Books Read and the Tip of The Iceberg

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Some people aim to read twenty books per year. Others aim for a book a week. I read 15 or so books last year which doesn’t feel like much, compared to others. Having said that, I don’t read like others. When I read I flit between books. I might start three or four books within a few days, and gently make progress for weeks or months at a time.

Since the books are often not finished I might read hundreds of pages but it doesn’t appear in the reading stats. It appears in the pages read statistic. Many apps do not put that forward, until you dig a little deeper.

With the Audible app reading is measured in hours read and duration, rather than as a page number or percentage. When reading via Audible progress is an estimate. That’s why Audiobookshelf is good. With this app I do get a percentage so I can update Goodreads.

Fifty Books and Sixteen Finished

According to Audiobookshelf I listened to 52 books, but finished 16. I am in the habit of picking up books, starting to read them, and finding that I am either not interested in the book, or that I am not in the mood for such a story. That’s part of the reason for which I appreciate that Amazon via Kindlue Unlimited, Audible, Kobo and others allow us to access books that are included within a subscription.

With a subscription you can begin a book, and if you enjoy it, you keep reading, and if you don’t you return it, especially with Kindle Unlimited. With Audible some books are included within the subscription for a few mmonths, so you need to finish a book, before it has to be paid for.

When I was struggling to read As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow I considered getting an audiobook version, but it was 17 CHF on the Apple Book app, and 20+ on Audible without the right subscription, but free with another. With this book I read 48 percent as a book, and then finished it as an audiobook at double speed.

Usually I listen to books at normal speed but this one was hard to read. After working at UNHCR as a video archivist and Media Asset Manager I found this book challenging to read. By reading it at two times speed, while walking, I was able to complete the book ahead of the group discussion.

I see value in such a book, but my work as a media assset manager means that I have an emotional catalyst that makes the book hard to read. Some would speak of triggers.

Reading Like I Watch TV Series

I like to think that I read like others watch TV series, including myself. By this I mean that I can read several books at once, and follow the plots in each. I don’t get lost or confused. If I read three books from one series at once, then I would really get confused. I find that books are individual enough to read several at a time. That’s why I read a lot, and finish few books.

And Finally

Audiobookshelf brought my attention to how many books I started reading, compared to how many I finished reading. I like that I start reading so many books, and it demonstrates why lending libraries and subscription models work well for readers like me. Some readers buy a book, read it, and then buy the next. I buy a library and I fly between them like a bee. I like to crosspollinate ideas from a variety of books at once.