The Literary Apothecary

A series where we step back from WHAT we're reading, prescribe a little introspection, and talk about WHY we're reading.

If you have been involved in book related social media in any form, then you're familiar with people frequently discussing the speed at which they read and listen to books and audiobooks, as well as the number of books they have read in a month or year. And getting close to the end of the year now, this will only be ramping up as people publish yearly reading wrap ups, which leads to the inevitable "wow, how did you read xxx books this year?" Influencers will discuss listening to audiobooks at 2-3x speeds, and I see people all the time making comments like wow, you seem to read so fast, I wish I could read that fast. I also see a lot of people asking about apps or programs to learn how to read faster, people discussing speed reading, and even taking reading shortcuts like dialogue only reading, in order to consume more books. And my question is always, why?

So first, why listen to an audiobook at anything beyond the normal narration speed. There are certainly some valid arguments for speeding up your audiobooks. I listen to a lot of horror on audio, and admittedly, some of the narrators really ham up the slowness and the atmosphere, to the point that it sounds like they are speaking at a sub conversational level. the best audiobook narrators read at a pace that keeps up with normal conversation. So bumping it up a bit if the narrator is really slow makes sense. On top of that, I know a number of folks with ADHD and neurodivergence who say if they have it at a normal speed, they actually cannot focus well. But for most folks out there, especially in the fantasy and sci fi worlds where audiobooks can be 20 hours and up, it really comes down to want to consume the book faster. And while we all have different audio processing skills, at a certain point you're just blazing through a book to blaze through a book.

How about people trying to hack physical books to read faster (and an additional argument for consuming audiobooks faster)? Well, the most common argument I get is that people have a huge TBR, and they want to read as many books as they can in their lifetime, or some variant of this. Social media has made this even worse, especially in the last 6 months or so. The highest performing content in bookish spaces of late are the recommendation carousels and videos, where creators rapid fire off endless lists of books that are must read, foundation, Indies you have to read, and god tier. From the social media consumer standpoint, it can feel like this huge world of books that you just have to read, and creates a pressure to just jam as many books into your craw as possible.

I'm a big believer that we should all read what we want, how we want. If you have well thought out reasons for speed running your books, and you enjoy it, then I think that's great. But for people feeling pressured by social media, or people who haven't really thought about why they want to read faster and more, allow me to make a suggestion for you. Instead of asking how much you can read or how fast, I want you to ask yourself this instead: What do I want to get out of reading, and why and I reading this book?

I ask myself this question with every book I read. If I can make this a bit food related, my first thought is that my TBR is more like a menu, and not a to do list. I get to read, I have the fortune and luxury to be able to read, and I have all these wonderful options available to me. Some books are a snack or an appetizer - they're quick, they're fun, they're not the main attraction, and they are really just fun to consume. I'm not spending time analyzing them or going too deep - they're just there to be enjoyed. On the other hand, some books are the main course - layered and complex, worthy of a slow, deliberate read. Something to really take your time with, and savor. And there are books that are everything in between.

And when you are feeling pressured, or looking at a TBR a mile high staring you in the face, remember this fun statistic. It is estimated that somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 million individual books have been published over the years since we started publishing books, and we are currently publishing another 3-5 million per year. With the rise of self publishing and book popularity, this is only going to grow. So no matter how fast or how many books you read, you'll never be able to read even a small fraction of all the great books out there.

People see the background book counter in my videos as with the one attached and will say well, look how fast you read. I am someone who prefers physical books overall, and I listen to (and count) 1-2 audiobooks a month. But I am also a naturally fast reader - I am able to read around 60 pages an hour for most books, and it's just the natural speed that I read. I'm not trying to read faster. And before I start every books, I ask myself that question above - what am I looking to get out of this book. Sometimes, I force myself to slow a book down or I will intentionally not finish it because I am enjoying it so much. Sometimes I am loving a fast paced battle fantasy so much I will plow through it. It all depends, and you can't control your natural reading speed to other people's.

So here's what I would encourage you to do. Read what you want how you want, but figure out what it is you want first. Before you read a book, ask yourself the question What do I want to get out of reading, and why and I reading this book? Don't feel like you have to read more or faster just because your favorite influencer is out there doing it. Read at your own pace, and don't feel bad about being a "slow" reader. None of us will ever read all the books, and as long as you are enjoying reading how you want to, then there's no need to speed up just for the sake of speeding up.

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