First some random thoughts: Recently someone asked me how many books I read a year. When I said 100-150 or so, said person gave me that oh-so-familiar "she's nuts" glare. Then another person in the group said, "Yeah, but what are you reading?" This sparked quite the discussion, and it got me thinking. How much does what you are reading matter to statistics?
After much discussion and a bit of thought, I came to the following conclusion:
- Total number of books read is not comparable if A Game of Thrones and Goodnight Moon both count as 1 (same goes for Ulysses versus The Hunger Games)
- Total number of pages read is not comparable for the exact same reason: 500 words per page versus 10 words per page
Which means that:
- Statistics are relatively pointless outside of self-awareness and self-challenge
I am sure that for most of you this is not new. Logically, we can't compare ourselves to other readers because we are not reading the same thing. Maybe it's politically incorrect of me to say so, but reading 350 children's books a year does not mean you read "more" than someone who reads 50 classic novels (I am not saying one is better than the other, just that they are not comparable). I would say that the time put in is what's important, but that's disingenuous as well because people read at different speeds.
I guess the point of this is - outside of just sharing some thoughts - to say that you should not compare yourself to other readers through statistics. Instead you should use them for personal edification only.
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Some things you may have missed around the blog:
I'm
giving away a book for taking a simple, 10 question psych profile
I have started a reading list based on
awesome books which were originally rejected.
Books I Reviewed This Week:
I imagine all of us get those looks from people when we tell them how much we read! I don't read children's books (some YA though) but I also unintentionally avoid chunksters because I have this depression set in when I don't make progress. That is bad I know.
ReplyDeleteMy last thought is...if you read 350 kids books, you still (I'm assuming) have to review them! Ugh.
I always feel like, when people ask me how many books I read, and I tell them, that I've got to qualify it, like, "well, half of them are YA" or something similar. Part of the reason is that, when they hear you read more books than they do, they start asking you, "oh, have you read this? have you read that?" (and invariably you have not) and then they look at you suspiciously. Frankly, I don't like to tell people at all that I read a lot!
ReplyDeleteI think you're right about trying to not compare ourselves to others. A book is a book in my opinion because it all depends on a person's taste. I'm hoping to read at least 312 books this year, many of them will be children's books, MG reads, and graphic novels. Many of the books I read in that category will be better in quality than a lot of the stuff that's been published in the past few years. If we start comparing genres or page numbers, I think we all lose. For example, I recently read Julie Otsuka's The Buddha in the Attic. It's less than 140 pages but I think it's one of the best books I've read in years. I can compare it to The Night Circus which is a great book at 300+ pages but it isn't better than The Buddha in the Attic.
ReplyDeleteSo I think it doesn't matter what you read but that you read at all.
Books stats are always tricky. I think it's like you said -- keep track of what makes sense and what has meaning for you. More than that and it just gets to be too much work.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, because when I talk about the books I've read, I always qualify it by stating how many of them are classics. People tend to assume if I've read a lot then they've all been junk reads, so for some reason I feel the need to justify myself.
ReplyDeleteReading stats really should be used for self awareness rather than for making comparisons to others, I agree. It is hard not to do sometimes though.
ReplyDeleteI used to read 100+ books a year before my project, but it was a lot of YA, fantasy, and fluffy stuff. Right now I have read over 60. And while part of me feels shame for not being higher up, that 60 books includes War and Peace, Atlas Shrugged, and more.
ReplyDeleteI figure I win as long as I keep reading. :)
I always feel somewhat chastened when I hear how many books others read per year, and your post today makes me feel a lot better about this because you are right. Reading differs for everyone, and besides, it's not a competition! That being said, I have not been very good at keeping track of the books I have read this year, which is starting to make me a little nervous. As the end of the year approaches, I need to know these things!
ReplyDeleteI think that's really true -- I track my stats not to compare to others, but because I'm curious. I love having a record of the books I read, and I love playing with the stats they generate, but only for me.
ReplyDeleteI try to keep that in mind even just for my own expectations. Otherwise I find myself only wanting to read short books so I can reach a certain number!
ReplyDeleteYou are so right. Reading a 1000 page book is not the same as reading one short YA book. And a classic with complex language and ideas is not the same as a cozy mystery. It would be hard to compare stats with any reader unless you adjust for these variables.
ReplyDeleteYou are 100% correct! I'm not diminishing anyone's reading either. I will never reach massive numbers of books read, I know that. Don't have the time, but I want to enjoy what I read, and that's what counts.
ReplyDeleteIf people base your "book reader worthiness" on stats, then I think that's jacked up and wrong.