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How much do you read?
Not just Bond, but in general. It seems to me most people don't have time to read books anymore. A friend of mine will borrow novels only for them to go unread on his shelf for months while he plays Mass Effect 2. Bond is easier than most given that they're all pretty short -- but is reading novels, on the whole, on a downward trend in our brave new age of instant gratification, 140 character limits, and so on?
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I do most of my reading on the daily commute to and from Uni. Let's call it an hour a day where I'm not reading textbooks or solving problems or just watching TV/going online.
I like to zone out on the metro. I've missed many a stop because I was engrossed in Fleming. for some reason Bond novels go great when you're travelling or on the move. for some reason...
;-)
I enjoy very much to tune to certain writers. Dashiell Hammett for example I find a bit tough to read just like that, but once I´m into it his writings are pure enlightenment.
I also enjoy taking on certain writers or charcaters in a kind of studious way. It´s great fun for example to delve into Ian Fleming´s world of James Bond, or Arthur Conan Doyle´s Sherlock Holmes. Especially such characters that have so very different incarnations in the film world, or in newer novels by other authors. Not to say those aren´t good, but it´s great to study the differences.
And, of course, the best stylist in the world, Elmore Leonard, never fails to etertain me.
Beside that, I have lots of scripts in connection with my profession, anxiously waiting to be digested by my feeble mind.
I really consider reading one of my big vices.
If i want to give my brain a rest i will revert back to a Bond novel.
I'd estimate I'm about 10 behind my objective in books, about 5 behind in graphic novels, and about 20 in movies/TV Series. The problem is that when I venture too deep in one territory, the other ones fall way off. It's all about balance!
I read a lot of Bond as well. The Flemings take less time now than they did when I first began reading them one and a half decade ago. After a while, you start being able to predict the next line. ;;) And like I watch all films periodically, I also marathon the books periodically. I mostly do that during the Summer holiday season, when I have the time to finish a novel in three days or less. I read books on Fleming and Bond in general as well. Finished the Legacy three times now. Such a jewel!
Work-related literature is part of the job as well. Books on chemistry mostly. I'm constantly trying to increase my own expertise on the subject. ;;)
And then there are mangas, graphic novels and comics. Not sure most people want to classify that as literature, however I did spend 12 days completing the Death Note series. :P
As a rule I try to get in at least 20 minutes of reading a day. Not to much to ask for on a demanding day, but enough to be able to actually get into the story. On days when I'm not busy it is usually more.
I usually have a nice balance between long, non-fiction works and shorter fiction works so I don't get bogged down in one work for a few weeks.
I usually aim for about 100 books a year, but with college and work it doesn't always prove successful.
-The 1 hour a week I have to spend accompanying my students to their off site P.E. class
-The two times a week for roughly 1 and 1/2 hours at a time it takes to collect my blood plasma for sale
-All doctors appointments
-Anytime I know I'll be early somewhere
-Any time I know I'm going to be eating/drinking coffee alone (when I was a child, I didn't limit such reading time to when I was alone...)
I read a little bit every night. Sometimes this is just my Bible, and/or just a couple of pages from another book. I also read anytime I can't get to sleep.
I tend to have one fiction and one non-fiction book going at any given time. Of course, since I tend to read books on the thicker side, I often to only get through 3 books a month, but that's at minimum. That usually means 1 fiction book, one non-fiction book, and whatever novel I may be reading with my students at the time.
What I miss is just taking time to read for hours at a time. I just don't do it as I once did. I have good intentions for the summer, though.
As others have mentioned, I have quite the queue of books I want to get through....
I miss those days. Far and few in between. I wish there were more! I'm hoping this summer I can manage at least a day a week in which I could read for a few hours.
Easier said then done, but I can hope!
*Edited my poor spelling for lalala. That's what I get for posting after working on a paper for several hours and being completely drained. :P
At the mo I have a kindle app on my mobile so I can read anywhere. Not convinced by them particularly but we have just run out of space for more books in my house.
For instance, I downloaded Hound of The Baskervilles, which I was reading with my students. I didn't want to take it home with me, lest I end up forgetting it at home, so I read it on the computer. It was pretty easy on the eyes, too, with the print being big.
It may also let me read a few classics I may not have bought, but can easily read for free, now....
Case 1: One of my friends is getting her masters in adolescent literature. At any one time she's reading about 10 separate novels for her classes. Can you imagine lugging around 10 books at once? The kindle was practically made for her. She can have her whole library at her fingertips.
Case 2: You are going on vacation, with the sole purpose of reading. The kindle saves space.
But unless you have a case like that...It doesn't seem like money well spent to me. Except for the free books part. Those are awesome. But you can just get a free app for that....
But I can understand a certain space-saving issue for heavy readers. Myself being not such a fast one, I suffice with one modest bookshelf at home ;-) .
These are printed in a small but not unreadable type size, pressed on extra thing paper and thus can contain the entire book in something that fits any jacket or even shirt pocket. I have one of those, Memoirs Of A Geisha, and I find it very convenient. Also, it's still a book, and there's something sexy about holding a book IMO. Furthermore, the cover is very flexible, so you don't actually have to keep the book open manually. It leaves itself open at any page desired, like the average hard cover book does.
They're likely to be most intended for regular readers, I'd imagine; the same people who may read a great deal during the day and, thus, may be minded about the dangers of over-straining their eyes, you know? Small type wouldn't really help with that - especially if such peeps without glasses or contacts are looking to keep their eyesight that way... ;)
I know the answer is 'go to the library' but like lalala said an ereader is good for holidays.
And as I have started wading through Lee Child's Jack Reacher books I think storing them on a kindle is perfect.
They will never replace books though, for all the reasons Georgio has given.
As far as novels are concerned I'm very traditional and have plenty of room. When I manage to find myself out of room I'll consider eFiction.