Ask HN: How many hours a day/week to you read books?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29624652

30 44 5 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

And has that changed over the years? If so, how and for which reasons?

kashura• 5 years ago

Between listening and reading physical books, probably average 1.5 hours a day. It has increased from about zero in the last 2 years since I've taken my reading interests more seriously.

Schroedingers2c• 5 years ago

Personally, I try to read physical books 30-60min a day on average and most of the time do so (more on weekends and holidays).

I haven't read much literature until I was ~24 years old. As a struggling young adult self-help literature somehow guided me towards ancient philosophy. The logic and simplicity of language in Aristotle's "Nicomachean Ethics" blew my mind and from then on I started reading more and more primary source philosophy and related articles online, which then also lead me to "philosophical" literature from great authors like Dostoyevsky, Huxley, Orwell, Steinbeck etc.

I am now 27 and low-key addicted to reading great minds. Being occupied in science, reading great non-technical books vastly expanded my horizon and has been having a significant impact on my worldview.

tmaly• 5 years ago

I try to read 20 min a day. With kids it becomes a challenge to dedicate any more time than that.

mFixman• 5 years ago

I read to sleep, so it depends on how tired I am. Usually it's in the 1h±30m range.

lambic• 5 years ago

I try to always read a chapter of my book before bed every night. Most of the time I enjoy it, sometimes it feels like a chore, very occasionally I'm just too tired and it doesn't happen.

I used to read more. The most obvious culprit is devices; I watch too much tv, play too many games. Work also has an impact, after a day of hard concentration it's just easier to watch mindless tv.

matwood• 5 years ago

I also read before bed every night. No goal, I just use reading as part of my sleep ritual. Reading fiction pushes out the stress of the day and lets me fall asleep rather easily. There's something about the pace of reading a novel that relaxes me.

I'll also add that I only read on my phone. Haven't read a physical book in a decade or more.

asicsp• 5 years ago

I read about 70+ books in a year (mostly fantasy and sci-fi novels). I usually finish a book around weekend and spend about 2 hours during weekdays. If a series is short and good, I'd usually just binge them together (am self-employed with not so strict timeline, so not an issue to take a few days off).

leet_thow• 5 years ago

I've started listening to audiobooks while playing American Truck Simulator weekends and evenings. It's like going on a road trip without leaving the house.

j7ake• 5 years ago

I did this too during lockdown. But now I realized that going for a walk while listening to audiobooks is better for my body.

throw1234651234• 5 years ago

haha this is pretty next-level - having to listen to audio-books to cope with the boredom of something you do by choice. Just get your CDL and do short routes locally if you actually enjoy this. Probably far-fetched, but this is beyond amusing.

engineer_22• 5 years ago

Not a bad idea, there is a severe shortage of delivery drivers.

bmj• 5 years ago

Usually 30-60 minutes day during the week, and more on the weekends. I've become more disciplined over the last few years. Prior to the pandemic, I was involved in several reading groups (reading a wide range of subjects, from theology to fiction), and that required a different approach to the material to keep track of what I was reading, and get the readings done "on time." Prior to that, I was still reading multiple days per week, but I tended to read in fits and bursts, rather than consistently, over the course of a year.

_dain_• 5 years ago

zero, lately. guess what my new years resolution was.

ovebepari2• 5 years ago

two books on 2021

gareiner• 5 years ago

It depends on the mood, one hour a day seems a good pace for me.

kuroguro• 5 years ago

0. :)

I'm not sure why, I've never enjoyed long reads. If there's something interesting suggested to me I often find decent summaries in blog post/audio or video format.

H1Supreme• 5 years ago

4-5 hours/week if the weather is nice (I like to sit in a park nearby and read). Half that during colder months. Not because I don't want to read, but I usually fall asleep after a few chapters when I'm in my recliner with a blanket on.

elorant• 5 years ago

About two hours a day. Also once every month I spend a whole Sunday reading books, for like about ten hours. So I'd say in average 60-70hrs/monthly.

lakkal• 5 years ago

That's what I used to do in my younger days. Now about 1 hour per day, before bed.

bemmu• 5 years ago

Usually read something to learn for 15 mins while eating breakfast, and about half an hour of fiction before falling asleep. In addition a few pages here and there on my phone if I need to wait for something.

whalesalad2• 5 years ago

I’m going through a reboot right now. I’ve removed virtually all social media apps from my devices, and cancelled all subscription media except for Spotify. No more TV, streaming shows etc.

Replacing all free time with reading has been a big adjustment but I feel like I’m absorbing knowledge and improving myself. I’m also finding that I can express myself better through writing.

azemetre• 5 years ago

This is going to sound like I'm an addict, and I probably am, but how do you resist the urge to check social media all around you? I mean I use my phone for 2FA to sign in. The urge is right there. I'm working on my laptop and a build process will take 30-minutes. I'm literally one click to HN, reddit, twitter, NYT, etc.

The way I work, I'm a software engineer, has this amplified even more.

I feel like going cold turkey is the best approach but I don't know if I have the discipline (or if it's even reasonable to expect a complete behavior change at the drop of a hat).

edit: I guess for extra hilarity, how do you justify using HN? It's not as bad as twitter, tik tok, or reddit but it elicits similar mental responses IME.

whalesalad2• 5 years ago

I have gained self-awareness that social media, or any media, does not reward me. It is just a distraction, a pacifier. What am I missing out on? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

I am shedding all of that, going down the rabbit hole to the core of my true self.

During builds - you are right - it can be tough not to wander off. Train that mindful strength to remain on task. Even a few minutes spent messing around during that downtime is enough to warp your focus and concentration when you return to what you were really doing.

HN is a vice, but it is also a fun place to find new stuff and remain on the pulse of our industry.

marcusverus• 5 years ago

For browsing on PC, there are some pretty solid Chrome extensions that allow you to apply 'anti-procrast' controls that are similar to HN's. Block sites, set max browse time per day, etc. Give "self control" a try (not being snarky, that's the name of the extension).

Phone is easier. Just don't keep your phone in your pocket. If you need it for 2FA, that's cool, just leave it far enough away that you can't mindlessly pick it up and start browsing.

This might sound like dumb advice, but in my experience it really is sufficient. The hard part is retaining the desire to change, and taking the required action every day. If you're like me and you find behavior change to be tough, check out "Atomic Habits" by James Clear. He'll give you a solid toolkit that makes behavior change MUCH easier.

drenvuk• 5 years ago

Zero, despite trying to change it. Reams and reams of code to the point I feel like my eyes have burn in but no books. I'm not sure if this needs to change.

dmd• 5 years ago

According to my kindle, ~6 hours/week. http://3e.org/books

ajuc• 5 years ago

30 minutes a day on average for the last few months. It changes depending on what I have to read. Sometimes I won't read any books for half a year, sometimes I'll read a whole book in one weekend. Right now I'm finishing a very long web novel, nothing amazing, but it's pretty good for reading for half an hour before going to bed.

I also listen to podcasts/audiobooks when I'm walking and that's probably more "reading" on average than the real "reading".

When I was +- 13 I'd been reading about a book a day, tried to read literally every book in our village library (and finished more than half of them). I've even tried reading "Selected arts" by Lenin (sorry no idea how to translate that - it was a book that communists bought for every library in Poland and nobody read it ever).

But that was before we had internet so it's not like I had anything better to do. Nowadays I don't have the attention span and there's too many distractions.

hackitup7• 5 years ago

The end of commuting and work travel (at my current job) took away one of my largest and favorite times to read. I'm probably at 2-3 hrs/week on books now but trying to step it up.

jaimefjorge• 5 years ago

I read on average about 30min a day after my kid goes to sleep. Sometimes a bit more if I'm engaged in a book. I find that if I force myself to read at least 1 page per day, that is the best way to make progress.

I started a newsletter (https://hundred.substack.com/) with book summaries for my friends to read what I'm reading.

setgree• 5 years ago

Lately, I have been reading the Wheel of Time series, so it’s probably upwards of 20. I do it as a way to avoid doomscrolling. For a long time, when I thought about reading midddlebrow stuff, I figured it was a waste of time and I should be reading e.g. Middlemarch instead. But today, anything that keeps me off my phone is a treasure.

homotroglodytes• 5 years ago

Usually I read every night before going to bed. Once I'm done with everything else, I go to bed an read until 23h. Then, 10min of meditation and sleep :) Occasionally, I read the entire Sunday afternoon.

AndrewLiptak• 5 years ago

I try and read for an hour or so a day before I get started with work. I've lapsed hard on that, but I'm clawing my way back.

microflash2• 5 years ago

I used to do 400 books per year but it has dropped to 200 (excluding technical content). I usually read in bursts with ebooks on my phone and tablet. Weekends are heaviest in reading time.

Havoc• 5 years ago

A book a day? Wow

ovebepari2• 5 years ago

you gotta be

microflash2• 5 years ago

Well, all of those books are not novel-length. They include poetry, essay collections and fiction.

fouc• 5 years ago

Do you count "webnovels" or fanfiction? It's easy to spend hours per day reading on http://www.wuxiaworld.com or http://www.webnovels.com. It's also easy to spend hours reading stories from http://www.fanfiction.net or http://www.archiveofourown.org. Search for stories by ratings/popularity, genre, etc. It's not hard to find a story that grabs you and makes you want to addictively marathon through them.

milkytron• 5 years ago

I only started reading books again recently, (3 months ago).

I spend about 5-8 hours a week reading. The reason I started again was because I was watching a lot of YouTube on a particular topic, and the creators were all pulling their content from a book. I figured I might as well read the book so I can get the content from its source.

Now I read for other reasons that are work related, imagination stimulation, and pure recreation.

kingkongjaffa• 5 years ago

Honestly, like many the answer is not enough.

I’m a binge reader, I’ll buy a book and consume >1/2 the book, relatively quickly, but struggle to come back to it regularly and finish.

I tend to take notes and try to implement some learning / make it actionable, from reading but I struggle to carve time when there’s so many other distractions (work, side projects, Netflix, games)

Any tips and tricks welcomed!

emerged• 5 years ago

1 hour per day, as it’s the only thing which helps me fall asleep. I read until falling asleep and then again whenever I wake up during the night. Two birds one stone.

kleer001• 5 years ago

I'm 80% audio books these days. And while they take numerically longer to read than paper books I can listen just about anywhere. I tend to read/listen about 2 hours a day. That adds up REAL quick.

jchallis• 5 years ago

I'm a pretty solid 1-2 hours per day. This increased a lot after I had children and needed a healthy outlet. Some things to consider: - Audiobooks were pretty transformative for me. I like to run and I like to read and listening to an audiobook while running is pretty close to Zen for me. I have found that I am a lot less intimidated by "hard books" when in Audiobook form because I know I can grind my way through. I did War and Peace training for my first marathon. Audiobooks also made my commutes a lot more educational (though my children usually despise my book interests, so your mileage may vary with kids in the car). - Delete your social media. It's the new smoking and reading is a healthy habit to replace. - Whispersync between Audible and Kindle can help you blaze through a book. Read a bit at bed, listen while you do the dishes, repeat.

thelastinuit• 5 years ago

slow reader:

2hrs per days. a ~600-page nonfiction book a week.

dSebastien• 5 years ago

I'm currently reading about an hour every day. Next year I'm going to double that.

To motivate myself to read more non-fiction and retain more, I've decided to launch a paid newsletter in which I'll share my summaries abd insights: https://www.getrevue.co/profile/dsebastien/members

It should be a win-win: more incentive to read and take notes, and useful content for my audience ;-)

Ask HN: How many hours a day/week to you read books?

Related Stories