Yeah, I think I would read zero more books.
Maybe get in a few more attempts on prince Lorian… god damn it!
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I don’t find it to be the case. What I do find is that the various stresses and complications of adult life make it harder to truly lock in in a piece of media, or spend significant time exploring the land scape of media to find new junk to be excited about. Frankly I just have less time to say, sit down and play a video game for an entire day. Or spend 3 days doing nothing but reading a particularly good book. That I’m often too tired or stressed to do the same sort of deep reading, or read multiple things concurrently the way I used to.
And the same seems to hold true when I look around at my peers, or think back at what the older generations in my life were into. The variety of music people listen to narrows, and they discover new music less often. The number of times you go to the movies in a year reduces. And both the number of books goes down, and the type of book often changes.
I probably read more words and individual works these days than I used to. Often thanks to the various “digital distraction” devices. But a lot more of that is non-fiction, and a lot more of it is short form. Though I’ve been digging into digital comics lately.
We focus a little bit too much on traditional books I think, because its respectable. But its not any better for you to read 60 books a year about unhealthy crash diets and nutritional magic than it is to spend that time on Instagram.
People are apparently reading more books than they were 20 years ago.
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Around here is as social as I get, and I just can’t quit boingboing. Except on weekends. I rarely pop in here on weekends. Or while on vacation.
I could read more books if I would sit down and read, I suppose. Personally, I read casually, and having more time wouldn’t make me read more unless the book I was reading had its hooks in me. More likely I would find some other thing on which to fritter away my time.
When I die and enter the afterlife – assuming we are judged – I expect they will look over my life record and say, “Hmm. Well, you didn’t start any wars. Good on you. You could have read more books though.”
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And if I stopped eating avocado toast I’d own a house. Or something.
Suggesting that any time spent doing X is “wasted” is never a good measure of anything. I check social media a certain number of times a day but I wouldn’t spend that time reading books - I’d spend it staring off into space or picking my nose or whatever because I can’t maximize every moment of my day without losing my everloving mind.
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Get out’a my bathroom!
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But if you use a calculator, you’d have more time to read a book.
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The photo is of The Last Bookstore in downtown LA, right? I went there for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and the place blew my mind. Easily the best bookstore I’ve ever been in.
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When visitors ask me about must-sees in downtown L.A., that place has been on my list for a while now. It’s like a little theme park for book-lovers. If James Daunt (the fellow who just bought Barnes and Noble) hasn’t already checked it out he really should.
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Wait, wait, isn’t it that if I spent less time using a calculator I’d have more time to read a book?
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No Facebook, no Twitter, no Instagram, no nothing except BBS & El Reg, and yet…
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All of what you say, @Ryuthrowsstuff, describes my situation exactly, thank you for articulating it so well. Now that the kids are getting older, they seem to take more big chunks of my time. Works seems to continually, over time, to get more and more busy. I don’t get stuff done at home like I’d like, or like I used to do. My garage workbench is a mess and has been for years now. There’s no way in hell I’ll find time to restore an antique oil can like I see posted here on BB. That’s cool, though.
BTW, I don’t check FB at all, Twit almost never and Insta is pretty rare, only when I’m stuck somewhere and I’m bored. Ask my spouse and you’ll hear that I probably spend most of my online “discretionary” time on BB’s BBS. 
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I dunno, but I could read several more books a year if I didn’t Boing.
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I don’t even have kids, my peers who are parents barely have time to “waste” on “garbage”.
I have have a hell of a time with that whole worst job market since the great depression and expanding work hours in the face of stagnating pay thing. Which I feel is as much a factor as just getting older and life getting complicated.
Everyone I know is expected to work 70 hour weeks and not take that vacation time they supposedly have, and job advancement only comes with changing jobs. Which doesn’t exactly make book club priority one.
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But YouTwittFace helps me understand today
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(And now, seeing this gif, for a brief moment, you are! 
)
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First rule of book club? 
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Apparently only go twice, then incessantly talk about Infinite Jest for the next 2 years.
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That is too damn much time spent on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. By the way, nice pic of The Last Bookstore, where I went for my birthday a couple years ago. Alas, I will log off now, so I can get back to providing my pre-launch comments on a new book about the perils of too much screen time.
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I can’t read a book at work.
(Well, I could but I don’t like reading books from screens.)
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