Do you read?

Question

How many books do you read a year? What's your favourite genre, and do you read translated works at all?
- as a foreign writer, this interests me

Answer 1

I'm indeed a rabid reader. Early on, when I was ambitious and had to prove something, I slogged through a lot of deep, dark, classic works like Kafka, Tolstoi, Shiller, Goethe, Dostojevski, etc.

However, over time, I developed a flavor for crime novels: psycho thrillers, police procedurals, forensic novels. Authors such as Jonathan Kellerman, John Sandford, Michael Connelly, James Lee Burke, J.A. Jance, Sue Grafton, Robert B. Parker... if that gives you an idea.

I read about 2 books a week. Crime is not only what I read, but mostly. Parallel to fiction, I usually am also reading something philosophical, political or social commentary, such as right now: Are Men Necessary? by Maureen Dowd.

Do I read translated works? Yes, most notably Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Umberto Eco, Nabokov.

My favorite books: The Travels of Jamie McPheeters by Robert L. Taylor; To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende.

Answer 2

I have no idea how many books I read in a year. Last year I imagine I read probably about 50 books over the summer.

I enjoy romance novels and thrillers/mysteries.

I took a Canadian Literature course two years ago, and read a novel by a French Canadian for it, translated into English. I was advised against it by my instructor, because I was told that I wasn't getting a true translation in English. I would imagine that this is the same for many foreign language books, and that meanings can often be misinterpreted.

Answer 3

I am always reading a book. I don't have a favorite type of book, but I love "chic-lit", mystery, drama, horror, suspense, thrillers, psychology (fiction or nonfiction). I don't know if I have read translated works at all, but the book I currently am reading is written by an English woman and takes place in England. It is interesting because the prose and even the spelling of the words are different than the way we spell them here. I can read a book in a day, or it can take me up to a month if it is more challenging or much longer (say over 800 pages).

Answer 4

I read between 40-60 books a year for pleasure. Depending upon my mood and work load this can be more or less.
I have read translated works. That doesn't mean much to me, what means a lot to me is whether or not when I pick the book up in the bookstore I find it readable. To be honest, most of the translated work I read was in University in comparative literature courses.
My favorite genres include fantasy, sci-fi, crime-fiction, and realistic type fiction, but that also varies with my mood.

Answer 5

I read an average of a book a day. I read between 7 and 10 books a week. Last year, I read 402 books.

My favorite genres are classics, literature, science fiction, fantasy, horror, and contemporary dramatic teen fiction.

I do enjoy translated works. Two of my favorite books of all time - The NeverEnding Story and Sophie's World - were originally written in German, but as I do not speak the language, I have not read them in their original form, only the English versions.

Answer 6

I read, on average, a book every ten days. I like all genres but am especially interested in fantasy and nonfiction about explorers.

I do read foreign authors quite often (Ha Jin, Karin Fossum, Sergei Lukyanenko, Natsuo Kirino etc). There are many great translations out there; some not so great.

Answer 7

I read about one book a week depending on the size and content of the book, and more if I am on vacation. Just about anything is a target for my choice in reading material, and my taste in reading material changes from day to day depending on my mood. The past year though, I have noticed that many of my choices have a spiritual aspect to it. I say spiritual, and not religious, as they are different. The last translated work that I read was "God's Mountain" by Erri De Luca. Translated works are very interesting to read because they are often being written by someone so very different than what I am used to encountering on a day-to-day basis, and the fresh perspective helps to keep me balanced.

Answer 8

I would say I average about 25-30 books a year, more if I'm on deployment. I mostly enjoy fantasy but I like to take a break from it with some pulp / comic fiction. Most of the translated works I read are older classics like Sun Tzu and Dante.

Answer 9

On average I read 2-3 books a week. I also spend time writing each day. My favorite genre is thriller/suspense. I do read translated works as well.

Answer 10

I can't quite place how many I read a year. It varies, depending on whether I read each day and how many books I finish per day.

I avidly read at least one or two books a day (300-500 pgs. each), my preference being fiction, although there are non-fiction works I read as well. I read almost any genre ranging from fantasy to cyberpunk.

I read translated books when they catch my eye, and if I find an author I like I try to find more of their books to read.