BOTNS #266: Stealing Minutes to Read

[Kalen]

I've only had a smartphone for two years now and I can't believe how much reading time it steals from me. I used to carry a book everywhere and now if I have five or ten minutes, I'm checking Facebook or Twitter. I keep waiting for the novelty to wear off but it is easier to pop in and out of those sites than a book. :/

[Linda]

On the other hand, my husband got me an iPad for Mother's Day almost two years ago. One thing that didn't change is that I still always have a book with me, but I might also have the iPad with me, too.

Sometimes, I bounce between the physical book and one on my iPad (if I'm eating breakfast out, it's easy to prop the iPad up and read and have both hands free).

I've also started listening to books at work thanks to my iPad.

Very little temptation to visit Facebook or twitter on my iPad.

[Melissa]

Kalen wrote: "I've only had a smartphone for two years now and I can't believe how much reading time it steals from me. I used to carry a book everywhere and now if I have five or ten minutes, I'm checking Faceb..."

I think I get in more reading time with my smartphone! I always have an ebook going on my phone. I can't see ever reading an entire book on my phone, but I enjoy being able to read a chapter or so while waiting in line.

[Deborah]

Melissa wrote: "Kalen wrote: "I've only had a smartphone for two years now and I can't believe how much reading time it steals from me. I used to carry a book everywhere and now if I have five or ten minutes, I'm ..."

I do the same thing - I have read 6 books since the beginning of the year on my phone :)

[M.G.]

Because I just discovered and finally learned to crochet and don't have as much time devoted to reading, with the help of my iPad, I find myself stealing reading time during my breaks at work for reading ebooks and on my iPhone, I listen to audiobooks while I work during the day. So when I have a knit or crochet project going, listening to an audiobook is pretty awesome!

[Deborah]

Initially I listened to audio books while driving, but I have also begun to listen while knitting, ironing, cooking, pretty much any time I am doing something quiet and am alone.

[Kalen]

Wow, I'm impressed. I did start an audio book in the car today, but I'm typically not in the car more than two hours a week. (Lucky me!)

[Linda]

Kalen wrote: "Wow, I'm impressed. I did start an audio book in the car today, but I'm typically not in the car more than two hours a week. (Lucky me!)"

Kalen, I started audiobooks in the car and when I had a 35 minute commute to work. That was 15 years ago. Now, retired, my longest drive is rare to the next city for an occasional doctor's appointment (15 min.). Most of my trips are about 5 minutes, but I still listen to audiobooks. I just know it's going to take the maximum number of renewals at the library to get through.

Startling that this music major doesn't listen to music like I used to.

[Deborah]

I used to listen to music all the time, but for right now the audio books are my listening preference.

[M.G.]

I used to listen to a lot of music all day long while I work but lately, I'd rather listen to audiobooks to keep me awake. Lol!

[Gerald]

I listen to audio books on my IPOD Nano at work and the current book that I am listening to is so good I started listening in bed. Just so hard for me to find the time to pick up a paper book and read.

[Kalen]

I'm impressed--there's no way I could listen to a book while working.

[Jen]

I've found it a lot easier to steal a few reading minutes since I got an ereader. I've always read a lot, but it's just so easy to pull out an ereader from my purse rather than a huge hardcover, immediately pick up where you left off rather than searching for a dog eared page or a bookmark etc. I read everywhere now- waiting in line at the grocery store, waiting for a bus, etc. I wish that I could concentrate enough on audiobooks to actually get something out of them, but they fade into comforting background noise pretty quickly for me.

[Deborah]

Amanda wrote: "I've been trying so hard to get into audiobooks and I realized that if it isn't action-packed or grabbing me, I tend not to pay attention and will miss lots of reading before I realize it. I get di..."

I used to have that problem Amanda, and sometimes I still do. I use Audible for most of my audio books and always listen to a sample first. I have learned , through trial and error, which type books hold my interest and which narrators appeal to me in this format. I have found that some Southern, British, and Australian books, with female narrators worked for me - maybe it was the accent.

[Cory Day]

For whatever reason, written words (and sometimes my own thoughts) always overwhelm spoken ones in my mind, so I also have trouble paying total attention to audiobooks under a lot of circumstances, but I love audiobooks for rereading. If I love a book and it's narrated well, it's a perfect way to experience it again without taking the time to read it in my normal reading time. I listen to them at work when I don't have a huge pile of podcasts to get to!

Side note: apologies if this is TMI, but when I was growing up it was well known that my father did most (all?) of his reading in the bathroom, so my bathroom now always has some sort of reading material in it... I can't be the only one :-P

[Linda]

Cory (Bigler) '00-'05 wrote: "For whatever reason, written words (and sometimes my own thoughts) always overwhelm spoken ones in my mind, so I also have trouble paying total attention to audiobooks under a lot of circumstances,..."

No, Cory. When I grew up my mother often referred to that room euphemistically as "the library."

I've lived in this house for 20 years and no for a fact that I've kept a book in that room for all that time. I know because of one of the books that I was reading and she thought the book I was reading had an appropriate title. The book? Pot of Gold

[Cory Day]

Linda wrote: "Cory (Bigler) '00-'05 wrote: "For whatever reason, written words (and sometimes my own thoughts) always overwhelm spoken ones in my mind, so I also have trouble paying total attention to audiobooks..."

Awesome.

[Pam]

"The Library"--Ha. I also grew up with that kind of father, who's behavior also rubbed off on me and in turn, one of my kids. Thoses rooms in our house are always stocked with the latest mags, catalogues, NY Times Book Review, and National Geographic. Easy to get through a few pages while passing the time...

[Linda]

It's been awhile, but I used to sell books through eBay and have to mail the books I sold. I always took a book with me to the Post Office because there was always a line. Didn't care if I read 1 sentence or pages. I read.
This is also part of the reason I'm not happy with where I'm getting PT. Two or three weeks ago TVs showed up in the waiting room and the work room. Boo! Hiss! It took a couple of weeks for me to see the person who made that decision, but I got to voice my opinion, though I'm sure it didn't change any minds. (Including the argument that a person can only do one cognitive thing at a time and having the TV on conflicts with keeping ones mind on the exercises.)

[nancy]

Linda,
That's why I always carry EarPods or headphones with me to block out tv noise (or people talking too loud in public spaces etc.). That way I can read or listen to an audiobook anywhere xxn

[Amy]

Kalen wrote: "Wow, I'm impressed. I did start an audio book in the car today, but I'm typically not in the car more than two hours a week. (Lucky me!)"

I listen to audio books while cooking. I love to cook, and I love to read -it's awesome being able to combine 2 things I love that would otherwise compete for me time.

[Esther]

When I tell colleagues that I have about 2.5 hours of commute a day they are horrified but most of it is by train and is the only reading time I get - such a luxury!
At home I feel I should be cooking or cleaning or doing the laundry or at least socializing with the rest of my family whereas while waiting at the station reading becomes a constructive use of my time.

[Linda]

Esther wrote: "When I tell colleagues that I have about 2.5 hours of commute a day they are horrified but most of it is by train and is the only reading time I get - such a luxury!
At home I feel I should be cook..."

I want to say, "Envy, envy, envy."

I just returned an audio book that I had started on April 1. That was listened to and finished on numerous fewer than five mile trips.

Bits and pieces.

[Mochaspresso]

I have a very difficult time staying focused when I listen try to listen to audiobooks. I get distracted by outside things and miss big hunks of the story. It's the complete opposite when I read, though. I was like that in school, too. I could never learn anything through listening to the teacher talk. I always had to go home and just read the textbook for myself.

[Kate]

I used to always carry a book around with me but a few years ago started getting neck and shoulder pains if I carry too much weight, so for a while I could only read at home. That was not good for my reading habits! But between owning a Kindle and keeping a handful of literary magazines at work, I think I have the problem licked now.

I also listen to short stories when I walk any distance, thanks to the Selected Shorts and New Yorker Fiction podcasts. I don't have the best history with audio books, as I tend to listen in 20-minute chunks and lose the thread, but that suits short stories really nicely.

[Esther]

Nose in a book wrote: "I used to always carry a book around with me but a few years ago started getting neck and shoulder pains if I carry too much weight, so for a while I could only read at home. That was not good for ..."

I'm sure that is why The Casual Vacancy seemed to drag about half-way through. I was enjoying it but carrying around the hardback just wore me out.

[Janet]

I think I have become addicted to audio books. I drive a lot, and I am no longer wasting my time while driving. The ideal situation is when I get an inexpensive kindle version to read along with the audio version. Having both is a treat.