Reading Duration

[Jimmy]

Do you have to block off hours of dedicated reading time? Or do you read in whatever 3 minute gaps you can find in your day? Or do you do both?

If you read for long periods of uninterrupted time, what is the typical length of time? How long is your record?

[Jim]

I read at lunch every day at work for 30 - 45 minutes ( I get an hour, but rarely take the whole time). Warm or cold, I go out to my car to eat & read. It's my break from the day. I usually get another block of time like that once I get home.

I rarely read any longer than that any more. Too much to do.

[Nancy]

If I tried to dedicate hours to reading time, I wouldn't get any done. I always have a book or e-reader with me and grab whatever time I can - lunch hours, doctor visits, stalled traffic, waiting in line, etc.

Large chunks of time usually happen when I'm in between classes, on vacation, or home sick. Yes, I've been known to take sick days to read books I couldn't put down.

[Desperado]

On days that I have class, I usually read when I can find the time. Unfortunately, in vehicles are out of the question since I tend to get car sick like hells when I read.

I do most of my reading at home. My fiance works most nights so I have lots of (mostly) uninterrupted free time. I think the longest period I've read nonstop is an hour. I get restless to do other things, even if it's just to flip on the TV that I never watch.

[Tressa]

I might read 15-20 mins. on my lunch break at work, but I also like to get some walking in when it's not cold or raining, so I rarely read the entire hour.

I'll pull out a book and read it in the doctor's office or mechanic's, but I find that I can't concentrate enough to read and comprehend--too many distractions.

I read at home when I'm off and have the entire day; at night 30 mins. or more before bed; whenever I can snatch some time for myself. I also read in the car if I'm by myself and I'm waiting to pick someone up.

If I'm not too sick when I call in, there is nothing more heavenly than to know I've got an entire day to lie in bed and read a good book.

[Will]

I used to do most of my reading traveling on the subway to and from work. Now that I am driving most of the time, I manage to squeeze in some reading during slack times at the job. I am blessed with a good amount of this.

A great time for reading is during football games. I have not done actual measuring, but I would not be surprised if any three-hour NFL production could not be squeezed down to fifteen minutes of real action. I often watch with the sound off and look up when the QB stands over the center. (GO, JETS!) Ditto for baseball, although I believe the actual content/inaction ratio is higher, and I have a bloody difficult time finding the quarterback.

I also keep a long-term book on my night table and, unless I am near death, read at least a couple of pages before going to sleep every day.

Magazine reading is reserved for the throne room.

[Smokinjbc]

I take my e-reader to work every day and try to read at lunch but many days, I only get a few minutes in because of the constant interruptions. The rest is right before bed or if it's a really great book, I'll read it for 20 minutes or so before I go to work. Oh, and GO STEELERS! ;)

[Jimmy]

What about weekends?

This is really interesting so far. I also find it hard to squeeze in reading time during the week. Maybe during lunch I'll read for 10 minutes total, but that's about it. After work, I can sometimes read for half an hour to maybe two hours if I am not feeling too tired. Before bed I am usually very sleepy so I will just watch something on Netflix, but every once in a while I'll read a paragraph or two.

It seems impossible to read a really thick book this way, at least for me, I lose my thread, my momentum. I've been trying to block off more and more time in the afternoons after work to tackle The Instructions, which is like a 1000 page book I'm currently reading.

Thanks for all the answers so far, this is great.

[Bill]

I start reading at 10 PM, when all is quite, and read till I fall asleep. I look forward to retirement, my rocking chair, when I can read all day.

[Jessica]

I read before I go to sleep, I read in the afternoon on the weekends, when I'm waiting...must have book, always!

[[deleted user]]

I pretty much read whenever I'm not doing something else.

[Avrelia]

I read in small pockets of time I can steal from doing something else. The biggest pockets are usually during rides in public transport. Sometimes in the evenings. I cannot believe there was time when I could real all days and nights long...

[Jessica]

yes, I'd like a vacation just to do that...

[Dawn]

I have to read in small spurts, otherwise I fall asleep. It's a horrible habit.. I love reading, it just makes me sleepy for some reason. Except when I'm reading to try to go to sleep.. Then it keeps me wide awake :P

[Jessica]

well the solution is simple then: you should read only when you WANT to sleep...

;-)

[Dawn]

I can only imagine the havoc that would reap on my sleeping schedule!

[Claire]

I read in long stretches into the night, stolen moments at stop lights, and now and then during the day.
WAAAAAAy too much.
Must be addressed :)

[Su]

I read a lot on the bus, and in small snatches here and there. Sometimes I'll pick up a book & not put it down quickly enough, & my husband is quick to drag me back to reality. Just to be safe, I usually have to put off picking up a book until after I've done whatever immediately needs doing.

[Cass]

For the last twelve months it has been kindle or iphone while my boob was stuck in my daughter's mouth.

Nowadays I read late at night after daughter and hubby are tucked into bed, sometimes during the day while daughter is running around like a mad chook, but that can be exasperating as I quickly become a prop in her games.

[Jessica]

Cass, I love how you're reactivating every single thread in this group!
;-)

[Dawn]

Cass wrote: "For the last twelve months it has been kindle or iphone while my boob was stuck in my daughter's mouth.

Nowadays I read late at night after daughter and hubby are tucked into bed, sometimes durin..."

Boy do I know that feeling! I have a 13 month old little boy :)

[Jessica]

I read so much when I was nursing my son, that when he got a little older he'd bring me a magazine before he settled down to nurse...
(I nursed him for 2 yrs)
(though I should add that the last year was sporadic, much less often, usually just before he went to bed)


(TMI? probably--)

[Dawn]

I can't imagine nursing at two years old (more power to you of course!). My little guy is a destructor, he would have tore me apart. TMI :)

[Jessica]

I know ;-)


I knew I'd get flack for posting that...

but, well every child's different.
it was never a problem for me and he never wanted to quit, so I had to tell him it was time to stop. He cried...and then got over it.
Rather quickly.

[Dawn]

I'm not giving you flack! I admire the commitment! I only made it six months, but then work got the best of me and I had to switch to formula. I wish I could have made it at least a year... But that's life for you :/

[Jessica]

was lucky, I was working part-time for most of that time. Did not get a full-time job until he was 2.

[Dawn]

I had to go back to work after 12 weeks off, full time. That was no fun at all!

[Jessica]

yeah... I was luckily (for me) passed over for a full-time position when I was still pregnant. When a job opened up again, my son was 2 and I got it.

[Cass]

Jessica wrote: "Cass, I love how you're reactivating every single thread in this group!
;-)"

ha. I am enjoying it too.

My daughter is 14months, I have always assumed 2yo would be about when we finish, that one of us would have had enough by then.. At this stage I think it will be me and much sooner than I expected (this is after a 3.30am wake up call in which she became frustrated because I gave her the wrong boob... apparently she doesn't want one of them anymore).

[Su]

Since I haven't experienced birthing or breastfeeding (at least, not from the adult perspective), I totally snickered at the "wrong boob". Is that common?

For the on-topic portion of my post, I've recently discovered that the few minutes between classes when there is awkward silence anyway is a great time to get some reading in.

[Claire]

I read a stoplights, in line and when I wake up in the middle of the night.

[Su]

If I read in the middle of the night I'd never get back to sleep! You are brave!

[Claire]

lol,
btw, 10 years of nursing, no wrong boob.

[Cass]

Susan wrote: "Since I haven't experienced birthing or breastfeeding (at least, not from the adult perspective), I totally snickered at the "wrong boob". Is that common?"

Well I blame the computer and talking to my husband on Skype. This lead to a preference for feeding my daughter on the left so that my right hand was free for mouse use. This favouring became more and more pronounced regardless of the location, Until now I am notably lopsided and my daughter gets rather annoyed at me for offering the wrong one (she knows the milk does not flow as fast)...

..and yet I was too embarrased to describe my underwear in the other thread... go figure..

[[deleted user]]

I love how a thread can go from being about reading duration to nursing with the wrong boob.

Gotta love a good derail

[Dawn]

Sometimes one boob just works better than the other. Just like one is usually bigger than the other. I think I was a righty... LOL. And now back to reading duration!! :D