A couple years ago, back when I was reading about 60 books a year, I would have said it was impossible to read too much. Finishing a book a week, I longed to find more time to devote to reading.
But today, I am seriously questioning my reading. I had already read 105 books in 2011 by the beginning of June and was on target to read around 250 this year. I would go to bed planning on reading a chapter or two before falling asleep, only to find myself finishing the book at 5am. And doing the same things again the next day, running on 2 hours of sleep.
It was all crazy rationalization. I obviously had a problem. Getting less than 15 hours of sleep a week is a problem. Sitting down to read a 6th book in a week when I could be doing something else, something social, is a problem.
I love reading, obviously. But, no one thing in your life should take it over entirely. So I changed my life. I will not read more than 4 books a week (still high by anyone's standards). I will not rationalize extra reading by claiming review deadlines. They can, and will, wait until next week. If I hit my reading limit for the week, I purposely make plans to do something completely non-bookish in the free time I've found myself with. Instead of just seeing my family, we do things as a family. I've started a new blog to focus on a different hobby, one that will take my focus off of books from time to time. I've started writing a book that will most likely go nowhere, but has been in my thoughts for years. By reading less, I've opened myself up to more the world has to offer. And that's a good thing.
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where reading interferes with your life?
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