The one hobby that I have had the longest and, by far, spend the most time on, is reading. The story (via my mom) goes that I taught myself to read when I was 4, read my kindergarten class a Berenstain Bear book (my teacher didn't think I could do it) and haven't slowed down much since. I was very competitive in our library's summer reading program, reading 100 books in a summer and redeeming more prizes (they were free books! Some of which I still have!) that was probably necessary. I spent many years of my life thinking I would become an author or a librarian. Although now I just write blog posts and newsletter articles for our school's auction/dinner and my only time "working" at a library was as a volunteer. (Although our house alone is a not-insignificant portion of our library branch's circulation activity, maybe as high as 11% one year.)
I read all through high school, although at not nearly the pace I do now, and college slowed me down a fair amount but since 2010, the first adult year I tracked my reading, I finished 51 books and it's only gone up from there. (Not yet this year, I'm only at 50 but I am confident I'll keep reading.) My TBR sits around 70 books I want to read (as well as another dozen-ish picture books that are on there so I remember to purchase request them from our library). It's a hobby that takes up a chunk of time to do but also to maintain. It's also what calms my introvert brain and brings me much joy. As well as knowledge and inspiration. When in doubt, I look for a book on the subject.
Talking about my reading routine isn't new, I've covered it many times in many ways over the years. I currently aim to read 10 hour a week which I usually hit unless I'm sick. From 2018-2023 (the years I have full year data of my time tracking), I averages 530 hours of reading to myself each of those years, for nearly an average 90 minutes a day. Which begs the question, where do I get 90 minutes a day?!? (2023 was a year that brought down that average a bit.)
Surprising to me, I am not really reading more now that I am home alone during the school days although maybe I get more silent reading in now that before. On the days I come right home from drop-off, I aim to read for a solid hour after cleaning up the kitchen, maybe switching laundry, and making my tea. On days I go somewhere else before coming home, I try to read for an hour when I do get home but that doesn't always happen, depending on what time I actually get home and what needs done. That big morning reading chunk is a big change from my SAHM life. I rely less on getting in ~3 hours on a Sunday and now do more reading during the week. I am ALWAYS trying to read 30 minutes before bed (see: mind calming) but that seems to happen rarely. I am TERRIBLE at actually going to bed, even when I'm all ready for bed. But sometimes I read a second time during the school day, sometimes in the mornings before working out (I get up extra early to see my husband off to work a few days a week), and always do read at least 10 minutes before bed.
Picking what to read has gotten easier over the year as I've honed more and more what I actually like. I think some trial and error reading I did when I was getting back into reading post college really helped me narrow down what I like although I still struggle to really define what exactly that is. Definitely romance but usually slightly more on the chaste end (Emily Henry or Christina Lauren is about the spiciest I'll read), some historical fiction especially from authors that I have enjoyed in the past, some YA and middle-grade, and then a whole lot of books that I don't know how to categorize because "women's fiction" is a terrible label. Books by authors like Elin Hilderbrand, Taylor Jenkins Reid, and Liane Moriarty. I I do some non-fiction like parenting, adoption, home decor & organization, travel, time management, minimalism, and some memoir. do not do many mysteries and certainly not anything very grusome but a few get so buzzy that I pick them up (like The Maid or Finlay Donovan). I don't do much "literary fiction", few short stories, very little poetry (and there, just a handful of books told in verse).
Audiobooks have gotten a lot more popular lately but I do 99% of my reading on physical books, largely checked out from the library. Buying books I haven't read yet is a space & financial issue. I read over 170 books a year; I cannot buy and store all of those. I will pick-up the occasional digital book from the library if it's something I am very interested and that's the only format they have it in but then I'm stuck reading it on my phone and reading is what I do to put down my phone! I've done a handful of audio over the year but a literal handful in 10 years. I got into podcasts before audiobooks and that's where my listening time goes.
Even with a healthy TBR that I never seem to get below 50, it still takes some time to always have my next book. I am rather purposeful in planning my reading, picking 10 books to read each month. I make sure I have a mix of contemporary fiction, historical fiction, and non-fiction. In the summer and December I read very little non-fiction but the rest of the year I try to read 3ish a month. I wrote about this planning process back in 2018 and not much has changed although I am usually picking out my books later than I used to. It's somewhere around the 15th-20th of the month before that I start looking at what's coming out the following month as well as what has been lingering on my TBR the longest. I make sure there is a good mix, thinking if there are any books that I always reread at this time of year, what our book club has coming up, etc. I try to read around 14 books a month but that includes ones I read aloud to my boys (which aren't in my planned books) and I often can sneak in at least 1 other unplanned book as well (often a short one).
There are some books (Elin Hilderbrand, Emily Henry) that I know will have LONG library hold lines and I have been pretty good at just remembering to put those on hold in February or March for their May/June releases. In the spring I am checking library holds often for upcoming summer releases I know I'll want to read (almost entirely from authors I have read and enjoyed the previous summer) and start my holds for those books early but rarely (besides those two authors) more than 2 months in advance. My 10 holds are almost entirely filled right now with unreleased books so luckily I picked a few books for May that I can get off the shelf at my library branch until some May release holds start moving.
Not only do I semi-obsessively plan my reading but I also track it in a variety of ways. I've used Goodreads since 2011 to track everything I'm reading and keep it very up to date with what I am reading and what I've finished. I keep my monthly lists in my bullet journal as well as adding unplanned finished books to that page. I also keep my monthly lists in the library app as well as writing them down in my bullet journal. This helps me remember what I'm reading next when I'm not at home (sometimes I AM at work and want to know what else I plan to read this month!). I'm on my second 5 year journal to write down everything I've read and watched in a day as well as miles run, vacations, any life events (even just "1st 2 hour delay of school year" or "1st soccer game", etc.). I have a recurring tasks for Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to update my bullet journal and 5 year journal. I also do monthly reading recaps here on the blog and on Fridays I review everything I've finished in Goodreads.
By the time I read 10 hours a week, as well as plan my reading, track my reading, manage my own library holds (I'll do a whole other posts about managing my kids' reading lives), and blog about what I've read...this reading hobby takes up more time than I even realized. I didn't start with this much planning and tracking although I would highly recommend tracking your reading in some form (Goodreads is a good place to start, I have 3/5 of my sisters on there!) just to see how many and what you read.
Reading is largely self-care for me. It helps calm my busy brain like very few other things can. I feel more centered when I can sit and focus on reading for a good chunk of time. It expands my world view to people who are living lives differently than mine, either at different periods of time, in different locations, or just making different life choices. Non-fiction has taught me countless things about myself, how to parent better, how to spend my time and is constantly inspiring me. Of course I've had many influential people in my life (my parents, my husband, etc.) but reading has also helped turn me into the person I am. It's something I largely do for myself and has been a constant nearly my whole life. It's not a stretch to say I'd be a different person if I didn't read.
Hobbies: Puzzles
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