Mrs SR and I were arguing over what constitutes ‘normal’ when it comes to reading novels.

I tend to be a ‘binge reader’, with a history extending back to my childhood of reading a novel until my body could no longer sustain being awake. She tends to be a ‘bit reader’, whereby she indulges in, say, a chapter at a time, until after a few weeks the book is finished.

I know I am in good company, because I read the way that Robertson Davies once said we should read, but Mrs SR thinks I’m both crazy and virtually one of kind.

So who’s right, and what’s your method?

I’m rereading REAMDE I’m 50% through it in 2 days, it’s about a thousand pages long. I have just spent 2 days at the VRE clinic at Moorfields though so I’d normally not have quite so much free time.

iPad, normally 3/4 chapters at a time unless it’s gripping then until I fall asleep.

I’m a bit reader, going by your description.

But I do have to change genre completely from one book to the next. Like, war > sci-fi > literary > biog > comedy > pulp etc.

In bed, until my eyes start to close. A good sign to stop is usually when I drop the book.

I’ll binge read over a few months when ever i can, every spare minute hoovering them up. Like yourself, until i’m falling asleep. Typically over the winter months.

Then, I’ll barely touch a book for a few months. Typically when it’s nice outside.

I know I am in good company, because I read the way that Robertson Davies once said we should read,

And Stalin lol

I’m a bit reader, but will generally only stop at a natural break point, like the end of a chapter. So, if it turns out to be a long chapter, I might be reading for a while.

MrsIHN will stop anywhere, like just at then end of a sentence in the middle of a paragraph. That’s just madness.

I bit read up to 4 books at a time,but if one grabs hold then I will ignore the rest and binge read it to the end.
Sometimes my side of the bed can get a bit..

Usually until I can’t keep my eyes open but always following the words with a finger and moving my lips. I can’t wait to see Spot run!

I read until I’ve dropped the book onto my face three or four times through nodding off.

Binge. Hard. Usually when I am on holiday.

I can’t help thinking if you’re reading a book and falling asleep it can’t be a great book! I’ve stayed up until the early morning to read a book, they keep me awake most of the time.

Depends, if it is a chapter book like a David Walliams or Roald Dahl then I’ll read a chapter or two a night.

If it’s a Mr Man or Julia Donaldson book I’ll blitz through it on one sitting.

The shorter ones are easier as I can remember which character has which silly voice.

but will generally only stop at a natural break point, like the end of a chapter

Yep, this – and the Kindle handily tells you how long you have to stay awake for. 🙂

I binge on holiday, hardly read at all otherwise.

I was reading a lot on the train for a time, I then noticed how much I was spending on books!

I tried to calm it down by seeking out the lower priced items on Amazon but they are usually low priced for a reason.

I now mostly watch films or box-sets on prime on the train.

Depends muchly on how much time I have available, really. Most of my reading is done on my phone or pad, because I’ll sit and read a book on my phone when sat at a cafe with a coffee, then pick it up again on my pad, if I have time. Dead tree books, of which I have a considerable number, tend to get left, mainly because I buy hardcover copies, which I don’t carry around because they’re heavy, and vulnerable to damage, so I need a lot of time, like a holiday, to read those.
I took three of Robert Macfarlain’s books away a couple of years ago and got through two and partway into the third, over the nine days I was away.
I try to finish a chapter, or at least get to the end of a paragraph, then bookmark the page, either physically or electronically.

Whatever works around the day – anything difficult, though, needs a bit of momentum built up IME. I generally need a clear run at anything serious – find it hard to see how you could make headway just nibbling at a few pages of Proust (say) each night, but maybe that works for some folk.

Saying that I think Henry James [who wrote some right ballbreakers in his time] recommended little and often for his oeuvre. Maybe they read differently in the old days, but I found The Ambassadors painful in small doses, more tolerable in large chunks.

In bed, until my eyes start to close. A good sign to stop is usually when I drop the book.

This on the kindle iPhone app because Funk jr broke my kindle. I’ve read five books in the last three weeks. Newborn and toddler with tonsillitis means I’ve been awake / sat around worrying whilst watching them sleep.

Sometimes I’m a read it cover to cover in a oner.

Sometimes I can take over a year to read another.

These days I’m not much of a reader though (and what I do read mostly tends to be re(peat)reads….) 😳