One Million Pages Per Lifetime discussion

i was reading through other people's OneMillionPages and saw somewhere that some are counting audio books they listened to as books they've read. i might sound a bit harsh but that in my opinion is not a book you've read. that's a book you've listened to.

there is a big difference between reading a book and listening to an audio book, especially in terms of time spent and mental exertion.
for me the challenge of OneMillionPages in a lifetime is to take the time and enjoy the written word in its written form. otherwise one could attend a play and say they've read the play as well, and next would be movies....
if i've offended anyone, i apologize in advance

Ah yes, that is the big debate. It seems however that quite a few of us however disagree. I thought the same at first and orginally left them out but after a few discussions with others decided to add them in. Have you ever used an audiobook, at least for me it takes more time (narrator often reads at a pace different than mine etc) and even more mental exheration because I HAVE to force myself to pay attention...it can also be harder to find the venue to listen to an audiobook unlike reading.

I personally have never listened to an audiobook. When I hear stuff, it slides off my brain as if it's never happened. Things are only real to me when I've seen and read it in print. That said, I really think that listening to an audiobook involves a tremendous investment of time. Far greater than reading the book. Also, some of the audiobooks are little works of art in their own right- much of the Jeeves series by PG Wodehouse was done in "full cast" by BBC and is supposed to be wonderful. I may even listen to some of it once I'm done reading the book. Also, as far as mental effort, should we also tell people not to count things that are "fluff"? Light mysteries, romance, urban fiction? Should we not allow adults to count young adult fiction because it should be beneath their mental abilities? (I'm not saying that, take a look at my list I read YA fiction.) Quite a few books I read are not at all intellectually rigorous. I would think reading the whole of Janet Evanovich's "ouvre" is less mentally challenging than listening to War and Peace as an audiobook. Should we also not allow people to count rereads? I was planning to reread Ulysses and Remembrance of Things Past, amongst others. Or should classic rereads count, but not "fluff" rereads? Should we make people include a summary or analysis of the book to prove they didn't skim parts of it? I personally think it's up to the person, it's their list. Interesting debate this could spawn, Whisper.

i completely see your points, Katrina and Shay.

that's why i put this up. i want to see what other people think. it is always good to hear other people's opinion about things that bother you. in this case i got to see the "other side of the coin" in the first responses to my post and that is amazing. this now gives me more points to consider before i make up my mind. i like to get all the facts before forming a final opinion about something. this little discussion helps :)

i myself enjoyed stephen fry's harry potter series - they made my summer of 2004 an amazingly fun summer.

i have a couple of other audio books i plan to listen to but will not put them up as things i've read.

and concerning the idea of putting a summary or analysis of the book to prove you've read it - a fun suggestion. (but if people want to pretend to have read more than they actually have, that's on them) lord knows i've skimmed through my obligatory reading during highschoool. :) but this million pages goal is something i've honestly decided to do.

good luck everyone :)

Hi ladies. =)

My thought on this is, it doesn't matter. And I'm not sure if this is only my take on it, or maybe a "forgotten purpose" of the group.. but my thought is that the 1,000,000 pgs read in a lifetime is more of a personal goal rather than a group competition. Therefore, it's up to the individual and how they want to set their goal, and what their own personal ground rules might be.

Di

I personally drive 2 hours round trip each day to work, I use that time to listen to audiobooks - for example right now, i'm listening to book 6 in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series...the audiobook is over 48 hours long...now I have read the books previously, but I'm hearing things that I don't remember from when I've read them previously

I guess for me, a similar question should be posed with large print books...should the page count for the large print book be allowed that count that is possibly up to 25% more of the normal print, or should the normal print be the page count...

personally, six of one, half dozen of the other...i'll go back and indicate which of my audiobooks are just that...but I'm not in favor of the plot thing...anyone could read a few reviews with spoilers and be able to post enough to make it sound like they have read it...so what would the point be?

i didn't mean to offend anyone, i just wanted to see what other people thought about this topic. i had one opinion and my friend had another, i just wanted to see what you guys thought
personally i wish that all book were available in audio format for those who cannot/don't have time to read.
about the plot thing - i believe Shay was joking when she mentioned that

Yes I was kidding. All I wanted to do was be honest that sometimes, I'll admit to "skimming" books. I read really quickly (over 1100 words a minute) and retain almost everything. But, sometimes, I will "skim" over boring parts. Especially in a series book where the author will re-introduce the characters and summarize what's happened in all of the preceding books. All I wanted to do was make a point that sometimes even when reading "real" books, we don't always pay attention to every word.

I just signed up to the list today, so there may be info I'm missing. Is there a prize to be awarded for people when they reach 1,000,000 pages or some sort of recognition?

If there is nothing to be gained from one person being passed another.. if people are not in some way being "cheated", what difference does it make?

My goal is to read 1,000,000 pgs. I choose to do that in "books" not magazines or newspapers etc. I choose for myself to count audio books (if I have already at some point read it in paper form).

This is just what I've laid down for myself. Someone else's personal boundaries may be different. I can follow this guideline and reach my goal feeling good about my accomplishment because it is the goal I set for myself. Does it really matter if anyone else agrees with it? Does everyone have to like my choice or anyone else's?

@ Delicious Dee... I'm reading Gabaldon right now..LOVE her Outlander series! Im getting ready to go onto book 3 soon! Mine are on my nook. =)

P.S. My post isnt' intended to be aggressive, but sometimes the written word comes across that way when you can't see faces. Just stating a point =)

Whisper19 wrote: "i didn't mean to offend anyone, i just wanted to see what other people thought about this topic. i had one opinion and my friend had another, i just wanted to see what you guys thought
personally ..."

I don't think you've offended anyone Whisper. Your post was open and honest. It didn't come across as angry or as an attack. And I must say I am impressed with everyone's ability to respond in diplomatic ways as well regardless of thier "side" of the discussion. Some forums can get nasty.
Di

i not very used to putting my opinions out there (when not among friends) so i was a bit worried that people would see my post and go "What a b**" or something like that. i am glad this discussion turned out ok

the only prize i expect when reaching my goal is to be able to say to myself - "You've done it, Lukre. Good job." and say the same thing to others who reach the same goal, according to their own rules

@Diane - welcome to the group and best of luck with your reading :)

Diane wrote: "Whisper19 wrote: "i didn't mean to offend anyone, i just wanted to see what other people thought about this topic. i had one opinion and my friend had another, i just wanted to see what you guys th..."

Yes, definitely no offense. Like I said, I myself even question if they should be included in the list. 3 of the 4 books were ones I have had previously read but had lost, returned, loaned out etc.

I say each to your own, if you want to include them, include them, if you don't, don't. You brought up a valid point and it seems it is mostly a personal choice.

I like Dee have an approx. 2 hr round trip drive commute. However I do not listen to audio books. I don't know I just have never really liked to.
However, with the 2 hr drive and working 6 day 10 hour days there are some weeks where I just don't get hardly any reading done. (Like last week when over 6 days I read maybe 20 pages.) So I can completely understand the people that want to listen to audio books and count them. It could be something that, when you are like me, may keep you awake that extra 20 minutes until you get home too.

So I say it is a personal goal. If you want to count them, then go ahead. If you would rather not, then don't. I am doing this because I want to and not because anybody is forcing me to.

There is also the debate on here about using the starting year as the year that you joined the group or starting at the beginning of your lifetime. I started this year because I personally do not remember anything that I have read in the past seeing as I didn't keep a log. Plus it doesn't bother me any I am hoping to retire by the time that I hit 50 or 60 and have plenty of time to read to my liking.

I know that some on here count the textbooks they read for class. I never counted anything that was in textbook format as reading when I was in school. Mostly because I hated it. If I were still in college now (thank God I finished), I would not count them personally. But to each his own. I tried to read on the side but it hardly ever worked.

I do count my rereads however. I like to reread some of my favorites. Especially when movies come out. I like to read the book before I watch the movie. And I am also not the person that will read the middle book for the series when the middle movie is coming out. No I have to read the whole series all over again until I at least get to that book again. By then I will decide to read the whole series in general. So therefore I do count all my rereads.

This is also like the e-book debate. E-books tend to have a different amount of pages per book. Therefore, should you be counting the amount of pages that is on the e-book or should it be the amount of pages that is in an actual book. I know that all ePub and PDF files don't have a changing page number no matter what you are reading it on or what font size you are using. Also most of my books that I read on my Nook tend to have less page numbers than the paper copies. So which should I count? I have chosen for myself to count the page that is on the actual e-book format rather than another. It makes it more of a challenge for me.

Haha I feel like I just went on and on about the debates going on that have been seen on this group. Oh well. Hopefully everyone does to their pleasing as I have. I don't want some of these people to leave because they get upset about some of the debates.

Meghan, I also count the pages in the actual book - generally I like to use the paperback version but if the paperback is not released yet I would do the hardback. My thought is, it is the same information as the paper/hard back copy that if I were to be reading such it would be that amount of pages, so why bother with all that figuring out. And at least with the kindle, when you read the product description it gives you the pages that would be contained in the book in which it was transcribed from.

I'm just counting my pleasure reading. Also I began my count from June because that is when I started keeping my book log, so I did have something to look back on. But as I think of other things I've read, I may add them too. Not sure yet.

Diane wrote: "Hi ladies. =)

My thought on this is, it doesn't matter. And I'm not sure if this is only my take on it, or maybe a "forgotten purpose" of the group.. but my thought is that the 1,000,000 pgs rea..."

This is the same as my opinion :)

I bought a bunch of audio books at this falls county book sale. They were a dollar a piece so why not. So three boxes and a dolly later minus 70 dollars I had many audio books and a handful of books.

I have been listening to them while I knit. Win Win situation there!!!

Glad to know that most people here realize that the goal isn't to "win" a competition, it is to experience great (another relative term) literature. I am usually reading a professional text, a YA novel (I work in a middle school), a personal choice, AND have an audiobook going at the same time. The audiobooks just give me more opportunities to experience more books! :)

And for all you Diana Gabaldon fans, add me to the list! Love her!

This is meant to be a personal goal. If you feel like audio books should be included that is your choice. Or perhaps we should have a section for 1 million minutes listened?

As, for me I have decided to only count pages read.

Yeah I wouldn't mind adding a section for that. It sounds like it would be fun to try!

i don't think it would be too hard to hit 1000000 minutes...the audiobook i'm listening to right now - A Place of Execution is like 14.5 hours long - so that is 870 minutes right there...with my new commute to work, I easily get in 2+ hours of listening a day (an hour there and an hour and a half home - or so depending on traffic)

Yeah same here. I think if we include a section for that 1 million hours would be better and a harder goal to achieve. Especially if you listen to a lot of audiobooks. OOOHHH...I have just interested myself. I think I will start now with putting that up on my next audiobook.

i use the audible app on my itouch and it actually has different levels of user depending on hours listened to...the first is like 100 hours, then 500, 1000, 1500 and 2000...i'm at like 50 right now. I kinda like it - it has badges you can earn for like listening during the lunch period or at night; for checking your stats etc

Yeah. Maybe 1M hours would be better... I can make a diff folder for all of that, or would yall just rather it be in your current topic.?

I looked into how long 1M hours is....I think I calculated about 114 years or something like that. Unless I did the calculations wrong. However if you listened to audiobooks for 24/7 for a whole year you would complete over 500,000 minutes. So maybe one million minutes isn't too far out of reach for a goal.

★Meghan★ wrote: "I looked into how long 1M hours is....I think I calculated about 114 years or something like that. Unless I did the calculations wrong. However if you listened to audiobooks for 24/7 for a whole ..."

You're right. 114 years or so is about how long 1 million hours is- and that would be assuming you listened 24 hours a day, every day.

Really? Wow. That's a long time.. I still think we should add it though. It seems like it would be cool to try out. What do yall think? Or we could lower the goal to 500K?

I think 1M minutes would be ok. I think that is just as achievable as the 1M pages. I also use the audible app but I use it on my iPhone. I am actually pretty close to 100 hours now.

Recorded minutes or actual minutes? I almost always listen on faster playback. (I'm not going to do it, so I'm just posing the question idlely. I don't see a useful distinction between eye reading and ear reading for myself.)

I think 1 million minutes would be better. If you listened to an audio book for 8 hours a day, every day, it would still work out to almost 6 years.

Half a million hours would still be 57 years of listening at 24 hours a day, every day. Which is just not possible. At 8 hours a day, which is still not reasonable, that would be 171 years.

my vote is 1m millions and recorded minutes and can we grandfather ones in that we've listened to this year?

shay - you are doing wayyy too much math!!

Dee-- "1m millions"??

The decision falls upon yall. I just need to know so I can make the topic.

ok, so millions was supposed to be minutes...lol! long day at work!

Haha, sokay. I understand :)

and how the heck is it 9pm already!!! ahh, i've managed to send like 6 emails tonight and that's it

it happens to the best of us! :)

I will have to pass. I don't think adding in audio is worth it for me.

It is just not the same.

I have added it to my normal counts that I have in my own topic. It is fun and works for myself so that I can keep track and we don't have a page that is over full with topics.

I just emailed Z to ask if she maybe wanted to set up something next year to track minutes - it could be fun ;)

We can make a audio, one million minutes, folder and people create their one thread to keep track of their minutes separately.

We are branching out to whole books so why not audio as well?!

LOL! We're thinking the same, MS! We should def make a folder for it!

already done!

Muchas gracias, chica:)