Poll: How often do you read a book?

[caprisun]

read constantly, usually finish 2 in a month(usually pretty big books so^^)

 

[El Poncho]

I read my Terry Pratchett books every night before I go to bed.

 

[PseudoDuck]

Excluding school books, maybe once every few months. There are several books I'd like to read, but most are really hard to read and demands great focus. The ones I do want to read are the Neil Gaiman books, The Wheel of Time series, and The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy. I have all the books, but they're all so heavy to read, especially The Wheel of Time.

I also want to read some Ayn Rand, but that's even harder. The books by her I want to read are Capitalism: The Lost Philosophy, and Objectivist Epystomology.

Also, I'm thinking about checking out the Tom Clancy books. People tell me that Rainbow Six and The Hunt For Red October are good. And the games have interesting stories enough.

Tom Clancy books are all a bit one-note. They're good fun but I can't see myself reading them again. The Hunt for Red October and Rainbow Six are probably the best ones.

If you want to read some Ayn Rand, then start with Atlas Shrugged - it is a tough read and it's a huge book, but it introduces the objectivist viewpoint quite nicely and the story itself (apart from a few parts where it digresses hugely for some back story of characters) is really interesting. You could also try The Fountainhead, but I've not read that so can't comment.

Dude, Neil Gaiman books really aren't hard to read. Which ones have you got? My first Gaiman book (if you don't count Good Omens with Terry Pratchett) was Neverwhere and I really enjoyed it. Then got Anansi Boys - which is funnier than Neverwhere but just as dark and seems better plotted. Then I got American Gods. If you don't have American Gods, then get the "author's preferred text" edition of it. You will not be disappointed. It's fucking Epic! I've read it numerous times and I could still read it again. Stardust is a much better book than the film (though the film is still good) and the 2 collections of short stories (Smoke and Mirrors, and Fragile Things) are great fun. I'd recommend starting with American Gods though, but that's probably because I'm biased.

 

[Formica Archonis]

I read a good bit. A book every few months, most of it during my commute, but the nature of my work (fixing computers and providing technical advice) means I do a LOT of reading online. Kinda tricky having to keep info about both the Core i7 and the Athlon Thunderbird sorted in one's head, and it means a lot of re-reading old half-forgotten stuff.

 

[Zeetchmen]

Never, people still read for entertainment these days?

 

[Loves2spooge]

I read very quickly, and when time permits it, I usually get through one or two books a week, more when on holiday. It's getting hard to find some good books though, I've read a lot of classics, so I'm left to read a lot of modern literature, which I generally don't like.

Although I should say I adore anything by Douglas Coupland, JPod, Generation A, All Families are Psychotic, Hey Nostradamus! All brilliant.

 

[SUPERtwinky]

Books = Cool

 

[rachel_who]

I used to read around 2 a month. But recently i have been bogged down with university work so haven't had time to read anything apart from textbooks
Unfortunately i am still buying books the same as before so i have a nice big pile of new books to get through after my exams

 

[Bat Vader]

I usually read two or three at the same time. I will read a chapter in Dante's Inferno and than I will read a chapter in one of Kipling's books. It is kinda nice reading one or two at the same time because it adds variety. You're not on the same book for two weeks or more.

 

[Arkhangelsk]

Excluding school books, maybe once every few months. There are several books I'd like to read, but most are really hard to read and demands great focus. The ones I do want to read are the Neil Gaiman books, The Wheel of Time series, and The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy. I have all the books, but they're all so heavy to read, especially The Wheel of Time.

I also want to read some Ayn Rand, but that's even harder. The books by her I want to read are Capitalism: The Lost Philosophy, and Objectivist Epystomology.

Also, I'm thinking about checking out the Tom Clancy books. People tell me that Rainbow Six and The Hunt For Red October are good. And the games have interesting stories enough.

Tom Clancy books are all a bit one-note. They're good fun but I can't see myself reading them again. The Hunt for Red October and Rainbow Six are probably the best ones.

If you want to read some Ayn Rand, then start with Atlas Shrugged - it is a tough read and it's a huge book, but it introduces the objectivist viewpoint quite nicely and the story itself (apart from a few parts where it digresses hugely for some back story of characters) is really interesting. You could also try The Fountainhead, but I've not read that so can't comment.

Dude, Neil Gaiman books really aren't hard to read. Which ones have you got? My first Gaiman book (if you don't count Good Omens with Terry Pratchett) was Neverwhere and I really enjoyed it. Then got Anansi Boys - which is funnier than Neverwhere but just as dark and seems better plotted. Then I got American Gods. If you don't have American Gods, then get the "author's preferred text" edition of it. You will not be disappointed. It's fucking Epic! I've read it numerous times and I could still read it again. Stardust is a much better book than the film (though the film is still good) and the 2 collections of short stories (Smoke and Mirrors, and Fragile Things) are great fun. I'd recommend starting with American Gods though, but that's probably because I'm biased.

The reason I haven't tried Atlas Shrugged is just because it's so damn tough.

As for Neil Gaiman, I've read Anansi Boys, but the one I count as hard to read is Good Omens. The hybrid of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett was too damn much. It was cluttered and weird, and just a big mess. Anansi Boys, however, is probably the best read I've ever had.

 

[drisky]

I don't read novels often, I was read the dark tower: the wasteland but I lost it and need to find a new copy.

 

[maninahat]

I should take the time to requote some old and shocking statistics about reading in the UK.

A third of people will never buy a book in their life time.
Another third will only buy on average one per year.

Has anyone here read Tale of a Tub? I've tried reading that book so many fucking times but have been unable to finish. Most dense prose I've seen in a long time. One of the greatest blessings about modern literature is that people try to avoid commas in sentences, rather than use dozens of them. Something is wrong when a sentence ends up a third of a page.

 

[SomeBritishDude]

I try to read at least one book a month. Usually more.

I'm an art student. I need something to stop me getting dumb.

Right now I'm kind of jumping between two books. One is Shutter Island, which is ok. I'm pretty sure I worked out a "revelation" about 50 pages in, hopefully I will be proved wrong. The other is one of Roald Dahl's short story books, of which the name now escapes me. It's brilliant. Dahl is known as a childrens writer, but his real talent lies in short, adult stories. Really creepy stuff.

I read comic books a lot more, simply because they're easier and I can get though them in a couple of hours, though they're not much value for money if you look at it in a time to money ratio or comparing them to "proper" books.

 

[falcon1985]

I read before going to sleep, so pretty much daily.

 

[CincoDeMayo]

I read as often as I can, usually on the bus or when I can relax at home. As for genre, mostly books based on reality, such as Jon Krakauer's books. I'm stepping it up a notch soon with The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, and Slash's and Jenna Jameson's biographies (the latter was a christmas present from my younger brother, oddly enough).

 

[Asturiel]

Whenever a book finds my interest.

I have a very specific interest range so it spikes. But is usually dead.

 

[Koganesaga]

Damn people reading books more than once a week in the lead? Well I'm not gonna question it, it's a good thing. Personally I only do once every few months because that's when I find a book that beats video games.

 

[senorcromas]

I usually read about a book a week, more if I have to read one for school.

Currently, I'm reading When the Legends Die for school, and I'm re-reading Good Omens because it's amazing and everyone should read it now.

 

[soren7550]

I'm reading pretty much everyday. I can easily do a book a day, but I'd quickly run out of stuff to read. So I usually hold back on the reading.

 

[The_Decoy]

Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz.

Read that a couple of months back, he's not a bad author, keeps the plot moving pretty well with some good characters.

And as for myself, I read a book a week or more and I'll try anything that's suggested. The Hakawati ("the Storyteller") by Rabih Alameddine was a really good one I read recently.

Favourites have to be Pratchett, Iain Banks (and of course Iain M Banks) and Douglas Adams.

I urge everyone to read all the books written by these authors, they really are superlative Though as you're a member of this site it is highly likely you already have.