#ScribesAndMakers Dec 24:
Reading at your typical pace and assuming no unexpected interruptions, about how long would it take you to read a 300 page book?
A: I'm currently sight-impaired (need cataract surgery to the eye that doesn't have a peripheral retinal occlusion) but pre-impairment I typically read 2-3 novels of that length per week. Currently it's taking me more like 3-5 days.
@cstross I'm not the reader I used to be, but my favourite bookshop is having a sale tomorrow. Do you have any highlights from the last year or two? Just whatever comes to mind in the SF/F field.
@Verain I burned out on reading SF/F years ago—you'd best ask someone else!
@cstross That's a surprise. I thought an author would be a fan for life. But I have asked others and gotten a good bunch of answers!
@Verain I haven't stopped reading SF/F, I've just stopped keeping up with the New Hotness! (I've been reading SF/F for 50-55 years; gimme a break.)
@Verain Bookshops tend to stock whatever the wholesaler will ship them on 90 day sale-or-return credit terms, which means stuff published in the current quarter. They then shelve *some* older stock with enduring appeal (i.e. bestsellers, classics). But shelves cost commercial property rent.
Second-hand bookstores are a lot better (except for currently-hot stuff) but again, the best stuff tends to get held onto by primary purchasers, not recirculated.
@cstross like full-time or casually? Assuming you mean fiction, I'd say one to three days, depending on motivation, reading flow and language complexity (not a native speaker/reader). 100p./day is casual reading for me with sci-fi or fantasy novels in English.
@cstross
I learned to speed read at an early age, but quickly learned to slow down for a good novel, for multiple reasons.
So I think that's a page every 60 to 120 seconds, so 300 to 600 seconds; 5 to 10 hours.
If I find the book compelling, fiction or nonfiction, about 3 days. Closer to 7 days if it isn't so compelling and I finish it out of a sense of duty.
Bedtime reading, though, is a paradox. I want it to be both interesting and to put me to sleep.
@cstross Sorry, one thing I never did in my life, is to measure how many pages of a book I can read in any time measurement unit 😊
Reading is a pleasure, not a task to be measured.
@cstross six to eight hours, all told. Either all in a one-er until I sleep at four AM, or over months if I can't get engaged with it
@cstross depends on the book. Probably an afternoon if it's none too demanding fiction. Could be several days if it was something really complex.
@cstross Generally a week to two weeks. It depends on things like how much I'm enjoying it and how tired I am. I read at bed-time and if I'm tired I can't read for long.
@cstross about 1 week.
Usually an hour or 3 before sleep each night
