Is there such a thing as reading too much?

[cynatnite]

I've been an avid reader since I can remember. My mother said I used to carry around a dictionary and asked people to tell me what the words were. I love books and believe they have to be treated a certain way.

I spend a few hours a day reading whether it's books, on the internet or one of the magazines I buy on occasion. I like to be informed of what's going on in the world plus reading about subjects that interest me. I'll read a little bit of everything, but I really enjoy nonfiction the most...History and politics being my two favorite subjects.

When I get into discussions with my family...mostly my mother and sister...they say I read too much or that I believe everything I read. Now, I know I don't believe everything I read since I'm immune to the influence of tabloids, Santa Claus and the bible.

But is it possible to read too much? I was told as a child that my love of reading was a good thing. Now, it's not so much anymore.

Is this a message we're sending to our children now? That reading a lot isn't the positive it once was?

[LucyParsons]

1. Only if it affects your eyesight

$0.02

:)

[cynatnite]

6. Reading glasses worked

:)

[EFerrari]

32. My grandmother used to say "You'll go blind!"

and she meant, from reading.

:rofl:

[babylonsister]

2. Never ever ever. You're informed; if you're being criticized for that,

it could be because the people doing the criticizing aren't.

[SteppingRazor]

3. Yes and no.

I think it'd be sad to spend one's life in the pursuit of knowledge without taking time to gain life experiences of one's own. Also, I think whether one reads too much entirely depends on what one is reading.

But other than that, no, I don't think you can read too much. As long as what you're reading isn't rotting your brain, and you're not turning pasty white from spending too much time indoors, I don't think you can read too much. :)

[niyad]

4. there is no such thing as reading too much--I used to get the same kind of comment

along with "you have too many books".

such people are those with whom I no longer speak.

[shain from kane]

24. Q: "Have you read all these books?" A: "What good is a library of books that you've read?"

[joneschick]

5. you don't read too much

I suspect it's your informed opinions that are causing the discomfort for others. :hi:

[panader0]

7. My girlfriend reads 3 books a week

Mostly fiction. I tried to get her to read Molly Ivins or Al Franken but no. I don't think it's possible to read too much unless it interferes with your responsiblities. But what you read is important.

[niyad]

16. I frequently read a book a day, and I read both fiction and non-fiction, in all genres

[Solly Mack]

8. I even read phone-books

I don't think it's possible to read too much

My husband was once told that he was unhappy with the "way things are" (govt. poverty, etc.) because he reads too much...

He still shakes his head in disbelief over that one

[panader0]

10. What happened to the couch banana?

[Solly Mack]

13. Signature lines are turned off....and he's a siggie

[Fresh_Start]

9. yes you can

if you don't include adequate physical fitness
if you don't include adequate social interaction
if you believe what you are reading
if you sway your beliefs/philosophy based on whatever the last thing you read is

no otherwise

[CJCRANE]

11. I don't think so.

The problem comes when you know a lot about a subject and the person you're talking to doesn't.

In that case it can turn into a one-sided lecture (which isn't comfortable for the other person).

[Javaman]

12. Not only do I read, I now also listen to books on MP3 when I'm in a situation...

where I can't read. LOL

[Jim__]

14. Reading shouldn't be a substitute for living.

I love to read. But, reading allows us to expand upon our experience. To really appreciate what you're reading, especially fiction, you have to experience life.

[Sequoia]

18. Yawn....experience life....people in books have more fun than most..

Reading allows us to wish we could expand upon our experience but with gas prices, low pay, books are about all some can experience. Not to mention if you're laid up and can't even walk anywhere.

Now back to your remote (just kidding)

[Sequoia]

15. According to my SO, I read too much.

I told him if he didn't watch so much tv he wouldn't be so mad. I had a boss who hated me reading at work. I knew a guy who got mad when his wife read a book that he'd yank it from her and throw it against the wall. I've noticed men might fear women who read...too much.

Ha, ha...just wait till the TV crashes, the satellites fall out of the sky, the magentic poles reverse....we'll have books to read, but the rest of the electronic gadget lovers will be lost and hopelessly stupid...stupider, as in utterly stupid beyong repair.

[InvisibleTouch]

17. No such thing.

Although it's possible to read too much during any one given stretch of time. I've come home from the library with armfuls of books, and then spent the next 2-3 days doing nothing but reading - nothing but the very most vital tasks, feeding the animals, for instance - but neglecting even to take the time to feed myself. And of course every other responsibility was ignored also. So it's possible to binge at the wrong time, but would be fine to read all those books during shorter stretches of time.

I don't believe everything I read either, of course. In fact I sometimes enjoy books that I know I will disagree with, just for the mental exercise of seeing an alternate point of view. Or laughing at the absurdity, even. I love fiction (mainly sci-fi and pre-historical novels) and nonfiction about equally. I'm less obsessive over "what's going on in the world," since it's usually just bad news anyway, but I seem to catch the really major events by osmosis just from reading DU.

On edit: Oh, and I will sometimes get drawn into reading the dictionary, too. I'll be looking up a word, and then get sidetracked for 5-10 minutes just pursuing the language and enjoying the learning of new words.

[China_cat]

19. According to my stepfather

any amount of reading is too much. He even grumbled when I'd tell him I had to read a book for a school assignment. Otherwise there wasn't any room to just sit and read, even if all the chores were done. I'd be yelled at to 'get my nose out of that damned book and do something productive'.

He never managed to kill my love of books, though. I take time to read something every day.

[InvisibleTouch]

28. And you even use the words "every day" correctly! :)

I see it mis-written so often ("everyday" to mean "every day", though they mean two different things), even in published works, that it has become one of my minor peeves. All that reading pays off! :)

[grasswire]

20. I have seen a sort of fiction addiction in some people.

I first noticed this phenomenon when people would say that they go nutty if they don't have a book lined up to read when the current one is finished. "I get the shakes toward the end of the book if I don't have a new book to start." I started listening to that kind of talk, and I believe there exists an addiction to fiction for some. It's either causing the release of endorphins in them or creating an escape from RW that becomes addicting.

Romance and teen fiction seem to be the book of choice for the addicted, from what I could see.

[mitchum]

21. Only if you're Emma Bovary

[islandmkl]

22. just don't get caught spending too much time looking at the pictures...

:evilgrin:

[Ian David]

23. I suppose it depends...

[1monster]

25. Don't feel too bad. My mother recently told me that it was possible to be "too intelligent and

too educated" for my own good...

She's a fundy.

[mitchum]

26. Our marketing driven television saturated society says that any reading is too much...

reading is tied closely to reason and reflection; those both run counter to a culture of conditioned consumption.

"Burn the witch...and her books!"

[Greyhound]

27. Only in America.

There is a strong anti-intellectualism that has become predominant over the last few generations. Maybe it was from the "damn college boys" mentality of WWII, but it is certainly 180 degrees away from the attitude that founded and built this country.

Very sad

[Toucano]

29. Reading is fundamental.

It is the best way to add the experiences of others to your experience.

However, it is no substitute for having your own experiences. You have to live, too.

Reading has always inspired me to DO things: to experience the things I've read about.

Especially important for fans of history and politics is the fact that you have to remain a part of your contemporary society. I know a handful of very well-read people who can barely have a conversation with a stranger outside of an academic setting because they know Ulysses inside and out, but have zero knowledge of popular music, cinema, or sports.

The best thing we can give our children is a well-rounded education.

[eilen]

30. I hope not (long)

I too had a stepfather that would tell me to get my nose out of the book and he'd flick me in the head with his finger (it hurt). He had no respect for education or the pursuit thereof. My father loved that I read but he occasionally would be concerned about the subject matter-- ie. classics and history were good and commendable but dimestore romances were garbage. Every year I'd get a book and a long dress from him for Christmas. My mother never minded me reading unless I was neglecting schoolwork and chores. Teachers would yell at me for reading in class while they were trying to teach. When I was a kid I wanted to read the entire library, starting with every fairytale I could get my hands on.

I love to read. I read everything almost-- nonfiction, fiction, biography, classic, bubblegum mystery, historical novels, cookbooks, tomes on philosophy, art, current events, social ills, mysticism. I find that my book collections are focused more with literary fiction (novels etc.), bubblegum fiction (all that chick-lit stuff--reading equivalent to bon bons or potatot chips), phiosophy, history, poetry, how-to--gardening, building/woodworking, sustainable living, thrift; sewing, needlearts, history of costume, art, painting, collage, drawing, design, art history; science fiction, mysticism, astrology, healing, holistic health. I even read my son's books. Then, of course, the library. I will try and figure out what I'm in the mood for. Plus I read on the internet, have lots of special interest groups on yahoo that come to me in email, read here on DU, peruse the WSJ articles, NYT and BBC as well as messageboards for my various interests. Then there are the magazines..... I just don't do it all at once. I play book mp3's or podcasts which are like verbal magazine articles and of course, music.

Last book read: Real Food by Nina Planck; I highly recommend it. Current book I'm reading: The Sweet Trade by Elizabeth Garrett (It's a novel about pirates).; Creative Therapy for Children with Autism, ADD, and Aspergers by Janet Tubbs and Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. (that is the stack at my right). Currently at my left are magazines: Reiki Journal, New York Magazine, Vogue, Food Coop newsletter, Venuszine, Mac Life, Wired, Self, Burda. Happily the Vogue and Self magazines expire this November-- I confess, I mostly look at the pictures in those. We used to get Popular Mechanics. I'll leaf through those when the guys are watching tv stuff I have no interest in (5th or 6th repeat of a movie or other stupid reality shows).

I like to talk about stuff I read but there aren't a lot of people who can always converse knowlegeably about things-- they always ask how I find the time to read so much-- I guess I just don't spend as much time cleaning my house or shopping or sleeping. I wonder what they do with their time--we all have 24 hours. I also read very fast and sometimes, take notes on information or a turn of phrase that interests or delights. Most of these people have more education than I do. I don't have my 4 year degree, only an AAS in nursing. My favorite places are libraries and bookstores as well as the art studio, my workshop, the mountains, lake and woods.

I don't really care for book clubs because they take so long to read the books. I read them in a day if that is the only book I am reading. What surprises me is the number of people who don't read the book in the book club-- what is the point of it? Then they are usually such easy, sort of cookie cutter books-- very mass appeal popular tomes. Good to offload a shitty day at work and rid your mind of the hateful disappointment and frustration from such workplace altercations but nothing edgy or very different. (One such book that comes to mind is Eat Love Pray-- it is okay and competent but no monument to literature and displays nothing very edgy or original as well as any bestseller from formulaic books such as trial thrillers, mysteries, spy novels, romances (see Nora Roberts, Patricia Cornwell, Ken Follet, Stephen King, etc.). These books are entertaining in their own right but not something that would compel me to join a book club.

[cynatnite]

31. My reading covered a lot of territory, too...

Comic books, sci-fi, newspapers and teen magazines were what I read as a kid. My reading tastes changed when I hit high school. I joined the drama/debate team which turned me on to original oratory, women's extemp and Lincoln/Douglas debate. That had me reading so much I hardly had time for much else. I managed to throw in some athletics, too.

I read fast, too. I can do a book in about a day for the most part unless it's something I really want to take my time with. Bill Clinton's book took me five freaking days. Kids kept interrupting wanting food and all that. :)

Oh, and I got in lots of trouble for reading during a few classes. That was mostly geometry and trig. I hated those classes.

Current reads are:

The Fate of Liberty by Mark E. Neely, Jr.
Searching for Mary Magdalene by Jane Lahr.

Those were dug out of the bargain aisles at the bookstore. I will borrow some comic books from a friend and do a long session with those from time to time. Romances are my super secret read.

[Iris]

33. Your mother and sister are right - you should only believe things "they" say

never, ever, ever anything you read yourself!

:sarcasm:

however, I'm not sure who "they" are, but I'm sure they read something!

Honestly, I don't think you can read too much as long as you are critical about what you read, which is kind of the whole point of reading.

[bain_sidhe]

34. I have to restrict myself

Started when I was a kid. If I didn't set ground rules, I'd do nothing BUT read. So, I mostly only read at night, after dinner and any "shows" I follow (not many of those, but Friday night is ALL t.v.). Even so, I read about 3 or 4 books a week if it's fiction, somewhat less if the subject matter is complex. It took me a week to read Kevin Phillips' American Theocracy and Bad Money (Bad Money builds on themes set up in American Theocracy, so I had to read that one first).

Current reads, The Shock Doctrine (yes, I was slow getting around to it), and I just started Fatal Revenant. But I'm not sure I'm going to finish it. Either Stephen R. Donaldson has lost some of his writing ability, or my tastes have changed quite a bit from the first two "Thomas Covenant" trilogies. I picked up a Tammi Hoag mystery at the grocery store today, just in case...

I'm also awaiting delivery the next four "Amelia Peabody" mysteries. Hubby and I have become fans, and are working are way through the whole back list.

[catnhatnh]

35. The Perfect Question....

And the answer is NO....Just today, I was reading Paul Fussell's "Bad", a social critique of things gone bad in America (1992).Among his criticisms was a statistic that in the US only 6% of all adults had read ANY book (including trash) in the last year.We need both you and me and your many other responders that show support. Just picture the other 94% in a Trivial Pursuit type game....

[Fox Mulder]

36. There is no such thing as reading too much.

[bemildred]

37. How would they know?

But seriously, it's none of their business.

[uppityperson]

38. We had rules about reading.Not @ dinner. Lunch, brkfst, rest of time, ok.

But not at the dinner table. No tv, no reading. Other than that, we read in the past, we read now all the time (huh, read=reed and read=red). Got together with family recently at 1 house and had to laugh since we each had a couple books next to our beds that we'd brought along to read before going to sleep.

My young adult child reads a lot also.

[clyrc]

39. There have been times in my life when I read too much

I abandoned all responsibilities, and I wasn't interested in anything else. I mostly like fiction, but I'm reading mostly non-fiction right now. Book stores and libraries are some of my favorite places on this planet. I just try to be more moderate when I read, instead of reading all the time.