August 10, 2023

“How can you read so many books?” I’m often asked.

A few months ago a friend wondered if I read as many as 50 books a year, and I felt a bit sheepish when I said, “Actually, this past year I read 150.”

How is that possible? Well, again, sheepishly I admit I often read, instead of doing something else I should make more time for in my life, like walking and other exercise. I suppose I could listen to audio books then, however, and my book totals would not change that much.

I am a fast reader and sometimes I exhort myself to slow down. I know I sometimes miss something I would appreciate more if I took my time, but oh well.

I think one reason I am able to read so many books is that I only read what I want to read. I quickly discard a book and move on, if it doesn’t grab me right away. I’m not willing to suffer through a book that doesn’t appeal to me when I could be reading a book that absorbs me. Perhaps that is why I am no longer interested in being in a book group–I want to read what I want to read. Yes, I know by making a quick “yes/no” decision I miss out on reading something that would have become memorable, but oh well…

Reading is a pleasurable habit. It is an integral part of my life–not just an add on when there is nothing else to do. While I have always loved to read and considered it one of life’s great pleasures, I have not always been able to read to the degree I can now.

Reading More as I Age

Last Saturday I had a busy hometending day: making a grocery list and then grocery shopping, making a batch of pesto with basil from our garden, doing some laundry, and cleaning the first floor of the house.

In the past I would have moved determinedly from one task to another and not thought much about it. Just a normal hometending day, but now what I need to do is to pace myself. I need to pause between tasks and take a break.

For example, when I had put away the groceries and harvested the basil, I grabbed my book and read for 20 minutes before getting out the food processor and the pesto ingredients. Then after making the pesto and putting away what I used, doing a quick washing of the counters, I moved back into the snug for more reading time.

That back and forth continued until the kitchen and bathroom were scrubbed clean and I had put away the vacuum cleaner and other cleaning supplies. The house looked fresh, AND I had read a big chunk of the mystery I was currently reading.

In my younger version of myself, I would have done all the required tasks, bing, bing, bing, still leaving enough energy to write a blog post or some letters or work on an essay or take a walk or whatever. Not anymore.

I am trying to pay attention to my energy levels and to match those to what I feel I must or need to do. And while I still manage to accomplish a great deal, I need to spread tasks over more time. I need to pace myself and build in more rest and recovery time.

And the winner of this new state of being is more time for reading!!!!! Yahoo!

An Invitation

Are you reading more or less as you age? I would love to know.

Special Request:

I am writing an article for BookWomen about keeping a book journal and TBR (To Be Read) lists. I would love to hear from you about the ways you keep track of what you read or want to read. OR if you don’t record your reading life, why not? Do you use Good Reads or another online method? Do you have a physical book dedicated to book lists? What else do you keep track of in your reading life? Number of pages read? A summary of each book read? Do you give books stars to evaluate what you’ve read? I would love to learn it all.

Send me an email at nagneberg48@gmail.com and do it soon, please. I have an August 20th deadline, so I am working on this now.

Thanks to all of you who have responded already. I plan to reply to you individually, by the way, but in the meantime I am grateful to you.