Do you give yourself a time limit for finishing a novel

[probooklover]

i could never set a time limit. some books you can rattle through in a day, some can take weeks. setting a limit seems a bit arbitrary

 

i do pay attention to the rate though. the longer each page takes, the less likely i am to finish the book!

[Freewheeling Andy]

I never set a limit for a number of reasons - firstly, books are all different - and they're also different to what you expect when you start them - so it's impossible to know at the outset how long a book should take you. And a book taking a long time doesn't mean it's a bad book. Often the best books are the ones that take the most effort and thought - and therefore require a closer, more patient, slower reading.

 

But, also, it's impossible to determine outside factors, too, which allow you reading time. Clearly, for example, I read far, far more when I'm on holiday - particularly on long train and plane journeys - than when I'm cycling to and from work, working and not having much spare time at home on weekdays.

 

But then, I never quite understood the obsession with just reading your way through a huge number of books. I'd rather read, and appreciate, in depth 10 or 20 really good, but perhaps dense, books, than churn my way through a book a day of fluff without bothering to actually stop and think much at all.

[Kreader]

No time limit. I'll read as I please.

[ScottHughes]

If I don't finish a novel in a couple weeks, I will start reading something else and will usually never go back without starting over.

[Paul]

If I don't finish a novel in a couple weeks, I will start reading something else and will usually never go back without starting over.

 

A man more or less of my own heart.

[Scarlette]

Time limits are too stressful, and even when I do set them, real life tends to interfere with my reading time so I never stick to them. Leisurely reading is more my thing.

[Beccles]

No I like it to last as long as possible

[jewell]

If I don't finish a novel in a couple weeks, I will start reading something else and will usually never go back without starting over.

 

I must admit i don't like to leave big gaps between picking the book up, and if i do i will as you say, start from the beginning. But i do take as much time as i need on a book. I have had some i have 'lived in' and hardly put down until i've finished it, and others i pick up and read a little and then i put it down for a while in favor of knitting/card making or watching a film, so it takes me a longer. It depends on the book and on what other things are going on in my life. I make sure i spend some family time with my husband as a couple so i have to prioritize and even if i really want to pick up the book, i resist for the sake of more important things.

[Rawr]

No time limit. I'll read as I please.

 

This...

[Ceinwenn]

I can't afford to set time limits because work means they would never be adhered to. I just try to read as much as possible & hope that I enjoy far more than I don't.

[bethany725]

No time limit for me either. Some weeks I do just about nothing but read during the days, and some weeks I don't even get to pick up a book. A time limit just wouldn't work for me.

Plus, I have to think I'm a bit like Kell... I think if I set a limit for myself, I'd end up avoiding it just because I don't like being bossed, even by myself.

[nowhere_girl]

There are so many limits & structures we are forced to adhere to in our lives, so why on earth would anyone willingly do that with their leisure time?

 

Reading a book shouldn't be like boot camp.

 

Be spontaneous & random.

[ladymacbeth]

No time limit but after a certain amount of time I would probably give up or feel I had to start over. I prefer a real page-turner that is difficult to put down.

[BookJumper]

If I gave myself a time limit I'd never manage to finish anything, ever - what with life, the universe and everything I don't have much time to read and when I manage to find some I find it impossible to concentrate. I know this is a reflection on my state of mind rather than the quality of the book, hence it would be unfair for me to abandon the book for something that's not its fault.

[Kate]

I don't, but generally I read quite quickly anyway

[Adam]

I never give myself a time limit. I am all over the map when it comes to reading time. If I gave myself a time limit I would only get disappointed.

[SueB]

Never.....I work full time and work unsociable hours so sometimes takes me a few weeks to read a book

[Talisman]

Me neither - it takes as long as it takes ...

[blithe]

No, I don't like being in a rush - reading a novel is supposed to be a leisurely pursuit.

[Nicola]

I've got too many deadlines at work/uni so the thought of adding one to the thing I do for leisure makes me want to run away!

[Ben]

Not usually. However I do find, if I'm still struggling with a novel after a certain length of time, I may move on.

[Nollaig]

I don't usually set times for reading but my mojo has just been so all over the place that I think I'm going to have to make myself set aside an hour or so each day to focus on reading, and try to make a habit out of it.

[sirinrob]

I never set a time limit for reading - most of the time I finish reading a novel fairly quickly - 2/3 days. Sometimes it takes longer if its a complex or really dense novel. The worst case scenario has been 'Being and Nothingness' by Sartre, but thats a special case as I want to be able to read 'The Rebel' by Camus and compare, so I have to go through the torment of Sartre, as the almighty row that erupted between Camus and Sartre rests on the 2 books.

Edited September 3, 2009 by Nollaig
Grammar.

[Maureen]

Definately not! That would take the fun out of it!!

[BookJumper]

I never set a time limit for reading - most of the time I finish reading a novel fairly quickly - 2/3 days. Sometimes it takes longer if its a complex or really dense novel. The worst case scenario has been 'Being and Nothingness' by Sartre

which isn't a novel, so your record is intact !