whatever hits my mood. Typically I try to alternate between Fantasy and Science Fiction, though I through the occasional off-genre book in too. If the book I just finished was part of a series (and a great one), I'll usually push the next entry to the front of the queue.

I never read more than one book at a time. I want to finish my current story before proceeding to the next.

As far as when to read, my best time is probably in the morning before anyone else is awake. As far as what to read when, if I don't have anything coming up for a group read, it'll really just be based on my mood/what I finished last; I like to follow up a deep or heavy read, or just something that took me a while to get through, with something lighter.
And if I happen to be reading a physical book I try to have an ebook I'm working on as well, just for those occasions when I'm away from home and unexpectedly bored.

On weekdays, I usually find at least some time to read in the evening after work. I get more reading done on weekends, not on any set schedule but just whenever I can fit it in. On all days, I always read at least a little bit before bed.

I’m a one-book-at-a-time person, so I always just read whatever my current book is. If I have some spare time to read away from home and I don’t have my Kindle on me, I can just sync up to the same page in the same book on my phone and keep reading where I left off. Mostly I read at home, though.

Regarding how I decide what to read next, I keep a tentative reading schedule in a spreadsheet and mostly just follow that. Sometimes I'll deviate from it if a group read comes up that I want to participate in. I'm not much of a mood reader, but I do sometimes switch books around if I decide I'm not in the mood for a particular book, or if there's something else I really want to read. Since I prefer to read a series all at once, I choose which different series I want to read and put those in the schedule first, trying to mix them up a bit so I’m not reading similar series in a row. Then I plug in random standalone books between each series, or in the middle of longer series. I don’t have a schedule for scheduling my schedule (??), I just start filling it up when the mood strikes, or when I notice I’m down to a couple months’ worth. The latter rarely happens; it’s too much fun to schedule things.

Well, when I’m at home (which I’m not ATM - I’m on vacation!), I always read before bed until I ant focus on the words anymore.

I listen to audiobooks every chance i get while I’m doing chores around the house; walking to and fro or driving someplace I know (GPS interrupts too much!).

I read to my son virtually every night, which i totally count, especially since he’s now 10. I also often read to my husband until he falls asleep.

Otherwise, I bring a book along with me almost everywhere I go and try to read every chance i get.

On the rare occasion, I will actually sit down during the day and happily read. But I don’t have much time for that.

As to how I decide what to read next, I’m a pretty hardcore mood reader, so it’s hard for me to stick to a schedule. Also, my memory is a sieve and I’m as likely as not to forget about commitments to Buddy Reads completely, for which I submit a blanket apology. As soon as I can use a computer (at home) I’m going to set up a thread to help me keep track of the BRs I want to do. It’s gotten out of hand. It’s all your fault.

My biggest reading bloc of time happens once a month when I have a lot of time between getting off from work and attending my f2f book club. I then read in the library near work, go to have dinner, take the bus to the book club's neighborhood (a fifteen to twenty minute ride) and read in the library near the book club. I read on my work commutes, during commercials when I watch TV and after I've dealt with my e-mail if there's any time left that day. In practice, the after e-mail time is usually on weekends, but reading time is constrained on weekends because that's also the time I have for writing reviews of the books I've completed during the week. I often end up writing a review on Saturday and reading on Sunday.

My next book is either a book I received for free from an author, publisher or publicist, my highest priority library book, the earliest Goodreads giveaway win that I have yet to read or my highest priority digital ARC.

I try not to read more than one book at a time because I will take longer to complete each of those books if I do that. I have occasionally been in an unavoidable crunch where I had to set aside a book, and start reading another one.

Part of my reading schedule is determined by release dates. I always try to get reviews up within 30 days +/- release day.

The rest of it is usually comprised of buddy read schedules. I don't have a strict schedule so I'm pretty agreeable when it comes to dates so long as I don't have another buddy read scheduled or if I know I have a bunch of reviews due for a particular month.

The rest of it is mood reading. I'm the worst mood reader. Which is why I own so many books I haven't actually read yet.

Always. I carry my book with me and read whenever I can, even if it is only a page or two at a time while waiting in line. I read while eating most meals.
I get most of my books from the library, so due dates play a big part in what I am reading. I have shelves to show where books I want to read are available so I can plan and manage holds and such. I use inter library loan to get some books.

Yes! Book-bringers unite! I always have at least one book with me. You never know when you'll have to be patient while you wait for something! Might as well make it fun.

Lol Diane! My humble apologies for making you make a spreadsheet to track all the fun book discussions you want to join! ;-)

I'm also not much of a mood reader. Whatever's at hand is usually enough. Otherwise I tend to go by what I have to read next and if I have free time, then I allow myself to indulge in something that just sounds fun at the time.

Yup, I always have my kindle or my smartphone/earplugs with me when we're hiking. The boys often find some place to play for a while and then I sit down and read.

8:00 am - 8:12 am — take dogs out, give them breakfast
8:15 - 9:00 am — clean up after chihuahua
9:00 - 11:30 am — read internets
11:30 - noon — eat breakfast, watch YouTube videos
12:01 - 12:17 pm — post on Goodreads
12:18 - 2:30 pm — bathroom break
2:30 - 5:00 pm — nap
5:00 - 5:30 pm — shower
5:30 - 6:15 pm — ret up hair
6:15 - 6:30 — drive to work, sing along to classic rock oldies station
6:30 - 9:30 — work while reading internets and eating dinner
9:45 - 10:00 pm — drive home, singing along to today’s hits station
10:15 - 10:35 — read 275 pages of current book
11:00 pm — 2:00 am — watch late night talk shows
2:00 - 5:00 am — watch Frasier
5:00 - 8:00 am — nap

before I retired, I deliberately made a choice to take public transport to work. This often took a bit longer than driving but it wasn't as stressful, reduced the wear and tear on my car and gave me an hour of reading time each way (win! win!). Also, I would check the internet and then read for the remainder of the time during my unch break.

Now that I'm retired, I read a lot and don't need a schedule.

Being retired is great.
I read what's due next or is a group / book club read.
Within that I shake it up a lot and read very different
'genres' of books in bed vs. the one I'm carrying vs. the one that's too heavy for bed....

On a day with no errands or travel:
I read while stretching and wiggling out the stiffness from sleeping before getting up. I read after checking my email. I read while eating breakfast. I read after writing reviews for the book(s) I finished in the last day (or hours). I read while keeping an eye on the stove. I read after dinner. I read after checking my email again. I read in bed until I fall asleep. If I wake up in the middle of the night I read again.

I also have a bathroom Kindle for when I have to be in there for a while. It's any one of the two Kindles I own that have had liquid episodes: Coca Light for the Kindle 2 and the dog's water bowl (husband knocked it off the counter into it) for a 2011 Basic Kindle. They both still work, but I'm not worried about them gettingwet.

Two times I read every day is at lunchbreak at work, and before I go to bed, but often I'll find much more time here n there

I usually have:
-An audiobook I read primarily in the car or when I'm doing fairly mindless tasks
-An ebook I read at my desk computer at work while I'm between helping people.
-A paper book I read before bed and on my lunch break.

I usually plan what to read next based on mood. I find if I plan my reads too much I feel reluctant to pick them up when it's time. I don't like anybody telling me what to do... including myself. :p

About thirty to forty-five minutes a day, fiction and nonfiction.

My reading schedule is... inexistent. I read when I feel like it.
The only rule I have is to take a break of at least a week when switching series to avoid weird crossover dreams because my mind is weird like that. If a book is gripping, I'll read it in just a few days. If not, I might struggle for a month.
I was about to get into the next read these days but instead got involved in beta swaps which, while definitely counting as reading, I can't mark something as reading on GR if it doesn't exist yet. I guess I'll get back to 'real' reading with the group re-read of Black Prism.

Now, as for the way I choose books: I have a simple excel file with a list of potential reads - most of them from three sources: Amazon recommendation newsletter (if the title sounds interesting, I'll look it up and if the blurb works, it goes to the list) as the main source, then Goodreads' 'readers also enjoyed' section and 'lists with this book' tools (which I go through with the same logic as the Amazon newsletters).
Then, when I want to start reading something, I have a look at this list and try to find what'd fit my current mood.

Deborah wrote: "Always. I carry my book with me and read whenever I can, even if it is only a page or two at a time while waiting in line. I read while eating most meals.
I get most of my books from the library, ..."

That's a great idea, Deborah, always carrying a book around at all times. I do the same thing. Lately I find myself reading more at work on break or on my downtime. At home I use the time to write. A good friend of mine has a book on hand at work he reads when it's his downtime, a book on hand in the car if he's stuck in traffic or a train blocks the path, and one on hand at home. I dig his formula, always having a book in sight to open and explore.

I have a fairly stable schedule with 3 books going at once:

I listen to new audio books while commuting 3 hours a day and some extra on business travels.

I read 30 minutes each night on my kindle before dozing off or whenever i have some free time.

I listen to re-reads on audio when i walk the dog, run or work in the garden.

I read on the train to and from work - roughly 20-30 minutes each way, depending on whether I get a local or express.

I also read for roughly an hour in the evenings before bed, but that sometimes gets cut into if I'm gone down an online rabbit hole...

Weekends vary depending on how busy I am. This weekend, for instance, I only got a few chapters in.

I usually read 2 hours a day every afternoon.

Brick wrote: "A good friend of mine has a book on hand at work he reads when it's his downtime, a book on hand in the car if he's stuck in traffic or a train blocks the path, and one on hand at home. I dig his formula, always having a book in sight to open and explore. "

I do this by always having a Kindle in my messenger bag/purse. Stuck in traffic (read), waiting in doctor's off or a line somewhere (read), waiting on pharmacist to fill my order (read), waiting while gas is pumped into the car (read - Oregon won't let you pump our own gas), waiting while family member visits the facilities (read), etc

While on holidays I read pretty much most of the time. Now that I started studying again, I should read on the afternoons and at night after dinner. I also listen to audiobooks every time I go out, clean around the house or cook.
Half of my choices are based on my mood, and half of them are based on commitments I made. I am using buddy reads and gr book club reads to expand my horizons.
I do have different books started for different moods, right now I have a manga, a romance series, a couple of classics, two fantasy books and a few sci fi ones. I might feel like reading something fluffy in the afternoon, or a thriller, and I have just the book to keep reading.

CBRetriever , I do the same thing. A kindle is so easy to carry, read at any times of something not happening.

I even find myself doing it while hubby goes to the bar for drinks, whoops is that an addiction

when home : read at meals except dinner; read on the exercise bike, doing weights; read in the sun on a nice day; every afternoon ( I have retired after 40 yrs of work) I have a 2 hr read.

Then night time I read when the ads are on or if the show is boring and hubby wants to watch it. I find I can still follow the plot enough of the tv show to make comments. ha ha

Trike wrote: "8:00 am - 8:12 am — take dogs out, give them breakfast
8:15 - 9:00 am — clean up after chihuahua
9:00 - 11:30 am — read internets
11:30 - noon — eat breakfast, watch YouTube videos
12:01 - 12:17 pm..."
too much routine . I have copied this and sent it to my 90 yr old uncle, he lives to a routine and says he cant do computer stuff if it isn't the right time

that's right at 90 he is still using a computer, reading a kindle, on boards , does a morning once a week radio program for seniors.

god I hope I have those genes

I always carry a book with me, in fact I won't buy a purse if it can't fit a book.

I typically read multiple books, a physical copy, an audio which I listen to while walking or choirs or to put me to sleep. As well as an e-copy on my kindle app but some times two if I have a ebook from the library. I also read a few chapters at night to my daughter and picture book or 2 a day if we can, which I still count as it is reading.

As for what I read next it depends on if I'm doing a group challenge, or if a library book is due back. Each month I make a list of books I hope to get to, or to pick from. I don't usually complete this and I often stray looking at new shines.

I carry my library with me … read on my phone almost exclusively.

My reading schedule is:
1) At breakfast if I'm having it out
2) At the coffee shop in the AM if I'm not writing there
3) At lunch if I'm having it out
4) At dinner if I'm having it out

Boom.

Kateb wrote: "too much routine . I have copied this and sent it to my 90 yr old uncle, he lives to a routine and says he cant do computer stuff if it isn't the right time

that's right at 90 he is still using a computer, reading a kindle, on boards , does a morning once a week radio program for seniors.

god I hope I have those genes"

One of the few commonalities shared by centenarians is the fact they stick to a routine. Every day is pretty much the same as every other. So either longevity genes correlate strongly with people who prefer routine, or routine conveys longevity.

I’ll have ask my grandma. She just turned 105.

My grandma is an overachiever. #105 pic.twitter.com/FXw4lbdBub

— Trike (@Trike) July 11, 2019

She doesn’t look a day over 85, Trike!

agrred

Allison wrote: "When do you find time to read?"

During the work week: in patches of lee time like lunch.

On the weekend: whenever I'm not otherwise occupied or distracted.

Like others, I have a book of some sort with me almost 100% of the time. You never know when you'll be in a "hurry up and wait" situation somewhere!

"How do you decide what to read next?"

If I have a buddy or group read scheduled in the next couple of weeks, I'll read that book. Otherwise, it's basically whim.

Do you have different books for different parts of your reading time?"

I listen to an audiobook in the last half of lunch hour; otherwise, splitting time between books doesn't work for me because it feels like it takes forever to finish anything.

Hi Trike,
I copied you routine list and sent it to the uncle. He was overjoyed. However his routine still involves lots of time out. He goes to a few clubs, on a few boards, but afternoons and night time are the stick to times

HE has to have a read at such and such a time, wine time at ??, computer time at ??? ,

So even though he has a routine each day is not the same . Of course every 2nd day is an hour phone call to his fav niece and we solve all the problems of the world

Multiple books for multiple venues.
Usually a fun book in the bathroom (my dad called the bathroom "The Library" and would announce his body's needs with "I'm going to the Library." It took me a while to realize what he meant. I'd always get excited and ask if I could go, too)
A pleasure/learning book beside my reading chair.
A pleasure book on the headboard.
A learning book for the gym (an hour on the stairs most weekdays).
A study/research/fun book on my Nook (my sole electronic source).
A learning/fun book in the car.
I've had a book close to hand (literally) since I was five years old. Can't imagine not having my friends any further away.
Books have been my comfort, my refuge, they have given me answers, asked me questions, helped me understand myself, helped me understand others, given me reasons to better myself, and provided examples of a better life.
An interviewer asked me You are stranded on an island with only 3 books. What are their titles?. Didn't hesitate to answer.

My favorite time to read is right before bed. In fact, I find that I have a harder time sleeping if I don't read beforehand!

I usually like to wake up around 4am or 5am to read. Then I'll read some more before going to bed!

Anyone else get up super early to read? Or am I just weird? Haha.

Haha, I don’t “like” getting up at 4 or 5am to read, but that is when my toddler has been waking so.... yes, I’m also an early morning reader. 😁

What.....there’s a 4 in the morning as well as one in the afternoon? 😂🤪 Yeah you’re weird. I can understand if a toddler gets you up but actually making a conscious decision to get up before sparrow fart is just crazy if you ask me. Unless you’re one of those people who go to bed at 7.

Lately when I’m at the farm I’ve been reading after lunch in a comfy chair up under a big Claret Ash tree. I’ve usually done everything I need to and fed Hubby and he goes off and does whatever it is he does like riding the big lawn mower around the paddock and I just sit and wile away the hours in the shade. It’s very nice up there.

Kristenelle wrote: "Haha, I don’t “like” getting up at 4 or 5am to read, but that is when my toddler has been waking so.... yes, I’m also an early morning reader. 😁"

Haha well now I'm just a weirdo in Jacqueline's eyes. I'm just going to pretend you're weird just like me, Kristenelle.
I also like your name!

Jacqueline wrote: "What.....there’s a 4 in the morning as well as one in the afternoon? 😂🤪 Yeah you’re weird. I can understand if a toddler gets you up but actually making a conscious decision to get up before sparro..."

Thanks for calling me weird :( lol

When my gym operated at normal hours, I was opening 4x a week. I started at 5am. So now I'm used to it!

I may or may not have been one of those people that went to bed at 8pm....I need my beauty sleep!

I don't think I could ever work at a farm! My hat is off to ya, Jacqueline.

Ricky wrote: "Haha well now I'm just a weirdo in Jacqueline's eyes. I'm just going to pretend you're weird just like me, Kristenelle.
I also like your name!"

Thanks :) And I'm very weird. I'm betting most of us SFF book lovers are some variety of weird. You're in good company. ;)

Weird isn’t a bad thing. All the best people are weird.

Ricky wrote: "I usually like to wake up around 4am or 5am to read. Then I'll read some more before going to bed!

Anyone else get up super early to read? Or am I just weird? Haha."

add me to the weirdos. Up at 4:00 AM and read or listen, listen while walking the dog or chores, read at bed time.

Kristenelle wrote: "Ricky wrote: "Haha well now I'm just a weirdo in Jacqueline's eyes. I'm just going to pretend you're weird just like me, Kristenelle.
I also like your name!"

Thanks :) And I'm very weird. I'm bett..."

Haha seems like a good group to join then!
It's just very peaceful and cozy waking up early to read. Especially when it's cold outside lol


John wrote: "Ricky wrote: "I usually like to wake up around 4am or 5am to read. Then I'll read some more before going to bed!

Anyone else get up super early to read? Or am I just weird? Haha."

add me to the ..."

Nice! Good to know I'm not the only one.