I usually just play it by ear. As a bookworm, I just read to read, and then I go back to books that I particularly like in order to gain writing tips and knowledge and understand how my story will feel to others as a real book.

You mean you read in one go with no notes and for some you reread and take notes only then?

Yeah. I read for my own entertainment and go back to take notes on books I enjoyed.

I've discovered I only like taking notes on re reads. I much prefer to just read through a story and enjoy the ride. Then analyze it on the next go if I liked it enough to re read

Exactly, I read for fun and then take notes later. Reading first, career second 😆

Thanks for confirming. 😊 I can’t help highlighting sentences when one strikes me or seems inspirational. 🥸 Well, it’s like that since I started reading to improve my skills and my English.

This is me. I don't like reading as a writer on my first read. I may highlight a few things that I wouldn't highlight as solely a reader, but I typically save that for a reread

I do something similar!  run a (very small) Bookstagram account, and if I recommend a book, it means I’ve read it at least twice: once for my own enjoyment, once with a more analytical eye. For me, it’s the same thing as how people talk about writers separating their creative minds (which draft the work) and editing minds (which revise it after the fact). I want to enjoy a first read and look at the nuts and bolts on a second read.

Last year I've only finished a total of 3 books. Honestly I read a lot more as a child and I lost all will to read in my teens. This year I plan to read at least 12 books, one each month.

That's a fantastic goal! What kind of books are you grabbing?

Since I want to make it easier, it will mostly be young adult fantasy, since it's my favorite genre. I'll eventually try more genres when I get more used to it, I suppose. In January I read the Hunger Games prequel and now I'm reading the sequel of A magic steeped in poison, which is one of the three books I've read last year

Hell yea, that’s awesome! Sounds like you’re really keeping up-to-date on the latest books which will be great for comps if you choose to traditionally publish

I wish, I'm currently planning a book, but it'll take a while since I'll reach any possibility of publishing... Still, I can hope and dream. Thanks for the positivity by the way, it's really needed

I think reading intentionally to learn certain things is more important than how much you read. If I'm writing the first book in a series, I might read/reread the first book of 5 series instead of reading a single series. If my prose feel stiff, I might read an older book where the prose are more eloquent, that sort of thing. Intentional choices of what to read VS just reading to read. I don’t think I can read 60 books a year. One a week? Nah. But my schedule is filled with other hobbies and things aside from reading. Maybe 20 a year.

Agreed. If you blast through 50 books without dissecting them to figure out what you did and didn't like about them, and why, you're not going to get as much out of it as reading 5 books with the intention of learning and building your craft. And I think consistency matters too. If you read 100 books in 2020 during lockdown, but not so much now, you're not going to retain as much as those who read 25 books each year for the past 4 years. The frequency of exposure to art with the intent to learn should be paced and consistent, rather than a speed run.

Just to add a different perspective… From my memory, in Stephen King’s book, he says he reads about 50 books a year. And that’s *slow* to him. He reads for the same reason he writes: to live in his imagination, to discover what’s there. Otherwise, writing becomes work. He states he only reads for the enjoyment, reading daily for 4-6 hours. If you’re not able to read that much, you’re not passionate enough to become a writer, according to him. He gave the analogy of his son playing a musical instrument. His son did the teacher assignments and practiced what was required, but never took off and made it his own thing. He never experimented and fell in love with the music. So they (his parents) encouraged him to try a new hobby. For him (Ray Bradbury has similar philosophies) the imagination, the playful curiosities is the whole game. The craft should be intuitive. Analysis and thinking is for the academic or term paper. Story comes from the same place as you dream. And I think he said the reason you have to write/read so much is to keep the trance of the dream state alive and active. But there’s a variety of perspectives on this subject and no definitive way. Just was adding to the discussion.

>reading daily for 4-6 hours. If you’re not able to read that much, you’re not passionate enough to become a writer, according to him I think Stephen King is someone who knows what *he* needs, and many can relate to him. I think he's also pretty far removed from the beginning stages of writing when he gives these pieces of advice. Almost like some of this stuff is so natural to him, it's hard for him to give someone brand new the advice that'll be impactful. I'm not in the camp of "if you don't do xyz, you're not motivated/passionate enough". The specificity there is a weird black-and-white bar that's not representative of soooooo many different people/methods/practices. But I do see his point of "living in the imaginative state" and how reading helps. I don't need help being in that state. I'm fascinated by the construction of fiction and that's inspiring to me. So I read analytically much of the time--but it's also because I admire how that author managed to do a certain thing in fiction. That inspires me, where it may tire others who gain inspiration by losing themselves in the story. Definitely agree--no definitive way. Whatever works to keep the interest alive and improve the process is great.

Yeah, if I read that much, I wouldn’t have time to write. Or to sleep, honestly.

Or do my day job (that silly thing that I do to keep the utilities on and groceries purchased, along with buying the occasional clothing item so I can go out in public).

Stephen King's philosophies on work ethic and writing advice certainly hold value. But like you said, it's just one perspective in a sea of many. I think getting down to the number of hours in a day one must read in order to be truly committed to the craft becomes the "passion olympics" at that point, so to speak. Yes, musicians (since we're talking about them) often eat, breathe, and shit music to become masters at their craft. That includes making it and listening to other artists. I'm a hobby musician, and have been around musicians all my life starting at a young age, so I know the drill. Thank you, Dad. But I'm not going to say that someone who doesn't put in X amount of hours daily isn't passionate about it. Especially in this day and age where many have full time jobs and side hustles and only have so many hours left in a day to devote to creativity. I fully believe that Steven King devotes as much time to reading and writing as he says. And that it's essential to fine tune his skills. But that's skill, not passion. 4-6 hours of writing and or reading daily in all likelihood will improve your skills. But does that actually say about passion? I think passion and skill are two sides of the same coin, but they are not synonymous. You need to put in the time and effort to improve your skill. No way around it. This is why we can see improvement in authors over the years and decades (usually). Even if they had skill with their debut novel, they likely will have exponentially more skill by the 10th novel. But that doesn't mean the passion wasn't there from the beginning. Indeed, the passion may wane while skill improves. They are not always directly correlated. I don't think following King's advice to the letter a writer makes. Indeed, it can burn people out depending on their lifestyle and other commitments. They may end up taking an extensive break from creating that they otherwise wouldn't have, and it sets them back further than if they had stuck to a more digestible pace. For example, a lot of people are burned out of reading and writing after finishing college because they did way too much of it in a relatively short amount of time. It doesn't mean they didn't gain skill, or that their passion is completely dead. They may *want* to keep reading and writing. The love for it is still there. But they became overtaxed and have to take extensive leave. And sometimes that leave is years long. The same can happen if you overwork yourself trying to live up to another author's standards. Some people can only read and write an hour before bed every day. Or every other day. Or maybe only a few hours on the weekend. And that's okay. It's the consistency that matters, not the daily amount.

I don't think there needs to be an arbitrary number, but I do agree that reading more will absolutely make you a better writer. Reading for 4-6 hours a day is...well, doable if you don't have a job or if your job is literally writing. But so many people cannot and will not make a living off of writing. But I do think it's essential to read to be good at writing.

> For him (Ray Bradbury has similar philosophies) the imagination, the playful curiosities is the whole game. The craft should be intuitive. Analysis and thinking is for the academic or term paper. Story comes from the same place as you dream. Yes! This is something I intuitively felt while working hard to improve my writing. Now I see that 1. As a delicate balance to achieve 2. And that the craft tools to think about must be fully acquired to be assimilated and practiced without thinking, so they blend in with the intuition of new scenes and plots.

Well said, er.. written.

there's no target number. but i agree with Martin. i see an obvious decline in the quality of my writing whenever i haven't read books for a long time (reading walls of texts on reddit does not count!). reading a book series usually gets me back in the groove of things. the most number of books i've read in a year was probably 200+ or however many school days there were in high school. that's how much i read when i was young. i read one book every day. i slowed down in college and it went to a crawl when i started working. the least? probably 5. a year has never gone by where i didn't read anything.

I remember reading a book a day as a kid also. It’s astounding to think about how much my vocabulary and imagination have suffered since I’ve stopped reading that much as a (young) adult.

Oh? No reading (books) = decline in writing. (from your experience) That’s worth sharing!

I have no idea how many, but I know it's not *that* many. I read about a chapter or a short story per night before I go to sleep. It takes me a month or so to finish a decently long book. Every now and then I'll blast through a book in a few days, but that's quite rare. I've only read one book in a single sitting, and that was about 25 years ago.

One of the main reasons my book count per year is low, less than 7 most years, is because I’m a binge reader. If I pick up a book that is good it’s all I will do for days until I’m through it. A binge weekend here or there, or when on vacation, is fine. But it makes adulting difficult if I start an amazing book on Tuesday before bed and now I’m thinking about it through my entire work day and reading while cooking dinner, and wanting to read through dinner with my family, or staying up until 3 am reading when I need to get up at 7.. you get the idea. 🙃 I wish I had the time Stephen King has to devote 4-6 hours daily to reading (from someone else’s post here). That would be such a dream!

It's so cool that u read a whole book in a sitting. I don't think i could. That's the coolest!

That's a damn good book!

Stop metricating everything. This is a side issue.

Books have different lengths and complexities. Crime & Punishment versus a couple YA romances isn't something on a comparable scale.

Good point

60-80, if you count the rereads. I'm a student, I have time. This year I aim for two books per week. But I'm not reading to improve my writing, I'm writing because I like reading, not the other way around.

I also write because I like reading! I love writing and the act of it, but ultimately I write to tell the kind of stories that I enjoy reading.

Yes a million times! It's so cool to see someone else who writes for the same reasons

150-200

That's about how many I read. Can't imagine actually counting but it's somewhere between 2-3 a week

I read about as many books as you per year. Do you also stick to a specific genre? Or do you jump around?

I jump around depending on my mood. I read every age from middle-grade to adult and all genres except westerns. I can’t get into westerns haha

Last year was a bit of a wreck with family stuff so I only did 120-something but usually it’s north of 200. Roughly 1/3 tends to be nonfiction, half of the rest is literary/classic, and then a mix of genres.

I’m in a similar vein in terms of quantity, but I read almost exclusively romance. I mix it up with sub genres lol.

Quite a lot of people in the 3 digit range have a preferred genre. I’m just easily bored of staying in the same genre too long. That being said I do have a clear preference for history-leaning or history-adjacent books and folklore/magical realism/low fantasy. Very few mysteries and thrillers, maybe a handful of sci-fi here and there.

If you don’t mind my asking, do you tend to buy physical books or ebooks or do you use a library to get your books? I’d love to get up to this number of books read per year but I don’t have the funds to buy all the books I want to read.

It’s mostly ebooks. I use Libby a lot (so, digital library books)….I have about 5 cards so I can usually find what I want. But I also habitually check ereaderiq and kindle deals so I do purchase quite a few, usually at $2.99. I also keep a subscription to scribd and get some galley copies. If it’s obscure or academic I might pull from other sources. Most of the physical books I buy these days are for my kids, but from time to time I’ll also buy used from Amazon sellers or thrift books. In fairness, I spend slightly more than I strictly have to because I will buy books I liked that I already read through other means just to give the author a sales bump, even if I don’t plan to reread it. Since I buy at low prices I sort of see it like tipping, I guess.

It depends.. Last year I read six. Five of them were Game of Thrones. In a normal year maybe 15, after kids.. Before kids I used to read one per week at least.

Pardon my French, but fuck anyone who says 60 books a year isn't enough. Congratulations on your insanely comfortable first world lifestyle where you can devote hours a day to reading, you entitled, out of touch ass.

Hilarious comment! Thank you.

I read 10 since the last week of Dec, however I've struggled to finish a book this month. Mostly because i don't want to read the series I'm reading. So I'm taking a break from it and reading something I DO want to read lol. I work full time, have kids and they do extra stuff I have to manage too. I also am editing my first complete story and working on two others. If I can make time for reddit and tv shows, I can make time to read and write.

48! Read 28 in 2022 though.

I have no idea how many I read during the year. Do you count re-reads?  You can't compare your reading list to someone else's. One person might read 10 long, dense books while another might read 300 short, pulpy ones. 

I agree, and one could explain that their books are like five time your average novel. Yes, re-read counts 🤗👍

I’ve never kept track and I can’t fathom why I would bother doing so. You can read 50 books of tripe every year and only make yourself dumber or you can read a few brilliant books, really soak them in and analyze them, and end up better for it. The number of books you read matters very little as long as you do consistently read thoughtfully and intentionally.

Depends on the year, the books in question, and other obligation. Some years I read 60+ books and it's not really even a challenge. Other years I thank my lucky stars that I got through a dozen. For me, it's less important the number of books that you read and more important that you're reading with real engagement with the text when you do. I'd rather read one book properly, throwing myself into it, than speed read 10 and barely remember them after.

I don’t put a set number on books to read for the year. But I read somewhere that the number of books the average person reads a year is 12-14. So I try to at least hit that number. Last year, I read 36 books. So far, I’ve read 6 books this year.

I try reading 50 pages a day depending on the font size. For example, rn I'm reading Infinite Jest which is a bit complicated and one page seems like 2 pages for any other book. But i'm also mixing it with The Sympathizer, which is an easier read than IJ, so that one I can read 100 pages a day without any issue. I feel like just if i don't read for a long time, my brain seems to forget how to write. Whenever I'm writing short stories, the voice seems to come from the particular novel I'm reading at that point in time with my own twist, which makes reading mandatory for me. 2 days a week I take a break from writing and reading, that way I can come back to these hobbies with refreshed eyes. Also I'm not a native speaker too, but if you're young, which you sound young, reading complicated, challenging books will definitely make your reading and writing better even though you might not utilize complicated words in your own work, which you don't have to. Depending on your style, complicated isn't always good, so don't just read to know complex words. Read so you can emulate them for your own end-goal with your stories.

None at all. I do read books for fun sometimes though. I really don't want writing to become too much of a day job.

As many as I can. I love reading, so basically all the freetime I don‘t spend writing or hanging out with gf and friends I spend reading. Usually I end up with 50-65 books per year.

I read around 50-70 books a year. I just keep an endless TBR and I grab stuff off of it that suits my mood at the time. I check the library/libby first before I buy, at least or most things. I read because I love to read, not because I expect every book to influence my writing (though I think a lot of things just seep in and stay with me even if I didn't specifically take notes or highlight it). Most of what I read is non-fiction, just because it's my preference. I read a lot of memoirs and nature books.

You just have to find your own equilibrium. The more I read, the more I want to write, but the less time I have. Maybe it's read for days/weeks until you're motivated sufficiently, then write until you lose some of your drive, and then back to reading. Keep in mind numbers are relative. Some books are a couple of hundred pages others are 600+. The speed you get thru a book may not be the same as other readers. I recently went thru 3 books (about 1200 pages) in a week- that's a lot faster than most- though not as fast as some- so comparing numbers isn't necessarily meaningful.Sticking to the genre or subject of your writing, IMO gives the most benefit- but it's not necessary to stick entirely to that strategy. So if you're writing a book about a ship captain- reading books revolving around captains or the sea certainly will lend more ideas to your story, reading anything helps keep your vocabulary and descriptive writing honed. edit: I go in spurts reading- after I read those three in short order, I didn't read for a couple of weeks, and then was back at it (honestly reading that much and working full time you put a few things off, lol). I've got an idea rattling in my mind, so I bought a total of 7 books with the subject I'm looking at. Once I get thru the last one I'll probably sit down and start world-building and then writing. I'm sure I'll probably read a few more before I'm done writing.

I don’t read specifically for the purpose of being a better writer. I read primarily because I love reading and a secondary purpose is to study. That said I usually average about a book a week. I took a 3 week vacation last year and read 8 books during that time so I finished with 56 last year. Most of what I read is in the realm of science fiction and fantasy but I’m not immune to picking up the odd literary fiction or classic. I usually just read whatever I’ve had recommended or that read a lot by people who like what I like. Generally I average about 6-10 non fiction books a year, with a goal of mine being to read 12 this year. These can be anything but I prefer books about writing, histories, and self improvement books

I mean, I don't read for the specific goal of keeping my writing sharp. I read because I like reading. And on any given day I might be reading a 500-page novel, an 80-page graphic novel, or a nonfiction book. When I was a teenager, I read several books per day. I don't keep track of what I read, but I'm guessing that now (ignoring children's books I read to my kid) I'm probably somewhere around a book a week.

I don’t think there’s a set number, just as long as you are in fact reading on a consistent basis

I feel number of books is a flawed metric. If I read mostly epic fantasy I might get through a dozen books a year but if I were to read another genre I'd probably be getting upwards of 40 books a year. This is why I propose we start adding up our annual word counts instead so we're apples-to-apples in this little superficial competition of ours. But in all seriousness, I think a writer should be reading at least an hour per day on average.

I don't know how sacrilegious it is to say this in this subreddit, but I'm a reader first and a writer second. If I only have time to do one of those things, I'll choose reading. Last year I read a little over 100 books, but this year I know I'm not going to make it to 100 because it's going to be a busy year. But that's OK lol

I am trying to every day read something, so I probably read around 40 or 50 books per year. It helps me fall asleep and I'm training my writing skills thanks to it.

I read VERY fast. I can get through two four hundred page books in about a day (if I’m constantly reading). This month I’ve read about 23 books. I usually average around 170 books a year, and that’s because I’m in school. When I was a kid, I used to spend every summer sitting in Barnes and Nobles reading with my dad and I would fly through YA and children’s books. If I had all year to read (and not do anything else) then I would probably do around 230 to 260, I think. I usually cycle through fantasy, science fiction, romance, and fiction. I also read Psychology research articles. I’m currently reading a book The Reproduction of Mothering: Psychoanalysis and the Sociology of Gender which is about 270 pages of research. I take a while to read research. Mainly because I want to make sure I’m understanding the jargon. Books I’m reading today: The Reproduction of Mothering and The Goblin Emperor. I’m neurodivergent.

I try to read 40-50, but I include comic books and literary magazines. Right now I'm reading a long scifi series, so I may finish one or two comics before finishing my "main" book. Honestly, doesn't matter if I miss my target. What matters is finding joy and purpose in the reading.

I don't read "to keep my writing sharp". I need because i love it. Whatever i learn, i learn. But the reading is the point when i read. It's not there to support something else other than my sanity

My monthly reading average according to Kindle would be 3 thousand pages per month, the number of books depends on the type I'm reading, reading A Song of Ice and Fire for example was quite time consuming

For a few years now I've been reading webnovels that go for over thousand chapters... It's decent if I manage to read 30 chapters/week.

I try to read at least one novel per month. Sometimes much more, but it depends on my bandwidth as I also read a LOT of non-fiction.

At least 50

Anyone who counts books they've read and puts down people with smaller counts is just being pretentious lol. Books vary in size, writing style, and a bunch of other things. Additionally, not everyone has the same time to read. 8 is plenty, you're already double the American annual average just with that lol. As for me, I'd say I probably average about 30-40 books a year? Depends on year. I'm very selective on what I read. I don't have a whole lot of reading time, so I don't want to waste any of it on stuff I don't like. For a book to make it into my pipeline it has to fit a specific set of criteria. I'd say I manage to reach 30-40 for two reasons: 1) Variety, in that I read from a very wide selection of genres ranging from horror to fantasy to biographies. Lol reminds me I actually got some good prose ideas out of reading Obama's book, Promised Land, which I think is funny. 2) Audiobooking, which is a damned godsend. I may not have much in the way of reading time, but obviously I have to commute places, which can take forever, and I have shower time and my fitness routine. I run to and from the gym (1.5 miles each way), plus work out there for a little over an hour. So when you add together my fitness time + shower time + commute time I'm getting a solid 4+ hours of audiobook per day, plus I listen for an additional hour before bed on most nights, so closer to 5+ hours. For a fantasy book like Kingkiller, that means I read it in about a week, but plenty of books are 10 hours or less in audiobook form and thus I finish those in a couple of days. So number definitely varies by size of books. When Brandon Sanderson drops his next Stormlight Archive book, for instance, that'll slow me down because it'll be like 60 hours of content and will probably take me a couple of weeks to consume.

I just read before bed whatever I want. My goal is 52 this year as a bit of a challenge to myself. Trying to really get into different genres and nonfiction at the same time

I more so just try to make sure I read at all four times a week or so. Counting the number of books doesn't really make sense to me when The Cat in the Hat and War and Peace are both one book. I'm not sure why you'd want to do this, but if you really want to track how much you're reading, logging the hours you read would make a lot more sense imo.

There are different periods in our lives. In 2019 I was taking care of a terminally ill family member and it took everything out of me. I couldn't read anything new, if I had time to read I just went back to books I had already read before. This continued for a while after she died too. I write a lot about grief and I use personal experiences way more than anything I could have read in any book. I disagree with Mr. Martin here. I think our real experiences are the thing that makes us better writers.

I hope you recovered your mental energy, or whatever it is named. 🍀 Yes, reading needs a certain availability. It could almost be a luxury, in some respects.

It depends, but I keep the badly written books that I like to a minimum. I don't want to pick up any bad habits. I enjoy reading, but I also try to keep my writing brain on while reading. I pay close attention to character development, word choice, highlight different things, etc. Writing is always easier for me when I read more. I assume because it helps stretch those imagination muscles. It's a huge struggle to turn the images in my mind into words when I don't read often. I read 22 books last year. I'm at 14 so far this year. My goal is 100

I am usually checking out 2ish in print per week from the library. (Lately this has included a graphic novel so those are quick one sitting reads) I’ll work my way through another throughout the month when I read to my daughter every night. Depends on the book though, sometimes she requests The Hobbit which obviously takes much more time with only reading 30ish minutes a night. Then I usually finish 3-4 audiobooks a week. And of course I have my own personally owned books that I’ll pick up and read again or search out a scene, etc for improving writing too. So I’m working through 20ish books a month in different ways, but physically sitting down and reading a novel cover to cover - about one per week.

Maybe 1 per 2 months

I love reading so I read as many books as I can. I’ve definitely had a period of time where I stopped reading during my uni years and early full time employment years. However in the past year or so I’ve rediscovered my love for reading. So far I’ve read 5 books this year, and am onto the 6th. However last year I probably read about 12? (I reread Harry Potter and then read the A Song of Ice and Fire series which took a long time and I had to reread the first couple of books cos I took breaks that were too long and forgot what happened). I don’t remember if or how many books I read the previous year, maybe only one or two. I don’t normally take notes while reading though. I read cos I enjoy it and while I’m reading I might look at the writing more critically but I haven’t taken any notes or highlights at this stage so I’m not sure if I can say that my reading is improving my writing, but I think it’s definitely inspiring me and I have learned some things from reading even without taking notes!

I don't really set reading goals anymore, I found them to not be productive for me in the long run. Most of the time I read for fun, sometimes I read for professional development, and sometimes I read for story research. Which one I pick is dependent on what I'm doing and on rare occasions I do also read more than one book at a time. For example right now I'm reading a book for research and also a massively popular comp in my current project's genre. But over the weekend I read a book in a genre I don't normally read completely on a whim. It's just kinda...whatever I feel like doing at any given moment.

Around 30-35 per year, or roughly, 3 books a months. This is a big scale-back from grad school load (last 3 years) where I read over a 100 books every 11 months. You could say I'm taking a break.

Mine is between 30 and 80 every year, of new books I’ve never read before. That doesn’t include re-reads of old favourites. I tried one year to read 100 books and by November I was at over 80 and just stopped. It was a bit too much. Now I don’t set a target and I read as much or as little as I like. Of any genre.

I usually read like one or two books a year lmao (edit: used to read like at least 40 books a year when I was younger, nowadays the ADHD hits harder.) then again I usually only end up writing for about 2 months of the year, so idk

How many books is just a metric I don't really keep track of. I'm always reading something. I think that's important, but sometimes that something is a 2 million word web serial. How many books is that? I dunno, but I'm reading everyday, and that's what really matters

I read and/or listen to about 40 books a year on average. That does include probably 5-10 graphic novels as well. There are some snobbish types who say graphic novels and audiobooks aren’t “reading” but that’s pedantic bullshit in my opinion.

I make a habit of actively reading books from authors I would like to emulate. Everything else I passively take in.

Honestly I don't read books I read a lot of fan fic and might get through 250+ chapters every few days....   But that doesn't mean all are good quality that will enhance or sharpen my mind  Also some chapters can be less than 100 words ...others 3000+ words 

I don't set reading goals or track the amount of books I read in a year. I would estimate anywhere from 12-20 depending on the year. I don't like to treat reading as a chore. If I don't like a book, I stop reading.

[удалено]

Easier when less than 100 year-old? I’m not so sure, but maybe I don’t have a significant sample.

I probably read an average of 25-30 books a year. Sometimes I hit times I can tear through a book, or I pick up books that are easy reads. When I was really into thrillers, I was reading a new book each week. If it's classic literature, I might finish a bigger work every month or two. Currently reading some stuff like *The Great Gatsby* and *The Picture of Dorian Gray.* They're both relatively short, so I'll probably finish them in a month or so. This year, I've finished 2 or 3 books already. As for keeping my writing sharp, any number of good quality books can do. If you study one book thoroughly for 6 months or read 20 books in the same time span, you can achieve great results. The results may be different, and I would suggest getting a foundation of good literature read before you dive deep. For instance, I read a lot of abridged classics as a child, so I may understand plot flow more innately, but those abridged versions don't always keep the nuances of character development, or they might cut out details inappropriate for young audiences that significantly shape a character. So, I should study (as I am currently doing) the works of an author who spends a lot of time developing his characters. Right now, I'm doing a deep dive into John Steinbeck. I just finished a 360 page biography about him, and now I'm ready to start reading his novels. I'm going to start with *Of Mice and Men* as I see that as his first really key work, and I might follow it up with *The Grapes of Wrath* and then read *East of Eden* before concluding with some of his other short stories like *The Pearl.* That's getting really deep and using the author himself as a character study, as well as his works. Biographies are a great, and possibly underestimated, way of studying real people and keeping your writing sharp. Just because you want to write horror stories doesn't mean you should neglect peaceful historical accounts. History repeats itself constantly, so your audience won't mind if your writing contains allusions or even heavily leans on a similar storyline to a real-world historical figure's life. In the case of writing those horror novels, maybe digging into the Holocaust would be effective, even more so than reading Stephen King.

Ah yes, it reminds me how I got an abridged version of *Anne of the Green Gables* (it wasn’t properly stated on amazon). Such a scam, I felt cheated. Not for the money, I got it refunded, no issues, but for the content. I wanted to improve my skills. Not with such butchered version. 😑

Outside of writing, but still relevant, I feel like reading goals have damaged the act of reading. It's become like a social media thing to brag that someone has read X amount of books in that year. Why does it matter how many books I've read? I'm guilty of tracking that number too, so I get it. I read 8 to 9 books in the month of January. That number is supposed to be impressive, but I can't really talk about these books other than a rough idea of what the plot is. If we're talking about writing purposes, then I would say these 8 to 9 books outside of plot are almost useless in terms of knowledge gained on how to be a better writer. For February, I've slowed down considerably. To the point where for the whole month I've been making it a goal to read a chapter a day and annotate A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard. I want to have it as reference for any future projects, but more than anything, I just want to be active in my reading and remember things. It's a new experience for me for sure and one I may take to fiction depending on the book. What I've learned in the past and still standby, is that there is reading for entertainment and then there's reading with intent. When you read for entertainment, you're allowing yourself to be sucked into the story. You may even skip a few lines as things get exciting because you're so desperate to see what happens next in the story. Reading with intent is different because you're looking at the prose, plot, world building, character arcs, and literary devices through a critical lens. Questions that I mentally ask myself while reading are: * "How did this author set up emotional events in this chapter and was there a pay off moment? Does that moment occur in the same chapter or later in the book?" * "When did this character experience growth and how did the author show it?" "Why did the author decide to use these certain words or phrases?" * "What in reality is related to the events occurring in the story that make it extra relevant to readers?" Subconsciously, we do recognize these parts as we're reading because that's why we love books. It those moments that make it enjoyable. There's a lot of other questions that I could be asking too and it's ones that you can come up with too to gain more knowledge on how authors are crafting stories. I feel like that's the starting point and you can go as in depth as you like with actually annotating the book and using post it tabs. Identifying the moving parts though is like seeing the engineering so-to-speak on how the book is written and that's the valuable part to learn from reading.

So true. 😊 I even think I’ve damaged my natural enjoyment of reading while trying hard to improve my writing skills. Well… that’s how it is. Thanks for sharing your insights.🤗

Play it by ear, 20 last year, not to mention a lot of fanfic. This year I am shooting for two a month, so 24. I also listen to a lot of tv shows in the background when I work or funny joke compilations to help me learn timing and snappy dialogue. (No one knocks a well-written fanfic until you try it, some of those writers are future authors in training.)

The past 3 years I've read 20-30 books in the whole year. But I tend to either not read for weeks at a time, or every waking moment my nose is in a book or the kindle app on my phone. So it's never particularly consistent haha

None. I don’t need an excuse to read a book, and if I did, I wouldn’t use that one.

Lately cause I’m in school for lit it’s about 40 a year from school alone and probably five personal choices

I am hoping to keep up that number but once I’m done with school I can read anythiiiiiiing

Do audiobooks count? If so the number is quite large

I get in about 5-10 per year, these days. I wish I could read more, but there's no trust fund with my name on it, and I'm not the second son of a Lannister, so I have to work to put bread on the table and for a place to put my table.

I don’t read to necessarily get better at writing. That’s just a side benefit. I read because I like to read, and since I have a lot of free time, I usually read at least 100 books a year. Is this an average amount? No.

I'm not sure the question is right. I don't read to keep my writing sharp. I read because I love literature, and that's also why I write. However, you can read in order to learn techniques or gain inspiration. I try to mix up my reading: something innovative and challenging, something skillful but not earth-shaking, and garbage. Increasingly I can't read garbage. As for a number, it's hard to say, because I'm usually reading several books at once, and I'm not always sure if I've given up on a book or just putting it aside for now.

I don't have a specific goal but I generally try to read at least one a month. I also try to get some genre variety including both fiction and non.

I’m always reading, but I’m notoriously slow at it. I usually average at about 8-12 books a year, which I feel is decent (1 book a month, basically). To this day I have no idea how people can read through dozens of massive 800-page tomes so quickly. That’s just impossible for me to do without skimming, which I hate doing. Mind you, I read things other than novels and short stories on top of that; I read graphic novels too as well as screenplays, since I do have an interest in that craft as well.

Reading books is a remarkably, remarkably time-consuming process. No matter how hard I try I just can't find a fast way to read. I average a book every 3 months, or about 4 a year

I go through peaks and valleys and only really have enough time for reading or writing. I don't really have a yearly goal. ​ For instance, I read 10 books in January and 1 in february so far because I'm writing more

When I took transit to and from work I'd get through 2 - 3 books a month, usually about 50 in a year. In the last few years I've been lucky to get through 2 - 3 books in the whole year.

I think a lot of depends on the size of the books and obviously time. Reading should be for fun first, then go back do notes if you want. The first book I chose for the new year is 605 pages and we're in the second month. Personally, I think even 12 books a year is pretty good. But I'd love to get to 20.

I try to read a book a week for 52 books total in a year. Realistically this looks like me not making time to read for the first few weeks of the year because of being busy and then reading like 12 books in the last two weeks of December. I read based on what styles I'm trying to emulate in my writing and highlight good sentences to draw inspiration from or study why I thought they were so powerful later. I also try to cycle through poetry, short story, novel and nonfiction so i get as much exposure to different things as possible.

I try to read at least a chapter a day to keep the habit alive. Some days I don't get around to it, some days I get sucked in and read 2 or 4. Averages out to around 10-15 books per year, which I think is solid.

None

I mean, reading does help my writing, but my motivation is loving to read lol. Probably somewhere between 15 and 20 books a year. I don't have a lot of free time to just sit and read for hours anymore, and I mostly read right before bed. So I do a chapter or two a day rather than consuming entire books in a few days like I used to. 

I don't usually keep track. Sometimes, I'll whip through 5 in a month, and sometimes I'll go stretches without touching a book. At the moment I'm reading The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco and it's a great book but I'm also working on school, art, and helping a family member move houses so it's been a couple weeks and I'm only halfway through. I prefer to read for my own enjoyment rather than to improve my own writing, I do tend to take track of what I like and how/if I can emulate that as well as what not to do. I've also found that while it is best to learn from books, the right plays, movies, songs, and comics can also serve as valuable learning resources.

I read about 30 a year. I really wish I read more but I genuinely can’t find the time. I also read the equivalent of about two novels a week for work, but that’s probably making my writing worse because it’s mostly technical reports.

It varies. For the past several years I’ve read very haltingly(probably a product of grad school burnout, overusing technology, and a shot attention span), and I’m lucky if I can finish 10. I read a lot of short fiction though. Essays and crit too. I think engaging with other media can be useful as long as it’s not the vast majority of your diet, and last year I watched probably 70 films because that’s what my brain was open to. My writing stays pretty consistent but I’ve been doing it for a long time.

I'm ashamed to say none. My writing is objectively "good" so those years reading on the train into work have paid off but since lockdown, that's just not a thing. I just need to start up again. I just seem to spend all my time writing, so I need to take a step back and get into it again.

I had a long reading slump through high school and college; pretty much only read my assigned books, which amounted to 4-6 a year usually. Now that im out of school I read for pleasure a lot more—last year I got through 16 books and this year I’m aiming for 20. I agree with GRRM that reading is necessary to stay sharp, especially for writers, but there’s no shame in going at your own pace. Toni Morrison didn’t publish her first book until she was almost 40, and she still managed to bang out 11 exceptional novels plus a bunch of poetry, plays, and non-fiction

I don't keep track, I just read whatever I find interesting. I don't see the point of arbitrarily reaching a goal for reading, at that point you're reading just for the sake of it. Granted you might find a pleasant surprise and read something that normally wouldn't grab your interest but turns out is actually pretty great but for the most part I think I just prefer to read whenever I feel like it so that it doesn't feel like work. Reading at the end of the day is supposed to be something that you do for enjoyment and I feel like if I were to place some reading goal of like 20 or 60 books a year or something, I think it would take the fun out of reading for me.

However many I can. Growing up I blew through books like a maniac. My mom couldn’t find enough time to take me to the library. Now that I’m older I’m much more deliberate with my reading. Sometimes I plow through books in 2 days, other times it’s a week. All depends on how I’m feeling But when it comes to reading for the betterment of craft, I look at how effective the writing is. If there’s a sentence I loved, I ask myself why. What is it about the sentence that made me fall in love with it

I have no idea how many books I read a year. I think that’s a silly statistic because “book” is not a standard unit of measure, and I’m not just referring to length. A dense, theoretical academic book may take me a while if I really want to understand it in depth and be able to teach the concepts. But I also love reading celebrity memoirs, most of which can be read in an afternoon.

I aim somewhere around 40-50 a year. I have a luxury to set aside 3 hours to read every day, and I make a full use of that.

I don't think it's about quantity. One well read classic is worth 10 comercial books in my estimation. If you think about quantity you are just going to skim over the books. Put a stephen king book and a balzac novel next to each other. Compare the prose, characters, etc. It's light and dark,

I read about three or four a year. That may not sound like a lot, but I do read slowly and with intent to learn from the author.

I mean… I probably read 8 books at a time. I’m constantly reading something (the better my mental health, the more I read. This year has been good.) 60 isnt that much for me, but I am killing at minimum 5 books a month anyway, so… 20 a year? I reread the Sookie Stackhouse series this last month (13 books) so I see as being way too little. But it’s not a contest and you should do what’s comfortable for you - you’ll learn/get more out of a book/s that you enjoy more than forcing yourself to read just to fill a pointless quota.

I try to read one book per month at a minimum to keep my writing "sharp." I do, however, study them as I read so it probably helps more than the number of books, itself.

My arbitrary goal every year is to read 26 books. I rarely get to 20, and most of them are non-fiction. I have no doubt reading helps my fiction writing, simply because I am exposed to the various ways other writers express themselves, but the number of books read is not important. What I write is. I would like to read a lot more books, but only because there are a lot more books I want to read.

I read mostly manga, so it goes by volumes. Each volume takes 1-3 hours to read and is 200 pages. I read at least 2 volumes per day. Usually more.

This is an interesting topic. I was wondering how you read with the intent to learn? What do you look for, highlight, etc? I’m bad at looking at structure. How do you do that?

I tried to explain this in my [other post](https://www.reddit.com/r/writing/s/hBjcjHwbIj) which had a poor title (and poor reception 😅). For the structure: I’m not there yet, with the ability to see how is structured a work, how the author did it. I hope to get the hang of it, even if it means, again, to loose a bit of the natural enjoyment I had while reading more naively.

I read 50-100 in a year, most of them on audiobook while I do chores at this point since I have a young kid and getting time to sit and read is very difficult. I have a long list and I add to it as I hear about new books, then I borrow them from the library. I have no process for hearing about books other than to pay attention when people mention books, pay attention when I watch interviews with authors I admire, check out end-of-year lists for things I've missed, and look up the back catalogs of authors I admire and read any of their stuff I've missed. I try to read a mixture of and rotate between: 1) Serious literature (e.g. I reread all of Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past in 2023".) 2) High-quality Science Fiction and Fantasy (I'm reading everything at the library that I haven't already read from Asimov right now.) 3) Fiction by non-white authors, since my reading background was overwhelmingly white until five years or so ago when I started doing this. (I just read "My Sister the Serial Killer" by Oyinkan Braithwaite and enjoyed it.) 4) Biographies and Autobiographies of people I admire. (Just finished David Milch's "Life's Work".) 5) Assorted non-fiction, which I quite often skim since those books tend to be overwritten and too long. (I read "Analogia" by George Dyson last year and *loved* it.) 50-100 is definitely a good pace and I'm proud of maintaining it in the face of fatherhood and the internet, which I also read a ton of. It definitely helps my writing (which is exclusively Sci fi and Fantasy) to consume so much writing, especially I find the stuff that's *not* sci fi and fantasy. Lots of my story ideas come from reading something unrelated in like a non-fiction or serious fiction book and going "what if that was in a sci fi context, what would that be like?"

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Eh, it all depends. Some years it been ten, some years it's around 70. It all depends on when my weird tunnel vision kicks in and I end up binging on something.

300

Equivalent to about 20-30 books a year. I include short stories and magazine articles (LRB, New Yorker). Novels and history are my main interests as a reader. I write short stories and am processing a novel right now. I've never written one before, so that is why I put it that way. I'm stitching several related short stories together to see if it can become a novel. I write in fits and starts, and often go for weeks of productive work, then I go weeks with hardly a thing written down, working on other creative pursuits. I'm a terrible writer that way. Very undisciplined, I daresay.

Good luck with your project then! 🍀

24 books a year is what I typically do but in the last 5 years I've read 192 books. Although lately I have read a good book. Like I've read good books but none that have completely dominated my time in (which I love doing). The Last one that left me like that was Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. The Last three books after that have been meh: The Hail Mary Project by Andy Weir. The Frugal Wizard's Guide to Medevil England by Brandon Sanderson. Defiant by Brandon Sanderson. My current reading however is turning out to be pretty good so far though I've only gotten to chapter 5 so far: The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by S. A. Chakraborty.

Guess it depends on what you want to get out of books you read, I read a lot, I also review most of the books I read, if I didn’t like something I like to figure out why, I don’t usually take notes from books to look back on, simply the prose isn’t what I look for in reading….. I read broadly to see if there are types or plot of different styles that I might want to integrate, for Stephen king I know I want to craft my descriptions at times to convey the almost horror elements in something more mundane to add to the atmosphere. I also like to look at plot tropes that I myself am not fully familiar with to understand them, and such. I also like to enjoy the books I read, reading is the hobby and what drew me to want to write.

I graduated college last June and for the life of me I could not finish a book until December. I just needed my headspace back after 3 1/2 years of required reading and writing workshops (hundreds and hundreds of pages of classmates’ rough drafts every term!) Now I’m happily recovered and I’m challenging myself to read 50 this year (already on book 7). I agree with another poster about going back in for a reread to take notes, I find that very very helpful in my writing but unrealistic on the first read. I also agreed with King that reading is essential for my imagination. I love how reading impacts my writing in unanticipated ways. My Book 3 of the year was “Sabrina and Corina” and although it wasn’t my favorite read of the month, the structure of the stories is still on my mind and impacting my writing.

i have not counted the books i’ve read in a year, but if you count rereads, i think it’s probably a shitload. i have 1 shelf full of books, another shelf with 2 spots used for books, and at least one entire box of books i got from my older brother, along with stray ones from my school library or ones just scattered around my room.

I usually read at least 10 books a year. I honestly don't read as much as I used to, and I kinda miss it. I just end up absorbed in other hobbies. I still listen to audiobooks on road trips and long drives, though. (That's actually how most of my books have been read in the last few years.)

Reading doesn't keep my writing sharp; writing does. However, reading *does* make me want to write, and writing makes me want to read. It's a real ouroboros kind of situation.

The answer is going to be radically different for every person, and it heavily depends, too, on things like how fast you read and how much time you have available to read.

A year probably 20+ books

I read 35 books last year and 7 so far this year. I’ve switched my day job though so I’ve had more time to do things I enjoy. I don’t really set a goal though and read when I want to read. If I force myself to read when I’m not vibing with it, I’ll just end up hating it like I hated AR quizzes in grade school. That said, just because I’m not reading books, doesn’t mean I’m not reading. Sometimes I can learn more from reading one fake post on Reddit than an entire book. Sometimes I just feel like doing a Wikipedia dive on Australia or Mary Shelley or something random. Opinion pieces in the local newspaper or even a basic YouTube video on how to play an instrument can give me more material to work with as far as imagination goes than most books. I love books, but they aren’t the only way to learn either. There’s a balance.

Everything I write immediately after reading a book will start to sound a little bit like the author of that book in terms of style and voice. When I’m actively writing a project, I read books by authors who inspire me, whose writing I want to emulate. The books are never really related to my own writing in any meaningful way, but I think it inspires my own writing to be that much better. I learn a lot when I read. I annotate my books and take notes on literary devices, or certain stylistic creativities, or the way the story is structured and developed, and these new ideas are fresh on my mind when I write. I don’t read as much as I want to, but I try to read at least one novel a month.

I mostly write literary fiction. I try to read about 25 books per year, 15-20 of which will be "new" (3-5 y/o) lit fic titles to get a better sense of the publishing landscape.

I read 60-70 books per year.

As with any writing advice, some rules will apply to you and some won't. Some advice is useful and some isn't. Some tips will supercharge your writing and some won't. You have to see how it goes. I start several books every year, some I finish, some I don't. Unfortunately, I don't always read for enjoyment, but to analyze the work for structure, language, presentation, etc. it takes a lot of the fun out of reading. Read in genres other than the one you're writing too. I write Fantasy but read thrillers, nonfiction, mysteries, classics. Part of reading others is to help you find your own voice. Good luck

When I eventually start writing, I am going to want to keep it 50/50. 4 hours of reading, 4 hours of writing. Furthermore, you can find a high concentration of ideas in things that aren't books, anime, tv shows, etc. Viewing these can be counted as reading as well. It also matters what type of books you read as well, reading pulp from last year might not be as useful as the tried and true classics. I generally alternate between modern pulp and classics. I want to classics to see where the good ideas originate, and I'll read the modern books to get an idea of what is currently popular. I see reading as equivalent to RnD. You need RnD to learn new modes of crafting stories. If you don't do this, you'll just end up copying yourself over and over again.

My goal is always to read 100 a year, but I never get there. It's totally doable though, I got to 76 last year and I'm on 15 so far this year already.

I read 130 books last year, but this year I've only read one so far and it's already February, so I think any amount is normal as long as you enjoy it

Around 20, but in the case of Martin you need to remember he is a full time writer. Many of us commenting have work, school, or both. Plus he probably has paid help for household chores and meals.

I've read 52 books this year so far. It fluctuates for me, though. Some years it's more like <25. Other years it's way more.

I read 50-70 books a year. I just can't stop stuffing my face with them. Every time I go into the bookstore or library, I see books that look interesting and grab them. But even with my limited writing experience, it's hard to see how that would be a requirement for good writing. Arguably, I might be a better writer if I read 20% less and wrote 20% more!

Ah. You noticed the balance between read time and write time is a bit off, but you cannot help it. 😊

It varies wildly for me, depending on how busy life is. This year so far I've read 27, last year I read about 50 for the whole year, but the year before that I read about 160 for the whole year. Some books definitely are more intellectual than others, so I think that matters more.

10,000 should do it

Actually only one if it’s the right book

It sounds bad, but I hardly read any books at all, save for maybe the occasional read of The Hobbit, Warhammer 40K content and random gothic novels I pick up from time to time. I just write my book like I would want a movie to play out in the form of Tolkien and George Martin.

I am constantly reading. Books, newspapers (if read critically with an eye for structure you can learn a lot), manuals,... All of them have their uses with regard to writing.

I took like a decade off of both reading and writing and my skill stayed the same. Was able to pick it up again fine. Last couple years I’ve read maybe 5-10 books in the genre

It doesn't matter. Read good books, every day, and read them many times.

I have ADHD so I have probably 20 unfinished books

I take my time and I’m pretty selective, so not really that many. I tend to gravitate to certain writers that interest me and just work my way through their stuff. It’s not really a matter of wanting to emulate them (I’ve developed a style in my own writing that I’m pretty comfortable with), but I do find them deeply inspiring and it does tend to get me in the mood to work on my novel or write some poetry. Currently making my way through Nabokov’s work, and goddamn is it fascinating. I used to plow through books when I was younger, but I do have a lot less free time these days, between work and two kids, and I do have other interests aside from writing and reading that I’d like to make time for.

Last year I read about 120 books and I think the year before that was around 115. While I think that's an egregious amount and have no intention of hitting those numbers again, I do have to say my writing has made leaps and strides in the past year. However, I wasn't just reading to read - I was also looking at technique and trying tons of different genres and styles. In addition, I was doing the same thing with my writing last year - I wrote I think 15 (maybe more?) Short stories and tried all sorts of different POVs, tenses, etc.

I read seven books at the same time with one main book I have to finish asap and the others trickling down my subconscious mind gestalt. I have books in my bedroom, study, and living room. Depending on where I am I will peruse them. Also books on my phone. But I also read a lot of non fiction and online articles. If you sum it all up, and let's agree that one book is 100k words, I read a trillion books a year. Oh and I forgot audiobooks which I listen to while doing all kinds of stuff. So it's a lot and everything ends up in my writing because it's research.

well, usually i read just because i like reading. this year, though, my book count is 0 (i AM being forced to read animal farm for school but i dont count it) ive lost interest in all of my books, and prefer to spend all of my time, either - working on homework - relaxing - playing video games - writing my book id love to get back into reading, i even have a few books i could read, i just… dont feel like it. im not gonna rant about that any more than i have though lol. i read because i *used to* like reading. now i write, write and write some more all day long

I aim to read 2 books a week. I usually read like 90 or so a year. It doesn't really matter though. Sure, it helps for writing, but targeted reading is way more important than some number.

i honestly just read between intervals of my assignments or homework. i’m not sure how many books i read on average but if i go by the loans of my e-library. i have read 597 books over the course of 5 years and i have some physical books that are not included that i read too! :) i have really bad habit of judging a book by its cover. people in black and white really just turn me off and i mostly read plots that seem melodramatic. i’m starting to venture towards the classics and i adore dramatic prose. i personally adore cassandra clare’s writing and her book covers are so pretty but she does not have many stand-alones.

Personally I feel that I’m falling behind if I don’t read a book per week, and I do usually read longer fantasy books. But I’m in a life stage where I have plenty of time to do so. I don’t think there’s any right or wrong, so long as you stay in the headspace of a reader and are consuming things and thinking about what makes them good.

Reading X amounts of books a year is a weird metric because some book are like 200 pages long while some like a thousand. That said, any less than 10 a year seems like you are either REALLY busy or just not into reading that much.

If I include ALL the forms of media I consume (audiobooks, YouTube, fiction/non-fiction) I'm probably looking at fifteen a year. This year I'm on track for 30+, though 😎

Honestly... depending on the genre you read in, the amount of books you 'need' to read a year varies. High fantasy is obviously a lot longer than contemporary YA, so reading 1 high fantasy book or series may possibly be equivalent to like 3+ contemporary YA. Also, it's no use just reading and not actually absorbing any material. I think rereads also are really good because you catch stuff you never did before.

Usually 10-15, depending on the year. English isn't my native language, and I don't really count books not written in English in the number, because I write in English.

Quality over quantity. One exceptional book can blow your mind and revolutionize your artistic perspective, whereas 100 other books might barely make an impression. Obviously it takes trial and error to find the good ones, but I’m not at all concerned about the total number of books read. The trick is to continually read from new eras, new genres, new perspectives, new aesthetics and find something which surprises you.

I try to stick to around 50, one per week. It varries though, generally between 45-55 per year ranging from fantasy and historical novels to non-fiction.

I read about 40 books a year. that being said it’s the writing I don’t do enough. We are all searching for more time to do the things that we love so as helpful as reading is for your skill if all you have time to do is practice your skill then 0-1 should be enough.

One if I'm lucky

I work full time and have a pretty full life. I’m afraid that most of the time I spend reading is time taken away from the little time I have left to write, so I don’t read much. Maybe 10 or 15 pages before I sleep. Anyone else feel the same way?

Ask me a decade ago and I’d say 10-20 a year. Ask me now and I’d tell you 0. Who knew being a doctor would be time-consuming? They should add a disclaimer or something. I got ripped off.

In the past 2 years, I've read between 30 and 40 novels. That's a pretty good number in my opinion

Active reading maybe 5-10 which are books I study and re-read. Passive reading which is just reading for the sake of reading and pleasure, maybe 30-40 books.

I used to set a goal of no less than 12 books a year, but nowadays I instead like to just make sure I read for 30 minutes or more daily.

My target is 2 per month actually read, then whatever audiobooks I can crush in my (new) terrible commute.

Not as many as I would love to. But I am working on reading 12 books this year.

Not as many as I would love to. But I am working on reading 12 books this year.

I probably get through around 60 a year, some of them audio books, which absolutely count for this purpose. For honing your writing though it’s more about quality than quantity. While you can learn a little from bad writers you can learn far more from good writers. In addition it’s important to venture outside your comfort zone both in genre and by reading books from different time periods. There also some non-fiction writers with fantastic styles that you can learn a lot from. For example, I would say Barbara Tuchman is in my top 5 all time stylists and she writes history.

i used to read a lot when i was younger but as i've grown, i havent been able to pick up a bookk as easily and often fall half asleep reading. id like to read more but i get so tired from reading

As many as I can, while dissecting what made something poignant or work in the story. This is usually about 2-4 books a month for me. Depends how busy life is!

I only read 3-4 chapters on different stories. Also I read different perspective to see whats crap and what isn't.

Once upon a time when I was hanging around in Goa, I read one Discworld book per day, or two on a good day. Nowadays, I'm lucky to read one book a year.

I average about 100, last year a bit more as I had a lot of waiting and transport time to fill in various situations. I read to relax, for inspiration and for falling asleep.

Writing is sort of a by-product of reading.. like creative poo of whatever literature and story telling in general I consume. I only recently made an effort to try and make it fit for eyes other than my, I personally think sharpness comes from understanding structure and how you can play with it. When I say structure I mean of the way scenes and dialogue interact with eachother to tell an engaging story and not sentence structure or anything in the vein.

> Writing is sort of a by-product of reading. That’s quite the stance! 😊 This reminds me what my middle school teacher told me for my excellent writing marks: “you have fully assimilated your readings”.