Shelf Addiction Blog

So Many Books, So Little Time! Literally!

3/21/2013

Someone tell me, please! How on earth are some people able to read so many books in such a short amount of time?!?! Do they not have full time jobs? Are they lucky enough to have a super power that allows them to read unbelievable fast? Now, I'm a fast reader, but not THAT fast! I try not to compare myself with others, but I do feel a bit bad when I can only do 4-6 books a month and it seems like others are doing 4-6 a week! I know this because I see so many posts from my fellow book bloggers loaded up in my Google Reader. So many that I can't even keep up with them anymore! I try to read the posts and comment when I can, but it's just so many.

You see, I have these little things called a full time job, a side jewelry business and a husband....all things that interrupt my daily reading! Lol. Trust me, if I could read all day everyday, I would! In the mean time, I have to settle for lunch hours, some evenings and a few hours here and there on my weekends. Thus, so many books, so little time. Just reading everything I've committed to is enough to make me stressed. I don't see how or when I'd really be able make a significant dent in that never-ending TBR list that I have! I read a book here and there, but for every book I read another is added. I tell you, it's a vicious circle!

Bloggers, on average, how many books do you read, review and/or post a week? To have a successful blog, do you think it's necessary to post a new review every other day?

Readers, do you even care if bloggers post that often?

Tell me what you think!

Happy Reading,
~Tamara

9 Comments

Lectus link

3/21/2013 08:35:31 am

Well, I definitely don't do 4-6 a month! More like 4 a week. Of course, I don't have a full time job, I am husbandless, and no side business. I just teach 16 hours a week and am doing a Ph.D. So I guess I have plenty of time :-)

Tamara @ Shelf Addiction

3/21/2013 10:42:54 am

Ohh, a Ph.D! That's awesome! What are you studying?

Lee link

3/21/2013 09:15:44 am

This is definitely something I've struggled with! I have a fulltime job that gets very intense at times, a husband and child. What I've come to accept is the blog is mine and I will post when I want to and that I will try not to feel the pressure of posting too much. I post 1-2 reviews a week and then I'll have an interview or guest post or random thought sort of post. There have been times when I have not posted for two weeks. And I'm fine with that. Some of the very active blogs have more than one person reading and reviewing so that is helpful. If you want to be more active, you can always seek associate reviewers! :)

3/21/2013 10:38:19 am

Great idea! Getting another reviewer is something to think about. But I fear I'm too type A to let someone else post. Lol :-) Maybe I'll have to get over that!

Reads4Pleasure link

3/21/2013 09:36:29 am

It's taken me four years of blogging to realize that no one cares if I don't get the three posts a week I've committed myself to up on time or at all. Even though I usually post three times a week, this year I've given myself permission to post less and read less if my schedule doesn't allow time for more.

3/21/2013 10:40:43 am

I'll be taking a page from your philosophy! I need to just let it be what it is and not worry about it.

Alexis @ Reflections of a Bookaholic link

3/21/2013 06:18:57 pm

Oh I'm going to write a book on this. Let me start from the beginning! You might be sorry you wrote this post lol.

When I started blogging I was in my second year of law school, married, a staff editor on a journal, an officer in a large organization, and competing in an advocacy competition that last for 7 months (I had practice 4 hours a day). So I completely understand what you mean. But I actually went to my book shelf each week end and picked two books that I had already read and wrote reviews on them a week. I supplemented with bookish posts like blog hops, teaser tuesdays, I participated in a photo meme every once in a while. During that time I only posted about 4 times a week. It's not that I didn't read. I did. I just didn't wrote reviews and didn't post them. I did that for about 5 months. I seriously posted reviews on books that I thought people should know or talk about. I miss those days. I spent a lot more time blogging and reading was a no stress affair. Sometimes I'd go a week or two without reading because I didn't have the time.

I don't do that anymore. I strive to post 5 days a week with 3 of them being reviews. That hasn't happened lately because I haven't posted reviews because they proofreading (I'm lazy). But my reviews online are still about three months behind my actual reading. I have books that I read in January that written reviews that I haven't posted yet. I often switch books around when I'm doing book tours or the like. But the number of reviews that post during the week is no reflection of how many books I read during the book.

Now I'm a practicing attorney, still married, I work out as much as I can, and I cook everyday. I still don't have the time to read like I want. I depend on audiobooks and I use Holidays and readathons to stock up.

I told you it would be a book! All that is to say that looks can be deceiving. I currently average one book a week unless I'm listening to an audio. But during the holidays or special times, I can read 4 books a read and listen to one audio a week.

3/21/2013 11:46:52 pm

Hey Alexis, Thank you so much for sharing your experience! I actually have tons and I mean tons of reviews that I wrote prior to my blog existing. I didn't even think that I could post reviews that I previously written. Lol, I don't know why, because it seems so logical now! I might do something like post one a week. I'm still thinking about how I want to execute it. Thank you again!

Kelly link

4/1/2013 05:57:18 am

I usually aim for 6-7 review posts per month. If I start to think I'm going to fall short, I will usually do a throwback review and put up one from a book I read pre-blogging-days. I know a lot of blogs that load up on things like cover reveals, promos, etc. but I don't do a lot of that, so I always feel like I need to READ READ READ to keep up with my review posts! :)

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