Topic: Finding the Time to Read

[LTMadison]

I made a New Year's goal to read 100 books this year -- plus write a new MG or YA novel. Of course, I have a full-time job which gets in the way. These days it's not so much TV that's a time suck (although not having cable or satellite helps) but the Internet. If I cut out TV and Internet browsing I find I have the time to write and read daily -- I have one traditional book and one audio book going at all times. I listen in the car, at the gym and while walking the dog and get through 2-3 audio books a month. Of course, this can all go too far -- Edmund Wilson used to have a book open during his famiy dinners. And it looks as if I'm going to be short of 100 -- although if I can find more reads like Peter Heller's The Dog Stars I might make it. But I do have a new book completed and with an agent, so I've got that going for me.

[Kate Kae]

So glad to see the topic!

 I feel guilty that I haven't read as much this last while. Partly, I was so burned out from rewrites and going over my new manuscript multiple times, I almost couldn't stand the written word. Before that, when I was in deep throes of writing, I didn't read much, either. I tend to avoid reading fiction while I'm doing heavy writing because I'm afraid I'll be influenced by another author's voice. That means I've slid downhill these last months, but I miss reading fiction because I truly love it.

Which is why I like the idea of 30 minutes a day, just like setting aside time for exercise. I know my soul needs it, and excellent writing from other authors does lift me up, so I'm going to start this new schedule and see what happens.

Thanks for everyone's great comments and suggestions!

[yellow_submarine]

yellow_submarine, you're Aussie, right? How do you find audio books in Australia? I've tried Audible and iTunes and there are just so few available here, and the ones that are available are SUPER expensive -- way beyond my book budget.

Yep, I'm an Aussie.
Cost is definitely the downside of audiobooks! I used to buy iTunes gift cards when they were on sale, but audiobooks were still ridiculously expensive -- even with that discount factored in.

Now I have an annual Audible subscription; you can buy a bulk package of twelve credits (one credit = one book) for $149.50. It works out a LOT cheaper than iTunes. Actually, it works out to about $12.50 per book, which is cheaper than most physical books!

Audible doesn't have every single book that I'd like to read, but it seems to have the vast majority of them. I also find the "credit" system to be good value, since I often choose very long adult fantasy books. It's nice to get twenty or thirty hours of entertainment for a single credit.