Part 1:

How regularly do you read? How many books -- on average -- do you read in a year?

Part 2:

How often do you read new authors?
 

I try to pick up 4-5 new authors every year.

The majority 80% of what I read is fiction (40% sci-fi, 40% fantasy, 20% mystery/horror/espionage). The other 20% is non fiction, usually military or law enforcement, a smattering of history and the occasional biography.

 

[This message has been edited by annepin (edited August 23, 2007).]
 

2) I'm about 50/50 new author vs. re-read the books I love. I always feel like I should read more new stuff, but it doesn't always happen.

Jayson Merryfield
 

And yeah, I'm pretty much a single-genre guy, although OSC has introduced me to fantasy.

And that's just strictly counting novels/fiction works. I also regularly bury my head in "how to write" books.
 

How regularly do you read? How many books -- on average -- do you read in a year?

A year? No idea. I'm running about two to three a week right now. So that's about 150 a year? That's all? Hmmm...I'm slacking off.

Part 2:

How often do you read new authors?

Don't you want to know how often I read sf? Fantasy?

New authors. I'll take a chance about once a month IF...a big if...I open the book and the feel of the text on the first page gives me some hope that the author is competent. Now I have been sucked in by the idea of the story from a backcover blurb, but I'm more wary of those than I used to be.

I buy at least one sf novel a month -- if I can find one. They get so lost in among all those fantasy tomes. I'm fantasy resistant. I can be seduced but it has to be something really, really good and really high fantasy. Mark Geston, Thomas Burnett Swann, Lord Dunsany -- that kind of fantasy. Although I am reading the George RR Martin series. Slowly.

Printed Word I subscribe to Brutarian (SFWA pro market), though electronic media I get Asimov, F&SF and Analog about 8 issues a year but mostly a lot of back issues in the summer but also issues over Christmas break.

As to new authors, I don't seek them out but I likewise I do not look solely for my "favorite" authors, rather, I read the jackets and I look for books that interest me.

I don't believe in reading to "expand my horizons" I have enough of that at my "real" job. When I read I read strictly for enjoyment.

Scalzi's stuff is pretty good and he's also pretty new but I must admit I don't seek out new writers. I just patronize writing in general.

I tend to devour all the books by a writer I find and like within a few weeks of discovery, so that forces me to find five or more new writers a year. I do that either by trusting the reviews on the book covers (mileage varies), by reading a few copies of Analog each year, or by buying a risky paperback and unashamedly donating it to a hotel bedroom if I decide I don't like the characters and don't care what happens to them.

Cheers,
Pat
 

I don't make it a point of reading new authors, but a fair portion of my reading just happens to fall into that category. New books are the only books I usually buy, as well; older books can be found readily at the library. If I happen to like an older book, then I'll add it to my collection.

 

If the book is 200 pages, I can down it in less than a week. An 800, 900 page book will take a bit longer, anywhere from a month to months(especially if it's dragging). I haven't kept track. Last year, I downed about nine Wheel Of Time novels and, I believe, a handful of shorter novels.

I don't care if an author is new or not. If I've read good work from an author in the past, certainly, I'll probablly give them precedence. But if the title and idea is catchy, and they grab me on the first page, or even they come highly reccomended by a friend whose tastes I trust, then I'll be just as likely to give them a read.

I mostly read SF&F, though I suspect more fantasy than science fiction.
 

Genre Breakdown:
Fantasy -60%
Scifi - 10%
Legal/Crime - 10%
Other Fiction - 10%
Non-Fiction - 10%

I am always open to new authors and usually come away from the library with about 50% new, 50% old favs.

Currently I am reading Starship Troopers - for the first time - I had seen the movie and thought it can't be that great, but I kept hearing a lot of good about it so I thought I would pick it up, So yes Robert A. Heinlein is a new author for me.
 

I read mostly sci-fi, but some fantasy. When motivated or really interested in a book, I read much faster, averaging 2-3 days per book. I can blow through a lot of series that way, if they continue to hold my interest. But usually when I'm finished with a series I take a week or two off.

I read new authors about half the time, or more, since most of my favorites are dead or don't have anything new out.
 

arriki, you're no slacker either.

As for me, I'm in the 40-80 books a year group. And, 8o is an excellent year!

Sadly, I'm not as much a patron of new authors as I should be, though I'm reading one right now: Patrick Rothfuss (Highly recommended by OSC).

I read two to three books at a time, since I regularly read one to my kids at night. My wife reads at about twice the pace that I do, and half of her reading is by new authors, but she's only just getting into any fantasy or sci-fi.

The reason I introduced this topic, as an aside to the statistic topic, was to show what WE (aspiring writers) are reading. Reading to my kids has helped them to become readers the oldest reads four to five grade levels above his own. My mother read Tarzan to me when I was four and it left a lasting impression on me, so much so that I read the Edgar Rice Burroughs classic to my kids.

My personal library is one of my prize collections. I find comfort in just seeing the shelves loaded. I take pleasure in introducing my friends to an author's work that I enjoy, and seeing them derive the same pleasure.

How many of you are passing their passion for the printed word? If we don't, how can we ever expect the negative statistics to change?
 

How regularly do you read? How many books -- on average -- do you read in a year?

It depends. If I have time, my preference is to read 2 or 3 books a week, but sometimes when my schedule is crowded as it is right now I'm doing well to read 1 a week.

Part 2:

How often do you read new authors?

There is no rule for this. I read a new author when I see a book that looks interesting, it happens to be by a new author.

 

I read about one book a week, sometimes two. Right now, I'm doing about one research/history book and one fantasy book a week. I'm about to start on my second novel, though, so that number will drop in the future. I guess that makes about 100 books a year. (Gotta love the library.)

>How often do you read new authors?

Mmm, maybe once a month? It really depends.

>How many of you are passing their passion for the printed word?

Unfortunately, I don't have anyone to pass my passion for the written word on to...yet. Any kid of mine won't be able to avoid books, I'm afraid.
 

My almost 6 year old has hit his stride with reading in the last 6 months to the point where it's now effortless, that's been exciting. He has a need for bookmarks now, because the books he reads can't all be read in one sitting. I have to say I wish there were some more options for the early reading chapter books out there. Magic Treehouse books are OK but a little too long for him yet. Ricky Ricotta ones are OK, but a little too wacky. Captain Underpants is just distasteful to me (but of course my almost 6 yr old boy thinks they're hilarious.)

I think I need to start writing for the 6 year old set!

Meanwhile, partly due to her brother's influence, I'm starting to wonder if my 3.5 year old daughter is starting to read without either knowing she can do it or knowing how she does it. I have a strong belief that there are those who actively learn to read - putting together phonemes and letter sounds and all that, and those who accidentally learn to read - for whom it just comes together. My son worked at it, piecing it together. My daugther I think may skip some steps on the way to reading. Today she asked for some Fat Free milk from the fridge, which is a weird way to refer to it. We're on vacation and the milk isn't our normal milk - says fat free on the side whereas at home our milk, though skim, says nothing on the bottle. I don't call the milk fat free, no one else in the family does. Best I can figure is she read it on the carton. Strange, but just another example in a little list I'm creating.

Back to reading - reading with and to the kids is very cool. They got to hear some of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep tonight because that's what I'm reading and they wanted me to read to them out of MY book. We also have been listening to Madeline L'Engle books on CD that I used to read when I was younger. That is neat to share Meg and Charles Wallace with my kids.
 

I don't really know how often I read. Sadly, it is not as regularly as a 1 book+ a week. I go on binges with reading. I will be chatting with someone, or on the internet (very often here) and a book will come up, and my mind becomes suddenly taken with it. I'll get my hands on it, and read it in a day or two.
Then, I'll go an undetermined period of time reading this and that, on and off, before something catches my attention and I start all over again.
I suppose it would be safe to say I read about 15 books a year.

In my younger years, I was a bit of a snob in my reading choices. I felt like, why waste your time reading anything but "the classics?" So, I read almost no popular fiction and no many new authors.
I have repented. Now, I am willing to read anything, but I don't really pay special attention to try and read new authors. I really should.

 

Myhusband and I read to the kids when they were little. Bdtime stories. They picked them out. Any number though ten was about the limit. For several years my husband kept track of what books were chosen each night. This was in picture book days. It was interesting to see what books were repeated.

When our older daughter passed out of picture book time, we started reading aloud as a family. The Tarzan books. McCaffrey's juvenile Pern novels. Diana Wynne Jones. Reading aloud is how we found the Rowling novels back before number four came out.

These days both my daughters read for pleasure. We never had to bribe them to read. Reading was the treat!

Unfortunately, neither of them reads sf. Fantasy, yes, but my Andre Norton sf novels gather dust on the shelves.

[This message has been edited by arriki (edited August 24, 2007).]
 

So to the question, how much do I read? Read, quite a lot, different things like magazines, TV guide, books on writing, Writers Handbook, that kind of stuff everyday, but I'm guessing you don't really mean that. But novels; I have fits and starts. I've probably read four this year - have two on the go which I will finish once I get back into.

How often do I read new authors. Always looking for something new. If I find an author I like, I'll go through most of his/her stuff if I can get hold of it, then move on to another. So regularly. I don't think I'll be reading Dean Koontz again though. Got desperate on holiday and picked up one of his books.
 

(By the way, the last recommendation I read was "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult. Very good.)

Most are from authors that are new to me. Right now I'm reading Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer. It's her debut novel, and it's really good so far.
 

I also usually read in rotation, more or less -- sf, mystery, fantasy, classic. And, between each two novels, I read one story each from four books of short stories, currently Stories from The Strand, Clarke's complete short stories, Faulkner's stories, and Heinlein's Off the Main Sequence.

Sometimes I reread a favorite: Heinlein, Asimov, LeGuin, Tolkien, Lewis, Hammett.

A new writer has a really hard time getting my attention, when so many great stories by my favorites are still unread. The writer needs to generate considerable buzz AND win a Hugo. Most recent new writers read: Susanna Clarke and Naomi Novak.
 

All of my daughters (three) read and the oldest two write also. The youngest one is seven, so it's hard to tell if she'll going to end up writing purposefully. I have one son that reads and writes. The other two boys are dyslexic, and reading is something that they really abhor, mostly, but they are really into visuals and I am amazed at all the nuances they can pick up out of the classics on film. They are both big LOTR fans, for instance.
 

Most are non-fiction of late...my novel reading is way, way down, just like my science fiction reading.

As for new writers...well, with non-fiction, it's usually the subject that attracts me, rather than the name...there are only a few writers I'll look for in non-fiction.

*****

Of course I'm reading a lot of these simultaneously. Right now I'll be reading one out of a stack next to my armchair (50 Reasons to Hate the French)...then there's another in here with my computer (not books right now, but a stack of Archie Comics)...then there's more by my bedside (Volume One of a biography of Bing Crosby)...then there's the pile that helps me while away the time in the bathroom while not in the bath (a biography of Groucho Marx, of which I've become suspicous of some of the details). The latter two are repeaters.
 

So it varies - on vacation, I'm a book a day. Otherwise, probably 1 every other week. I'd guess somewhere between 40-50 new reads each year. Maybe 5-10 rereads.

That doesn't include all the stuff I read for work or the "how to" books.

Part II - New writers. I'm not sure I notice that. I have 3-4 authors who I follow on a regular basis. The beach reads are usually established authors too. I'd say 1/3 of what I read are new authors.

I also started reading the Luna line when it came out. With the exception of Mercedes Lackey (whose book kicked off the line) most of the writers from that line that I read are new ones.

Since about the beginning of this year, I've made it a point to start reading all of the Hugo and Nebula nominees. I started doing that under the advice of Kevin J. Anderson from something he wrote that said you have to know what is popular to be an effective writer. It made sense, and I think it's good advice.

I don't really know how many of those authors are new or not. Honestly, I don't pay any attention to it. I just look for books that appeal to me by description, title, or cover. Usually all three. I do reread books, too. Some very old, others not so old.
 

2. If you mean authors that are new to me, probably one book in four or so will be by an author I haven't previously read. If you mean how many first-time authors I read, I'd guess about one in eight or ten.

To expand on it, I probably read 50% fantasy, 30% horror, 5% SF, and the remaining 15% I devote stuff I normally wouldn't read except to study as a writer: literary, classics, suspense, mystery, crime, romance, etc.

I often read two or three books concurrently.

 

quote:

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why would anybody need more than one volume to tell Bing Crosby's story?

---

You'd be surprised. Crosby led a pretty active life. It only got as far as 1941 and the first "Road" picture with Bob Hope, but there are several teases about what comes up. Some of them sound really boffo.

But if you think the wait for Harry Potter books was long, the wait for a serious biographer to finish makes that look like the blink of an eye. (There are three volumes in a Life of Lyndon Johnson that only take him as far as the late fifties...and Volume Two of a biogrpahy of Orson Welles came out earlier this year, but only went as far as about 1950.)