How do you read?
I get frequent questions—from readers and interviewers—asking me whether I read. My initial response is always, “What, are you crazy?”, but I usually suppress this in favor of something more politic, like, “How can anybody not read?”
People do (not read, I mean), of course, horrifying as this concept is (my husband once had an employee who told him that her daughter had to read a book for school and so she had rented a copy for the child. Having been in her house, I’d noticed that she owned no books (totally creepy), but to have no idea of what or where the public library is?). But come on—to ask a professional novelist whether he or she reads?
Now, I do hear from other novelists who say that they can’t read books in their own genre, or can’t read while actively writing, and that makes some sense (I don’t read time-travel books, myself). But if you don’t read something, how do you refine your sensibilities, improve your craft, or merely fill up your creative well by listening to the lyrical song of someone else’s words?
Let’s put it this way: If there are any novelists who just don’t read, I probably don’t want to read what they write.
A refinement of the “Do you read?” question comes along every now and then, and this one is kind of interesting: “HOW do you read? I used to love reading, but now I have a job, kids, a house, etc., and I just seem to have no time to read anymore. I know you have a busy life, too, so I just wanted to ask, how do you manage to read?”
Now, that’s a question of logistics, isn’t it? So I took a look at “how” I read, physically. Because I do read pretty much all the time, and normally consume 3-4 books a week (lots more, when traveling), not counting whatever I’m reading for research. So how does it work?
Well, for starters, I always have at least one book within reach. If you’re accustomed to only reading in your favorite chair, when you have two or three hours of leisure, with a good light on and a glass of sweet tea beside you, then yeah, having a family is going to inhibit you some. I read everywhere. All the time.
I have a book on the counter while I’m cooking; I can’t (or shouldn’t {cough}) read while chopping vegetables, but I can certainly read while tearing up lettuce, sautéing garlic, or browning meat—and once something’s on the stove or in the oven, I just need to be there. No problem in reading while waiting for things to brown, cook, simmer, etc. (actually, I do pushups on my kitchen counter while reading during kitchen lag-time—I can read the back Op-Ed page of the Wall Street Journal and do 75 pushups (the sissy kind; I have weak wrists) while waiting for the dogs to eat their breakfast. (Why am I waiting for dogs to eat? Because the fat one eats faster and will muscle his brother out of the last quarter of his meal if I’m not watching)).
I have dogs; my son has dogs, and brings them down with him when he comes to visit. I take the rest of the Wall Street Journal to my office with me and whenever the dogs need to go out, I bring a chunk of it along—or if I’ve finished the paper, I grab my Kindle and read whatever’s up on that while the hounds burrow for gophers or play Questing Beast in the long grass and tumbleweeds.
I have a book on the bathroom counter and read while brushing teeth, applying sunscreen, and performing ablutions. I take the book into my closet and read while I’m getting dressed.
I try to walk five miles a day (and manage it about four days a week; get 2-3 miles on other days), with and without dogs. I have audiobooks on my iPod, and listen to these while walking (on my second re-listen of the entire Aubrey/Maturin series, by Patrick O’Brian—great books, one of my all-time favorite series).
If I have books for review (I do occasional reviews for a newspaper) or waiting for possible blurbs (there’s a small stack of ARCs from publishers), I pick one up whenever I go downstairs and take it along on errands (always take a book to a doctor’s appointment or the post office, is my advice).
Poetry books, and nonfiction books that aren’t for research, but just interesting—I’m reading Simon Winchester’s KRAKATOA at the moment—I leave in the bathroom, and read in small, digestible chunks. That enables me to comprehend everything easily, as I’m seldom dealing with more than a page at a time. {g} Have had KRAKATOA in there for two weeks; about halfway through the book, and now know all kinds of fascinating stuff about plate tectonics, with THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS and John Mark Eberhart’s poetry collection, NIGHT WATCH, waiting for their turn.
The only time (other than traveling) I really read without doing something else is for a brief period after dinner, while my husband watches TV, and for a still briefer period after I’ve tucked him in bed, when the dogs and I lie down on the Taos bed, and I read for 10-30 minutes before falling asleep.
It’s sort of like the way I write. Not in concentrated stretches of 4-5 hours (I do know some writers who claim that’s the only way they can write, and more power to them), but in stretches of an hour at a time, two or three or four times a day (depending where I am in the course of a book; toward the end, I really do write nonstop for ten or twelve hours—bar bathroom breaks (during which I read) and meals (ditto)—but that phase luckily doesn’t last long).
For today: Just finished Charlaine Harris’s new Sookie Stackhouse novel, DEAD RECKONING (good as always) this morning, 35% of the way through Anne Perry’s TREASON AT LISSON GROVE, which I picked up right afterward, four more pages about subduction zones in KRAKATOA, and about 25 pages into the ARC of a thriller off the blurb pile. Plus entertaining stuff from WSJ about the medical maladies of historical characters and why birth-control pills make women marry less-masculine men (also good op-ed piece by a British writer on pusillanimous response of Brits to killing of bin Laden).
Now mind, I don’t watch television. That helps.
Hello there -
I was introduced to your WONDERFUL novels just over a year ago, and of course have finished all more than once! Please add my name to your long list of devoted fans!
I’ve been following your blog and post kind of tugged at my heart a bit, if I must say… I just can’t imagine a home without books – especially one that sounds like it is so by choice! How on earth did that little girl even learn to read?!?! My two little guys are 6 and 2, and from the moment they could turn a page have been toting books everywhere we go and straight into the crib for quiet time before falling asleep.
In the past year or so, I’ve begun sharing some of my favorite (age-appropriate) novels with my older son, one chapter at a time. I look forward to this tradition growing as he does – and that made me wonder… What are some of your favorite books to share with school age children? And are your children fans of your work? How fun it must be to share in your own writing with them!
Just a curiousity, I guess!
Christy
Dear Christy–
My kids (who by the end of this month will be 29, 27, and 25 — all born in May) don’t read my books. As Eldest Daughter says, “I don’t want to read sex scenes written BY MY MOTHER!” {G}
Love to share my favorite books with them, though; I’ve always just dropped books on their beds, saying “You’ll like this!”-and they pretty much always do. Now they recommend things to me. {g}
For kids…for little kids, Richard Scarry (all of them had LOWLY WORM’S WORD BOOK, a little chunky cardboard book. They ate it. All of them), Eric Carle. Little older, Brian Jacques, OZ books.
–Diana
No Dr. Seuss? My eldest daughter (Brianna) requested a breakfast of green eggs and ham when she was about seven (she’s 24 now remembers it quiet well). We had fun with food coloring. Books by Madeleine L’engle are good at almost any age over ten or twelve.
I also read EVERYWHERE, and I love my reader. It has all my faves in one place. I notice my habits changed since I got my reader. I used to read whatever book I had handy, but with my reader I have several going at once. I always have a fictional book, a reference or nonfiction book, usually a short-stories collection, and sometimes I think I want to re-read a part of something I read previously. And my iPod is chock full of audio books, which count as another book in progress.
I bet you would love Alexandre Dumas’s ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’. Believe it or not, it is a real page turner. Warmest regard from Janet, Brisbane, Australia.
Reading is wonderful. Glad to know I’m not the only one who reads several different books at once – it drives my kids nuts!. Haven’t managed the read in the bathroom strategy yet, too many library books and afraid what would happen if one fell in. Magazines are more practical in that room of the house. Recently purchased an ipod and want to try that when walking. A friend told me about a free site called librivox.org where you can download books in public domain. Just finished the new Sookie Stackhouse book and have no interest in the TV show, who has time for TV? Thanks for the other book suggestions, and for your reading ideas.
Dear Barbara–
Oh, the TRUE BLOOD series is excellent! I don’t watch TV qua TV, but do occasionally watch collected series on DVD. Mostly “Dr. Who” {g}, but also “House” and “TRUE BLOOD.”
–Diana
I bet you would like the British Vampire/Werewolf/Ghost series on television called ‘Being Human’. It is a wonderful typically gritty Brit drama with the quintessential injection of humor just when the occasion demands. Nothing beats curling up with a great DG book though! Thank you Diana. Warmest regards from Janet in Brisbane, Australia.
Diana, ladies, I admire you!
I simply can’t read more than one book at a time! It’s like I get so immersed in the story that a different one just gets in the way. I read FAST though. So that compensates.
My husband on the other hand doesn’t read(other than the newspaper or a magazine). It’s not his fault, he was never encouraged as a kid or as a teen. I remember when we were dating I once told him how weird it seemed that they don’t have bookcases at his parents’ house, and he told me that he was astonished at how many books were in my house!!!
I wish he could read Outlander, but I think the size would scare him. I’ll have to look for something less intimidating and see if I can lure him in!
Dear Diana: i just wanted to say that i Love the outlander series. I am waiting anxiously for book 8. I also enjoy reading historical romances. I enjoy your style of writing it is different than most. God Bless! – angie
I’m also an avid reader, but find that I am limited sometimes by cash flow. Curious as to how much moola you spend on your lovely habit!! Cheers!
Dear Gerry–
Well, the nice thing about being a novelist (especially an eclectic one) is that _all_ the books I buy are tax-deductible as professional expense. {g} (About $300/month, not counting the occasional antique book.)
–Diana
LOL…my mother was a independent commercial artist and she had a room dedicated to her “reference” when I was a kid…I still to this day (and I am married 30 yrs) use her reference for birthdays…wrapping gifts…Xmas cards etc. Its nice not to have to spend the money on those things since I don’t get the deduction!
Thrift shops and yard sales are a great source of cheap books. I stock up there for trips and leave the books wherever I happen to be when I finish them.
I loved reading about everyone else’s reading habits – it’s great to learn that you’re not the only one who reads anywhere, anytime, and has books of several genres on the go at once (I’m currently reading David Starkey’s “Crown & Country”, Harry Mount’s “A Lust for Windowsills”, Dava Sobel’s “The Planets”, and “Lord John and the Private Matter” by a certain DG… :g:). My stepchildren are always amazed by the number of books I possess and the fact that I’d rather read than watch TV, but I think now they fondly regard it as one of my quirks. As a child I used to read whilst washing up, with the book propped on the windowsill, and invariably had to do it again (without the book) because half the dishes were still dirty. I daren’t try reading whilst cooking though as I’m a bit accident prone!
PS: this is the first time I’ve posted a comment on a website – eek, more wine needed!
Gosh! Your reading styles sound like me? Only differnce is that I use my kindle, tablet and iphone interhangeably for ebooks and audiobooks.
I read audiobooks on the train while I knit and ebooks when knitting isn’t practical.
I also just finished Dead Reckoning. Although good, I’m getting frustrated with the limited time she spends on resolving relationship issues.
Have you read Jeaniene Frost’s Dark Huntress series? I think she does a great job at writing about a married couple and their relationship issues across multiple books similar to the way you do with Claire and Jamie.
Thanks so much for sharing, after reading your post, I feel less like a freak!
Dear CAT–
No, I haven’t encountered Frost’s series–will go look for it!
Thanks,
–Diana
I’ve only read one of Frost’s books, but loved and have the next two qued up…i’m on a bit of a UF kick right now and if you like her, try Patricia Biggs (Mercy Thompson series); Ilona Andrews (Kate Daniels series) and Chloe Neill (Chicagoland Vampires) – beware huge cliff-hanger (almost as bad as some of yours!) or Karen Marie Moning (Fever series)
I have a similar habit of reading anywhere, anytime. I have a 2 year old and a 4 year old. I’ve learned to put a book down mid-sentence if need be, but reading helps keep me sane. I may not read as voraciously as I did when I had more time, but making time to read is a priority and I think that’s what makes it possible.
Things tend to dry out after 50, my eyes being the first to do so. That, with working on the computer all day— I quit reading with my eyes– audiobooks only. I have one in my car, one in my workout bag, and one at home while knitting. I’m not a great multi-tasker, but I can watch TV (muted), knit, and listen to an audiobook at the same time.
I’m currently reading the Outlander series again. It’s amazing how much detail is not absorbed in the first reading!
I imagine you (Diana) have a big white board with all the characters charted out. How else could you keep them all straight when they keep showing up over and over, sometimes years (or centuries) later?
Dear Karen–
No, I don’t really write down anything other than the text of the book (if I make a note of something, I promptly forget it). It’s just sort of all in my head. (No problem, it’s a big place…)
–Diana
My entire life I have had a close bond with whatever librarian is currently employed at my local library. He/She always knows me by name.
Last night I began your novel ‘An Echo in The Bone’ and loved this line so much that I marked it… (Bree and Roger had just discovered the letter from Claire and Jamie)
‘It was pleasantly rough under his fingers, handmade paper with the ghosts of leaves and flowers pressed into its fibers.’
With prose like that I just cannot imagine not reading.
I simply cannot wait until book 8 comes out, and I’m not even done with book 7!
Dear Emily–
Oh, man! Just wait. {g}
–Diana
Millions now salivating in anticipation!
The best thing my Kindle has done for me was to allow me to fill that “wasted” time in the shower when I wished I could be reading! Now I download audio books from audible.com, download them to my Kindle, and prop my Kindle up with full volume on the cabinet next to the shower. It’s plenty loud enough, and I get to enjoy being read to every night! (It also gives my eyes a break… I’m a teacher and spend a lot of time reading for work, too).
Yay, reading!
Shannon
I have two dogs, too. The fat one (Pepper) is a fast eater. She eats the slow eater’s (Hank) food if I am not there to keep him on task. I love it that you are reading the Sookie books!
I love my Kindle, and I take it everywhere. I never leave the house without it. I also bought it to save my hands from your big books. I have all of the Outlander series on it.
I keep books in the bathroom as well.
When I give a “mom” Outlander, I tell her to put it in the bathroom to get it started.
It has taken me 20 years to get my sister to start it, and she is a red headed nurse!
I love to talk to anyone who has read your books so I give it as a gift quite a lot.
It feels like a gift to me if they get into it.
Two years ago my children surprised me with a Kindle for Christmas. The first book I bought of course, was Outlander. Good thing too because that summer I visited Scotland. I read a whole book and part of another one on the flight home. It’s great being able to carry around over a thousand books in something so light. I don’t have that many books on there, yet. I have 5 grown children and they all love to read. Two of them have ipads with which they can download books from my Kindle. Now we share books electronically.
I used to read anywhere. Now, I can’t focus, maybe I have ADD, I don’t know. I confess that I have not yet read A Breath of Snow and Ashes or Echo in the Bone, but they are on my shelf. I get too involved when I read this series because I love it so. I couldn’t bring myself to go there for a long while not knowing if I would lose Jamie or Claire along the way. I got 3 other girls at work reading the series and that has been so fun! We have the craziest “what if” discussions and everybody is at a different place. I started over and am on The Fiery Cross. People tell me “oh, you should read this book or that”, but I can’t. I am currently out of commision, I say until I finish this. Plus, good grief, you should see the books I have to read or have read on my multiple bookshelves! How could anyone not enjoy reading? It boggles my poor mind!
I can’t do the multiple books at one time either. I usually have one physical book and one audiobook going. However, I always carry a book with me and snatch every minute I can. My husband also used to think I was crazy, but I am a librarian and firmly believe that if you don’t like reading it’s because no one found the right book for you. So, I consistently brought books home based on what he likes on TV and in movies (blood and gore) and have so far found three or four authors that he will gobble up. He is by no means a major reader now, but he does understand how I get sucked into stories and why I enjoy it more than he used to. He also trusts me when I thrust a book in his face and demand he read it right away
PS – I think everyone makes time for the things they love, even if it is just ten minutes a day.
I read and listen to audiobooks every day, but I can only read one book and listen to one other book at a time. A friend that I often share books with reads and listens to several books at a time and we just can’t understand how the other does it. When I discover a series that I like I have to read or listen to it from beginning to end. I purchased a Nook last summer and really love it. It is very convenient to get the next book in a series :). I read while watching tv and while listening to music. Audiobooks are a lifesaver for me. I would find myself not doing anything but reading all day and like everyone else, I just don’t have that kind of free time. Now I listen to books while I cook, do yard work, walk, drive, work, etc.
I like all different types of books, but my favorite is historical fiction. I love the escape books provide and transporting to another period in time is truly a great escape. The Outlander series is undoubtedly my favorite. I have both read and listened to each book several times. I just downloaded ABOSA from audible and can’t wait to get The Fiery Cross in November to complete my collection. Thanks Diana!
I am an avid reader, have been since I was a child ! I married a non reader
a non reader as in he has never read an entire book in his life … at age 50 he was off to the US for a work trip, long haul from Australia. I packed him A Fortunate Life by AB Facey. It’s a wonderful autobiography, a classic in Australian literature. As country raised person I thought he may connect with the life of AB Facey.
He got thru half the book in his 10 days away. 8 hrs in LA Airport on the way home helped
He did enjoy what he read, but once home the book has sat idle since 
He now packs the book in his travel bag when going overseas but has yet to get back into the book. I need to talk to his travel agent about a few hrs stuck in airport again
One day I hope he gets the’ bug’ and will understand why I ignore him while reading, beg him to go via the book shop on his way home to pick up the latest from Diana Gabaldon and why there are books scattered about the house.
I also love audio books for travelling ! they make flying a pleasure and distract me from suffering motion sickness… I can read a bit sometimes and sometimes watch a movie on the screen in front of me, but if I feel sick or it’s a turbulent flight then the audio books are my saviour ! I am like Jamie, I only have to look at a boat and I feel sick
I do wonder if Jamie would suffer on a flight or in a car also ???? most likely but unless you can get him forward in time Diana I guess we will never know for sure {grin }
looking forward to the next instalment from you Diana….
Cheers Jo
Exactly the way I read! Although I use audiobooks while cooking and doing housework. (Your books on audio have gotten me through HOURS of tedious daily chores.) My husband laughs at me for the book that is always in my purse to pull out while in line at the post office, waiting to carpool the kids to the next event, etc.
Just started Master and Commander on audio – have never read the series, but am loving it – and Simon Vance is such an excellent reader!
I can relate, I’ve had my nose stuck in a book since I was about 5 and tend to have 2 or 3 books on the go at all times. I was the dorkiest teenager around because I used to spend my allowance and babysitting money at the local used book store. My taste was 95% non-fiction (and any of the old MAD magazine books I could find). There are only a handful of fiction novels on my over crowded bookshelf so I was very skeptical when my wonderful hubby bought me Outlander for Christmas a few years ago. He said “don’t worry honey, it’s historical…you’ll love it” and boy was he right!
Also thank you for posting the update about the new Outlander edition…I’ve ordered 2 copies and will be greedy and send an email to the Pen for short personalized inscriptions. One copy is a surprise for my mother (who is also a big fan) so I will have to come up with something clever for hers!
Like everyone else I can hardly wait for the next book…and I love seeing the Gaelic in your books, I just finished my first year of Gaelic classes and can finally understand some of it
Kelley
Kelley, I loved MAD magazine too {g}. Brings back memories…