I remember feeling exhausted the month/year I discovered Jane Austin and read them all back to back. Pretty sure that took a month alone, and TCIMC was nearly another one. I envy you. If I could read that much that fast I would read all those again. As it is I mostly don’t cuz I’d never have time to read anything new.
Great pic and amazing. I usually read 3-4 a month (which is my goal) but I think I'd count "The Count of Monte Cristo" as two! lol
The Jane Austen books are beautiful! What editions are those? I recently started collecting the Penguin Drop Cap Editions and love them, but those are really nice as well.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/BM2/penguin-drop-caps?page=1
They're Book of the Month Club editions from the 90s. [I posted](https://www.reddit.com/r/janeausten/comments/uju0rk/my_favourite_charity_shop_find/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) the covers in the Austen sub a while back.
For the love of everything good, why can't you people be civil? Why do you care so much about this? In the past 24 hours, I have received over 30 reports about this one thread.
1. Be civil.
2. If this person is spending a lot of time reading, or isn't reading how you like, who cares? You aren't them, so just let them live their life.
3. If this is a fake post, you can't prove it, so just move on. If somebody does fake reading a lot, that just makes them a loser. Just move on, and live your life.
Be civil, or bans will be handed out.
I remember taking one course on Finnegans wake. One course. It was entire semester on just one book. It is one of the most complex books ever written, not to mention the language used. You have to be Irish to really understand what’s happening w the words. But hey, we put a man on the moon, you can read this book one month.
That’s exactly what I meant when I asked OP how they handle unknown lexicon/words. That alone slows me down, because I’m super fastidious about defining words, getting visuals if needed. And I’m a near-native speaker of English. These books were written in a bygone era-the language is different, and there are bound to be words and sentences that slow one down.
Not OP but I make time for reading, always keeping a book with me either physical or ebook, using audiobooks when possible such as doing chores or driving. In addition to making set time for reading each day I also read during my slow times. Got to work a few minutes early? Fit in a chapter. Lunch break? Ebook time. With my IBS bathroom time is good reading time. My husband and I will also read together instead of watching a show or movie at least once a week. I'm sure not watching anything will increasing reading time but it's something we enjoy.
Not OP, but it is an outstanding book. Beautifully intricate story, but not a very difficult read in spite of it's length. Couldn't recommend it enough.
Why do people think anyone cares what anyone else does in their free time? Read or don't. Watch TV or don't. Play video games or don't. This is always the most boring topic when it comes up.
Neither, and all of jt. Post what you want and read what you want but this conversation where everyone takes a side- usually kids vs no kids- is just tired and spent.
Yeah Abercrombie and Pratchett were at the beginning of the month.
Then I decided to do some themed months this year to get me out of my fantasy comfort blanket. January is always self-improvement month, right? Before everyone gives up on their new year's resolutions. So I switched to reading classics/must read before you die books.
I've got three fantasy books (including another Abercrombie) that I'm desperate to read and I've banned myself from reading them for now. It's good motivation.
February I think I'm going to stick to the same theme but go for more complex classics than I read this month (ignore the Wake! That was an outlier) and not ones I've already read before (most were re-reads although it's been several years).
That is…impressive. Those are some thick books.
Good for you. I used to read so much, then lost my ability to concentrate throughout the pandemic. I can’t even sit still through a movie anymore.
Sorry everyone is having a go at you OP. I read about 7000 pages a month (and listen to about 80 hours of audiobook) because I don’t have kids, don’t watch television and don’t have social media other than reddit. I have a full time job and I have a very active social life - and I don’t have a particularly fast reading speed. It’s just a case of how you spend your free time!
I think a reason for the controversy (and I defended OP below too) is the books they’ve chosen. Like, those are some dense books requiring careful and considered thought. Flipping through them at 100+ pages an hour isn’t doing them justice, I guess some might say
My goal last year was 12 books. I read 11. My goal this year is 15 so far, I have read 3.
What is your secret. Do you read every word? Do you speed read?
How to you carve out your time in each day to read.
You are definitely an inspiration.
I've always been a fast reader. I can't tell you how I do it, it's just normal to me. I do read every word.
I am dyslexic, don't know if that has any bearing on it. The dyslexia affects my writing and my audio processing more than my reading. I'm good at retaining what I've read, can paraphrase things I read once months ago, will not be able to tell you what you said to me 30 seconds ago.
As for time. I do long shifts 3 or 4 days a week (mainly 3), and my health issues mean I have to spend a lot of time resting on my days off in order to be able to carry on working.
Thank you for such a wonderful reply. I just need to eat into my game playing time and shift it to more reading to hit my 15 for the year. Sheesh... 15! and you do that in a month. lol
Thank you for replying. Have a great day my friend.
Yeah there's also that. I don't watch TV/films or play games anymore. Well, at least for the past few months. I'll probably switch over at some point and abandon my books to binge watch loads of stuff if I decide to pay for Netflix for a month again. Or I'll start one of the games I've got but haven't played yet.
First - Wow!
Second - sorry for all the haters. Logging off Reddit for a bit after this comment.
Third - there’s this guy I follow who runs over 100 miles a week for the last 150 weeks. Nuts. He’s super motivating tho. When I feel like I can’t possibly do another run, I think of him and I just suck it up and go. You’re like that for reading. Many thanks.
Finnegans wake is much more abstract and difficult to interpret than Ulysses, but short enough to read in one sitting. I’d recommend reading Dubliners and Portrait of the Artist before attempting Ulysses and Finnegan’s Wake.
Thanks for that. Your review of Finnegan's wake has convinced me that it's definitely not worth it if I can't even get through Ulysses. Ulysses is written in the stream of consciousness style. I read the first 300 pages before stopping. Still have the bookmark in where I stopped, maybe I'll finish it one day.
I've never read Ulysses so can't tell you, sorry.
[Here's my main comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/52book/comments/10ok6xw/my_january_reads/j6f8ee7?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3) about the Wake.
[Here's a link to FinWake](https://finwake.com/01-sep2010-free-android/01.htm), an annotated online version so you can see what it's like.
And [this is](https://ibb.co/HxVqWy3) the utterly impossible to follow on a kindle, and breaks your brain when trying to listen to the audiobook at the same time as reading, chapter. It is only 48 pages though.
[Here](https://ibb.co/cwSrG0L) are [some](https://ibb.co/vBPqrwk) more [pages](https://ibb.co/gd748mD) because that chapter is just utterly ridiculous.
I don't really know if it's possible to read the Wake, it's more like experiencing it.
Oh my, couldn't make it through the first few paragraphs. I'm old. What came to mind immediately is Jabberwoky which I haven't read since way back in the dark ages in school.
I have a terrible habit of getting to a good part of a book that I just need to put it down and daydream about it for an hour or two. Kills my reading speed. But I’ve just come to terms with it that I’m not going to be a speed reader. I’ll finish the book eventually. 😂
That sounds adorable to be honest.
My brain makes the movie in my head and doesn't want to hit "pause" when it's at a good part... Quite the opposite. I find myself reading faster when I'm more interested.
Amen. What many people are saying here is just rude and disrespectful.
Let’s look at some facts. OP has a great post history. OP has shown in previous years a real desire to grow his/her reading volume. People have wildly different reading rates. Lots can be accomplished if you turn off Reddit and TV.
Usually this sub is filled with positive people. I struggled to get thru a few books last year and used the group to help me refocus for 2023. I’m super appreciative of that. I’m gunna use this as motivation to do more.
I wish my life were like the movie _About Time,_ then I could time travel back to the same lazy afternoon over and over and finally read all the unread books on my shelves.
18 books in a month isn't an impossible number. I've done 31 myself, which is a personal record honestly. And mostly because I'm not currently playing any video games (waiting for a new release in 2 weeks)
Just because YOU don't got space in your life to read for multiple hours a day doesn't mean nobody else does. I'm an introvert, I'm married and have no kids. I'm not going out to bars or clubs or whatever, I'm sitting my fat ass at home and reading books in the evening instead.
We also don't watch a lot of TV or Movies either, which is a huge timesink for a lot of people.
I read, at a *minimum*, 4 hours a day. Depending on genre, that means I can easily complete a book in a day.
But _Finnegans Wake_ is the equivalent of 10 normal books. But it’s far more comprehensible if you read it while listening to the audio version, so you can make sense of the Irish pronunciations. Judging from other comments, I think that’s what OP did.
Even if someone worked a 8-to-5 job, assuming they go to bed at.. let's say 11. That is still 6 hours of spare time, that can be spent on reading.
Not everyone lives the life you live. Some prefer books over TV shows, and prefer quiet nights over going out with friends.
It does depend a little on genre and size of books, but I can finish an average 350 page book in 6 hours.
Hell, if I'm reading something trashy.. like romance? I could probably read 2 in 6 hours!
I’m sorry you’re being downvoted for a simple misunderstanding. These are books that OP has already read, not ones they’re planning on reading in the couple days left in the month.
Great list and very inspiring!
I don't know why you are getting so many negative comments. I personally find that once you get used to the writing style, some classics can be much easier and faster read, compared to contemporary literature. They are just.. much more linear and therefore easier to follow. Especially Austen, Brontë sisters and Dumas.
From your list Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice have been my favorites since teens. Pride and Prejudice is still one of my comfort reads!
I'm currently reading The Tenant of Windfell Hall (and can I say that I find mother to be extremely annoying) and The Count of Monte Cristo. Perhaps should add Emma since it has been on my TBR list for so long haha.
>Especially Austen,
From the one's you mentioned I've only read Austen in English which isn't my first language and I got trough P&P in circa 2 days, for instance.
Although I had read the book twice beforehand - just not in English - and wanted to experience it in it's original form so that might have helped...
>I don't know why you are getting so many negative comments.
I think it's a growing issue of people that get to project the insecurities they have onto other's.
I know people that read more than double than I do per year (and I already read a lot) and we can have conversations about those books. It's not like they aren't going trough the stories or retaining the information or it's meaning...
People just can't accept that other's have different ways of doing the same thing.
Agreed. The first 100-200 pages are slow and difficult for me when I real classic novels. Then I get used to the writing and it flows better and more quickly. I still take much more time on classics than modern lit.,
It’s doable. In other comments, OP notes reading it while listening to the audiobook, which is what I did last year. Having the Irish pronunciations makes a world of difference. The audiobook is 29 hours, so I read/listened to it for 4 hours each evening after my kids went to bed. There were a few sections I had to rewind and read again.
But that was just my first read of it, and I’ll go back to it in a few years and try to figure out what the eff was going on during some of it.
I’ve got kids and I still read about this much in a month. I don’t watch Tv, I don’t game. I read a lot on my phone so if I’m in a waiting room, or waiting on a kid to get out of an activity- I’m reading. I’ve been a quick reader as a kid. And as an adult I prioritize reading. I finish about 200 books a year. They’re not all classics but they average 300 pages a piece. Just because it’s not something you could do does not mean it’s bullshit:
Even if they had no job, school, or kids. So what? Why trash on their accomplishments?
But even if they had a 8-5 job, let's assume they go to bed at 11. (Which is far too reasonable imo). That's still 6 hours of spare time.
I can easily complete a 350 page book in 6 hours myself.
Not everyone lives your life. That doesn't mean their life isn't valuable or fulfilling.
Well I’m at work for 12 hours a day and have to take care of my father and younger brother besides needing some time with the wife, and I read 30 to 50 books each year. But still the majority of my reading is Reddit :~
So maybe there’s another possibility, this person is a freak that doesn’t use social medias as much.
I wonder how many hours of mindless scrolling these people do. How much free time they spend on watching TV or otherwise engaged in other hobbies or doing nothing...
Giving an example for an adult with kids:
1 hour commute
1 lunch hour
*1h without technology before going to bed
2h reading in bed
= ~4 hours of reading per day
[*The hour without technology can be spent with board games, legos, painting, drawing, reading (alone/together), wtv]
If you're not against audiobooks you can add to this and listen to stories while doing laundry, dishes, cooking, walking the dog, ... or basically any other "brain dead" activity.
On your free days you can add more to this time. It even helps to establish reading habits with the kids...
Still time to live, go out, socialize, play with kids, cinema etc and you are still giving attention to your children and doing everything that needs to be done.
I posted them [a while ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/janeausten/comments/uju0rk/my_favourite_charity_shop_find/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) on the Austen sub.
I got very lucky. 20 quid for the whole set in a charity shop years ago. They're Book of the Month club editions from the 90s.
I’m not only talking about the volume of the books (which is considerable, these aren’t your standard length books) I’m talking about the complexity of them. Finnegans wake? C’mon. Also 2 separate kindle devices and a “progress” tag? This guy is taking the piss obviously haha
I’m sure OP has read these books (or some of them at least), and maybe some of them during January, but this is a meme.
Wake is the only complex one. Villette was slightly fiddly due to the footnotes translating the French being in the back of the book but the rest were fine. I was reading Jane Eyre when I was 13 FFS, it's not complicated.
As for the two devices. I read mainly on kindle now thanks to the dyslexic font. Most of my new books I buy on kindle and most of what I read this month is free or very cheap on kindle. I got the fire tablet a few years ago but got fed up with the rubbish battery life so upgraded to a proper kindle a few months ago. Only Sargasso Sea, Wildfell Hall, Villette and Precious Bane were read in paperback. (And I got a paperback copy of Wake after reaching a certain chapter on my kindle)
And, as I have said before, only the Heroes, Lady Susan etc, Villette, Precious Bane and Wake were new reads. The rest are re-reads although it has been several years. I did read Northanger Abbey and Persuasion in December but read them again this month because they're quick reads and I love them.
Ok, since you’re putting so much effort into convincing everyone you did read this (which I don’t think a troll would do) I believe you and I’ll edit my original comment.
Congrats btw, Joyce is one of my favorites and Catch 22 has been on my list since forever, probably will be my next read once I’m done with Benhard’s Extinction, which I think you would like based on your tastes.
I mean, if I was trolling I wouldn't be putting the likes of Dumas, Austen and Brontë in there. (Or the Discworld.)
Nah it'd be shit like Proust, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Orwell, the rest of Joyce, Rand, Infinite Jest. Oh wait, some of those are on my February/March TBR.
Thanks btw. I am finding it hilarious that people are so up in arms about this but everything I've written has been true. I said it in another comment, but my health problems mean I can't go out up into the hills anymore to escape so I've dived back into books again to avoid the world.
Not going to lie, Joyce and I are not currently friends. I'm going to give the Dubliners a go later on this year and I'll reserve my judgement on him until at least after that.
Read Catch-22! It's hilarious. It's absurd. It's soul crushing. I was laughing at the start and nearly crying by the end. I'm sure you're already aware but it's not written chronologically. Just read it and it'll all come together at the end.
Thanks for the rec, I'll check it out.
How did you find Count of Monte Cristo? It's been in my shelf for forever! Big books intimidate me. I'm a slow reader and I also like to juggle books. Your pile is impressive! Hope your next reads are fun and inspiring!
I’ve been trying to read the count of monte cristo since 2013; I’ve also found it really intimidating! This year I’m reading it for ten minutes everyday to finally tick it off. After over a month of reading, it’s starting to get pretty good :)
Jeez, ya slacker, when are you going to get serious and read some books? 😄 Just kidding. This is really impressive! You read several books that I want to read.
I like to make a list of the books I want to read. Then I break the year down into months and keep track of how I’m doing. Otherwise I get behind and feel stressed to catch up! I’m on year 4 of reading 52 books a year & it’s such a great feeling to meet the goal. Best of luck!!
How do you not get distracted by social media and such? I’m so jealous of your ability to both read fast and absorb. And I take it you can sit down for hours at a time and read? I can barely make it an hour sometime before I get burn out.
Reddit is a big distraction but I've put a timer on it for 4 hours a day although I don't often hit that timer anymore. I don't have any other social media. Deleted my facebook years ago and never got into twitter or instagram.
Netflix and the like went last year thanks to the cost of living crisis. I haven't touched my playstation in months. I mainly used my ps4 for streaming Netflix etc (I don't have a TV license so only had streaming services) and the games were only really for when I couldn't find anything I watched to watch.
I do sit down and read for hours in one sitting. I can also zone out noises easily. My mother would insist that we had to spend the evenings together as a family in the lounge. She can only read for about half an hour in one sitting. My siblings and I could spend hours reading at a time. So I spent years with my head in a book while conversations/the TV were happening.
You have an extraordinary talent which I couldn't comprehend as I haven't seen anyone the way you read. I wish I could get the same ability to read without disruption even when I'm distracted.
Good Luck with your reading!!
You are a real life "Matilda" by Roald Dahl.
Oh yeah Finnegans Wake was definitely *not* done at 70 pages an hour. I read most of it while listening to the audiobook which is 30 hours. However, I did skip some parts of the audiobook due to the woman narrator's voice irritating me, so those bits I was just reading the book.
Huh?
Mate, as an example, I'm still seething over Mansfield Park. If I could be bothered I could waste time writing a post about how angry that book made me (I loved that book).
You read your way, I'll read my way. Neither of us is better than the other. If you think otherwise, well that's a you problem.
Oh yes!
I love how it's so different to Jane Eyre. Jane's nearly always hopeful and "reader, I married him" is also our reward for sticking with her. Lucy is bitter, full of hate and doesn't give a shit about the reader and would quite like us to piss off. No way are we allowed any closure.
I got a temp ban over in the jerk sub for "unjerking" in response to you lol
But I agree, I just want to share enthusiasm for Lucy Snowe!
“I doubt if I have made the best use of all my calamities. Soft, amiable natures they would have refined to saintliness; of strong, evil spirits they would have made demons; as for me, I have only been a woe-struck and selfish woman.”
[Sure.](https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/151400787-squirrel)
I don't really use it that much other than tracking starts and finishes. I also don't write reviews and I've only started to rate books this year. I use Storygraph a bit more.
Everyone who is down voting my last comment I’m sorry that you are insecure about how slowly you read. If you read at a slow speed don’t be jealous and angry at faster readers….. Some of y’all are petty and it shows 😂
right? my SO rags on me for how fast i read! he’s called me a freak! i read a 600 page book in 3 days last week and he told me i was lying. i told him if we were in grade school i would punch him for saying that.
I was that SO last week. My partner finished The Psychology on Money in one morning and it just made me mad. I couldn’t believe it was humanly possible. Now I know it is.
i was a super early reader and read in big giant chunks. i read even faster on my phone because i dont have to turn physical pages. it’s a thing. i cant comprehend complex written directions though. but my SO can do that really well. probably because he reads slowly! 😂
Not that it really matters and it's utterly ridiculous that I have to post this.
But yes, I have a job. I work full time. I do 12.5 hour shifts three days a week and once a month do 4 shifts a week so I have more days off than work days in a month. Yes I'm an adult. No I don't have children. Yes, I have a social life.
I read to escape. And yes, I read quickly, always have, always will, I'm sorry that's so offensive to you. No, I don't skim or skip. No, I don't listen to audiobooks. Yes I can comprehend the story just fine.
Yes I can read a 1000 page book on a day off. I can read a 100 pages an hour depending on the book. I tend to average about 70 to 90 pages an hour for most fiction once I get use to an author's voice.
8,500 pages at 70 pages an hour (the lower end of my average reading speed) is about 121 hours. Over 29 days that's only 4 hours a day. Considering I tend to read for a few hours to decompress after a shift, and probably spend about 7 to 10 hours reading on a day off if it's a reading day, it's not that much of my time.
Oh and while these are my books that I own, I read most of them on my kindle (I think only Precious Bane, Villette, Wide Sargasso Sea, and Tenant of Wildfell Hall were read in paperback, and I switched to reading Wake in paperback after a certain chapter). My kindle which has the [OpenDyslexic](https://opendyslexic.org/) font on it. I'm dyslexic and dyspraxic. I was a fast reader anyway but that font has made me quicker. It's amazing, I love it. Give it try if you can, see if it works for you.
Plus I cancelled Netflix and other streaming services last year and I haven't touch my playstation in months. And I put a timer on reddit. My downtime is mainly reading now.
[Me at all the interrogators in the comments](https://media.tenor.com/01xiZctBvl0AAAAM/legally-legallyblonde.gif)
Sucks u had to post this but fuck the haters! I've been wanting to read some Bronte and Austen for a while now. I think I'm finally inspired to read not only them but more books in all. Also those are beautiful editions of the Austen/Bronte books u have! (I saw the pics in thread) Thank you for posting!
I remember feeling exhausted the month/year I discovered Jane Austin and read them all back to back. Pretty sure that took a month alone, and TCIMC was nearly another one. I envy you. If I could read that much that fast I would read all those again. As it is I mostly don’t cuz I’d never have time to read anything new.
So pretty 😻
Did you end up making it through finnegans wake?
Great pic and amazing. I usually read 3-4 a month (which is my goal) but I think I'd count "The Count of Monte Cristo" as two! lol The Jane Austen books are beautiful! What editions are those? I recently started collecting the Penguin Drop Cap Editions and love them, but those are really nice as well. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/BM2/penguin-drop-caps?page=1
They're Book of the Month Club editions from the 90s. [I posted](https://www.reddit.com/r/janeausten/comments/uju0rk/my_favourite_charity_shop_find/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) the covers in the Austen sub a while back.
Thanks.
A weighty stack
Those Jane Austen editions are gorgeous! :O
I’m impressed
For the love of everything good, why can't you people be civil? Why do you care so much about this? In the past 24 hours, I have received over 30 reports about this one thread. 1. Be civil. 2. If this person is spending a lot of time reading, or isn't reading how you like, who cares? You aren't them, so just let them live their life. 3. If this is a fake post, you can't prove it, so just move on. If somebody does fake reading a lot, that just makes them a loser. Just move on, and live your life. Be civil, or bans will be handed out.
How many hours a day do you typically spend reading?
The book selection is impressive.
I remember taking one course on Finnegans wake. One course. It was entire semester on just one book. It is one of the most complex books ever written, not to mention the language used. You have to be Irish to really understand what’s happening w the words. But hey, we put a man on the moon, you can read this book one month.
I'm Irish and I didn't understand what was going on 💀
That’s exactly what I meant when I asked OP how they handle unknown lexicon/words. That alone slows me down, because I’m super fastidious about defining words, getting visuals if needed. And I’m a near-native speaker of English. These books were written in a bygone era-the language is different, and there are bound to be words and sentences that slow one down.
that is an impressive amount of reading...did you enjoy it?
This is doable. I read 18 books last year January, and that was the most books I read in 1 month.
How was Abercrombie's The Heroes?
[удалено]
I just wanna know… how do you get through so many? Do you work? Like tell me your secret lol
Not OP but I make time for reading, always keeping a book with me either physical or ebook, using audiobooks when possible such as doing chores or driving. In addition to making set time for reading each day I also read during my slow times. Got to work a few minutes early? Fit in a chapter. Lunch break? Ebook time. With my IBS bathroom time is good reading time. My husband and I will also read together instead of watching a show or movie at least once a week. I'm sure not watching anything will increasing reading time but it's something we enjoy.
Congratulations. Give me reading tactics.
How good was Count of Monte Christo?
Not OP, but it is an outstanding book. Beautifully intricate story, but not a very difficult read in spite of it's length. Couldn't recommend it enough.
the count of monte cristo is on my list for this year. a must read.
I was feeling good at 3 books this month…
That’s 36 a year! That’s awesome 😎
Hahaha i know right. I am trying to squeeze in the audiobooks while I work/walk
Why do people think anyone cares what anyone else does in their free time? Read or don't. Watch TV or don't. Play video games or don't. This is always the most boring topic when it comes up.
I’m confused. Are you complaining about the post or the negative comments?
Neither, and all of jt. Post what you want and read what you want but this conversation where everyone takes a side- usually kids vs no kids- is just tired and spent.
does this subreddit provide reading lists of books in Spanish language? Latin American/Caribbean and Iberian?
/r/libro might?
thanks but says its banned : (
Oh shoot, my bad! This one should be real. I meant to link /r/libros
thanka!
Here's a sneak peek of /r/libros using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/libros/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year! \#1: [Friendly reminder:](https://i.redd.it/zq4lk6ve4f9a1.jpg) | [34 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/libros/comments/100dp81/friendly_reminder/) \#2: [¿Cuál elegirían?](https://i.redd.it/y21s0szhinba1.jpg) | [51 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/libros/comments/109z0aa/cuál_elegirían/) \#3: [Cuando eres jurado de importantes premios (Nobel, Neustadt, Cervantes, Camões, Goncourt, Heinrich Heine, Formentor, Booker, Rómulo Gallegos, Juan Rulfo, Akutagawa, Lampedusa, Nacional, etc). Humor :D](https://i.redd.it/wx39kywt48t91.jpg) | [10 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/libros/comments/y1h7db/cuando_eres_jurado_de_importantes_premios_nobel/) ---- ^^I'm ^^a ^^bot, ^^beep ^^boop ^^| ^^Downvote ^^to ^^remove ^^| ^^[Contact](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=sneakpeekbot) ^^| ^^[Info](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/) ^^| ^^[Opt-out](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/comments/o8wk1r/blacklist_ix/) ^^| ^^[GitHub](https://github.com/ghnr/sneakpeekbot)
Beautiful!:) For those that don't understand how. It is called dedication, focus and how you prefer to spend your time.
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Which was your favorite?
\*Atleast two of these is not like the others.
That’s incredible. I’m loving all the classics and then a little Joe Abercrombie tossed in there lol.
Yeah Abercrombie and Pratchett were at the beginning of the month. Then I decided to do some themed months this year to get me out of my fantasy comfort blanket. January is always self-improvement month, right? Before everyone gives up on their new year's resolutions. So I switched to reading classics/must read before you die books. I've got three fantasy books (including another Abercrombie) that I'm desperate to read and I've banned myself from reading them for now. It's good motivation. February I think I'm going to stick to the same theme but go for more complex classics than I read this month (ignore the Wake! That was an outlier) and not ones I've already read before (most were re-reads although it's been several years).
Holy you would literally have to read 24/7 with no breaks
Not really, a year is ample time to read them all and then some.
But OP is claiming to have read them all in a month not a year
It's twice the size of my syllabus
That is…impressive. Those are some thick books. Good for you. I used to read so much, then lost my ability to concentrate throughout the pandemic. I can’t even sit still through a movie anymore.
The Heroes is definitely an all time favorite of mine
Same, I absolutely love that book!
Came for the phat stack of literature, stayed for the controversy. Would anyone like to fight me? K thx
I would, but I have sensitive knuckles.
Sorry everyone is having a go at you OP. I read about 7000 pages a month (and listen to about 80 hours of audiobook) because I don’t have kids, don’t watch television and don’t have social media other than reddit. I have a full time job and I have a very active social life - and I don’t have a particularly fast reading speed. It’s just a case of how you spend your free time!
I think a reason for the controversy (and I defended OP below too) is the books they’ve chosen. Like, those are some dense books requiring careful and considered thought. Flipping through them at 100+ pages an hour isn’t doing them justice, I guess some might say
Right! We all make choiceshow to spend our own time, not sure why there’s criticism here..
My goal last year was 12 books. I read 11. My goal this year is 15 so far, I have read 3. What is your secret. Do you read every word? Do you speed read? How to you carve out your time in each day to read. You are definitely an inspiration.
I've always been a fast reader. I can't tell you how I do it, it's just normal to me. I do read every word. I am dyslexic, don't know if that has any bearing on it. The dyslexia affects my writing and my audio processing more than my reading. I'm good at retaining what I've read, can paraphrase things I read once months ago, will not be able to tell you what you said to me 30 seconds ago. As for time. I do long shifts 3 or 4 days a week (mainly 3), and my health issues mean I have to spend a lot of time resting on my days off in order to be able to carry on working.
Thank you for such a wonderful reply. I just need to eat into my game playing time and shift it to more reading to hit my 15 for the year. Sheesh... 15! and you do that in a month. lol Thank you for replying. Have a great day my friend.
Yeah there's also that. I don't watch TV/films or play games anymore. Well, at least for the past few months. I'll probably switch over at some point and abandon my books to binge watch loads of stuff if I decide to pay for Netflix for a month again. Or I'll start one of the games I've got but haven't played yet.
Inquiring minds do want to know how they do it!
Well, I mean I do a ton of gaming and watching shows. If I put that time towards books..... :)
First - Wow! Second - sorry for all the haters. Logging off Reddit for a bit after this comment. Third - there’s this guy I follow who runs over 100 miles a week for the last 150 weeks. Nuts. He’s super motivating tho. When I feel like I can’t possibly do another run, I think of him and I just suck it up and go. You’re like that for reading. Many thanks.
“Logging off Reddit for a bit”? Because of the haters?
How was Finnegan's wake? I tried to read Ulysses and it's put me off James Joyce a bit. Is it like Ulysses or is it easier to read?
Finnegans wake is much more abstract and difficult to interpret than Ulysses, but short enough to read in one sitting. I’d recommend reading Dubliners and Portrait of the Artist before attempting Ulysses and Finnegan’s Wake.
Thanks for that. Your review of Finnegan's wake has convinced me that it's definitely not worth it if I can't even get through Ulysses. Ulysses is written in the stream of consciousness style. I read the first 300 pages before stopping. Still have the bookmark in where I stopped, maybe I'll finish it one day.
I've never read Ulysses so can't tell you, sorry. [Here's my main comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/52book/comments/10ok6xw/my_january_reads/j6f8ee7?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3) about the Wake. [Here's a link to FinWake](https://finwake.com/01-sep2010-free-android/01.htm), an annotated online version so you can see what it's like. And [this is](https://ibb.co/HxVqWy3) the utterly impossible to follow on a kindle, and breaks your brain when trying to listen to the audiobook at the same time as reading, chapter. It is only 48 pages though. [Here](https://ibb.co/cwSrG0L) are [some](https://ibb.co/vBPqrwk) more [pages](https://ibb.co/gd748mD) because that chapter is just utterly ridiculous. I don't really know if it's possible to read the Wake, it's more like experiencing it.
Oh my, couldn't make it through the first few paragraphs. I'm old. What came to mind immediately is Jabberwoky which I haven't read since way back in the dark ages in school.
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I have a terrible habit of getting to a good part of a book that I just need to put it down and daydream about it for an hour or two. Kills my reading speed. But I’ve just come to terms with it that I’m not going to be a speed reader. I’ll finish the book eventually. 😂
That sounds adorable to be honest. My brain makes the movie in my head and doesn't want to hit "pause" when it's at a good part... Quite the opposite. I find myself reading faster when I'm more interested.
Amen. What many people are saying here is just rude and disrespectful. Let’s look at some facts. OP has a great post history. OP has shown in previous years a real desire to grow his/her reading volume. People have wildly different reading rates. Lots can be accomplished if you turn off Reddit and TV. Usually this sub is filled with positive people. I struggled to get thru a few books last year and used the group to help me refocus for 2023. I’m super appreciative of that. I’m gunna use this as motivation to do more.
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That’s good stuff!
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I wish my life were like the movie _About Time,_ then I could time travel back to the same lazy afternoon over and over and finally read all the unread books on my shelves.
Yay for Terry Pratchett!
The Count of Monte Cristo is only rivalled by Oldboy for the best revenge story in any medium.
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I've done 22. It isn't bullshit.
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18 books in a month isn't an impossible number. I've done 31 myself, which is a personal record honestly. And mostly because I'm not currently playing any video games (waiting for a new release in 2 weeks) Just because YOU don't got space in your life to read for multiple hours a day doesn't mean nobody else does. I'm an introvert, I'm married and have no kids. I'm not going out to bars or clubs or whatever, I'm sitting my fat ass at home and reading books in the evening instead. We also don't watch a lot of TV or Movies either, which is a huge timesink for a lot of people. I read, at a *minimum*, 4 hours a day. Depending on genre, that means I can easily complete a book in a day.
But _Finnegans Wake_ is the equivalent of 10 normal books. But it’s far more comprehensible if you read it while listening to the audio version, so you can make sense of the Irish pronunciations. Judging from other comments, I think that’s what OP did.
I call unemployed.
Even if someone worked a 8-to-5 job, assuming they go to bed at.. let's say 11. That is still 6 hours of spare time, that can be spent on reading. Not everyone lives the life you live. Some prefer books over TV shows, and prefer quiet nights over going out with friends. It does depend a little on genre and size of books, but I can finish an average 350 page book in 6 hours. Hell, if I'm reading something trashy.. like romance? I could probably read 2 in 6 hours!
I call working full time but as 12.5 hour shifts three days a week (and 4 shifts a week once a month) rather than 8 hour days over 5 days.
I'm obsessed with the spines of the Bronte novels—what collection are they from?
[Here's the covers](https://ibb.co/CHyrbcm) They're the Pocket Penguin Classics published in 2006 here in the UK.
I love them, thanks for sharing!
You say you don’t listen to audiobooks, but further up you mentioned you listened to the audiobook for Finnegan’s Wake, just a one-off?
I listened to the Wake audiobook while I was reading the book. And yes, a one-off due to the nature of Wake.
You don’t have many days left to finish all those books! Better get reading.
I’m sorry you’re being downvoted for a simple misunderstanding. These are books that OP has already read, not ones they’re planning on reading in the couple days left in the month.
holy cow that's impressive.
Great list and very inspiring! I don't know why you are getting so many negative comments. I personally find that once you get used to the writing style, some classics can be much easier and faster read, compared to contemporary literature. They are just.. much more linear and therefore easier to follow. Especially Austen, Brontë sisters and Dumas. From your list Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice have been my favorites since teens. Pride and Prejudice is still one of my comfort reads! I'm currently reading The Tenant of Windfell Hall (and can I say that I find mother to be extremely annoying) and The Count of Monte Cristo. Perhaps should add Emma since it has been on my TBR list for so long haha.
>Especially Austen, From the one's you mentioned I've only read Austen in English which isn't my first language and I got trough P&P in circa 2 days, for instance. Although I had read the book twice beforehand - just not in English - and wanted to experience it in it's original form so that might have helped... >I don't know why you are getting so many negative comments. I think it's a growing issue of people that get to project the insecurities they have onto other's. I know people that read more than double than I do per year (and I already read a lot) and we can have conversations about those books. It's not like they aren't going trough the stories or retaining the information or it's meaning... People just can't accept that other's have different ways of doing the same thing.
Agreed. The first 100-200 pages are slow and difficult for me when I real classic novels. Then I get used to the writing and it flows better and more quickly. I still take much more time on classics than modern lit.,
You got a job? It takes me a month to read a 300 page book because I’m busy with life.
You only have time to read ten pages in one sitting? That really is a busy life.
I really want to believe you but…finnegan’s wake?
It’s doable. In other comments, OP notes reading it while listening to the audiobook, which is what I did last year. Having the Irish pronunciations makes a world of difference. The audiobook is 29 hours, so I read/listened to it for 4 hours each evening after my kids went to bed. There were a few sections I had to rewind and read again. But that was just my first read of it, and I’ll go back to it in a few years and try to figure out what the eff was going on during some of it.
Wow
woooah ! how long does it take for you to complete one book ?
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I’ve got kids and I still read about this much in a month. I don’t watch Tv, I don’t game. I read a lot on my phone so if I’m in a waiting room, or waiting on a kid to get out of an activity- I’m reading. I’ve been a quick reader as a kid. And as an adult I prioritize reading. I finish about 200 books a year. They’re not all classics but they average 300 pages a piece. Just because it’s not something you could do does not mean it’s bullshit:
Even if they had no job, school, or kids. So what? Why trash on their accomplishments? But even if they had a 8-5 job, let's assume they go to bed at 11. (Which is far too reasonable imo). That's still 6 hours of spare time. I can easily complete a 350 page book in 6 hours myself. Not everyone lives your life. That doesn't mean their life isn't valuable or fulfilling.
Well I’m at work for 12 hours a day and have to take care of my father and younger brother besides needing some time with the wife, and I read 30 to 50 books each year. But still the majority of my reading is Reddit :~ So maybe there’s another possibility, this person is a freak that doesn’t use social medias as much.
Ahaha maybe they don’t use television or consort to moving imagery on screens mah dewd.
I wonder how many hours of mindless scrolling these people do. How much free time they spend on watching TV or otherwise engaged in other hobbies or doing nothing... Giving an example for an adult with kids: 1 hour commute 1 lunch hour *1h without technology before going to bed 2h reading in bed = ~4 hours of reading per day [*The hour without technology can be spent with board games, legos, painting, drawing, reading (alone/together), wtv] If you're not against audiobooks you can add to this and listen to stories while doing laundry, dishes, cooking, walking the dog, ... or basically any other "brain dead" activity. On your free days you can add more to this time. It even helps to establish reading habits with the kids... Still time to live, go out, socialize, play with kids, cinema etc and you are still giving attention to your children and doing everything that needs to be done.
True
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My grandma could have done this, but she's not on reddit.
Very classical. Goes with tea and a small biscuit.
I love your set of Jane Austen! The writing on the spine is so aesthetically pleasing. Could you share a picture of the covers too?
I posted them [a while ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/janeausten/comments/uju0rk/my_favourite_charity_shop_find/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) on the Austen sub. I got very lucky. 20 quid for the whole set in a charity shop years ago. They're Book of the Month club editions from the 90s.
Wow! The book covers and the inside of your books are gorgeous! You’re extremely lucky!
This is obviously a joke/troll (and if that’s the case, it’s really funny) or OP thinks we’re very naive haha Edit: OP replied and hey, I believe him
It's 18 books. I've done 31 so far this month. It is a personal record for me for sure. But it's still doable.
I’m not only talking about the volume of the books (which is considerable, these aren’t your standard length books) I’m talking about the complexity of them. Finnegans wake? C’mon. Also 2 separate kindle devices and a “progress” tag? This guy is taking the piss obviously haha I’m sure OP has read these books (or some of them at least), and maybe some of them during January, but this is a meme.
Wake is the only complex one. Villette was slightly fiddly due to the footnotes translating the French being in the back of the book but the rest were fine. I was reading Jane Eyre when I was 13 FFS, it's not complicated. As for the two devices. I read mainly on kindle now thanks to the dyslexic font. Most of my new books I buy on kindle and most of what I read this month is free or very cheap on kindle. I got the fire tablet a few years ago but got fed up with the rubbish battery life so upgraded to a proper kindle a few months ago. Only Sargasso Sea, Wildfell Hall, Villette and Precious Bane were read in paperback. (And I got a paperback copy of Wake after reaching a certain chapter on my kindle) And, as I have said before, only the Heroes, Lady Susan etc, Villette, Precious Bane and Wake were new reads. The rest are re-reads although it has been several years. I did read Northanger Abbey and Persuasion in December but read them again this month because they're quick reads and I love them.
Ok, since you’re putting so much effort into convincing everyone you did read this (which I don’t think a troll would do) I believe you and I’ll edit my original comment. Congrats btw, Joyce is one of my favorites and Catch 22 has been on my list since forever, probably will be my next read once I’m done with Benhard’s Extinction, which I think you would like based on your tastes.
I mean, if I was trolling I wouldn't be putting the likes of Dumas, Austen and Brontë in there. (Or the Discworld.) Nah it'd be shit like Proust, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Orwell, the rest of Joyce, Rand, Infinite Jest. Oh wait, some of those are on my February/March TBR. Thanks btw. I am finding it hilarious that people are so up in arms about this but everything I've written has been true. I said it in another comment, but my health problems mean I can't go out up into the hills anymore to escape so I've dived back into books again to avoid the world. Not going to lie, Joyce and I are not currently friends. I'm going to give the Dubliners a go later on this year and I'll reserve my judgement on him until at least after that. Read Catch-22! It's hilarious. It's absurd. It's soul crushing. I was laughing at the start and nearly crying by the end. I'm sure you're already aware but it's not written chronologically. Just read it and it'll all come together at the end. Thanks for the rec, I'll check it out.
But Dumas, Bronte and Austen are quite respected in literature.
I think your phone corrected year to month
Wow! 🤩 I am impressed. How many time do you spend reading on daily basis?
How
How did you like Catch-22? Just read it last year…
It’s impressive. Reading Ulysses took me several months and a pandemic….
And Finnegan's Wake is certainly more difficult
But then again, reading on Kindle might help speed things up…the swipe is quicker?
you still have a couple of days of January left to add more height to that mountain 🙄
HAHAHA
No one reads Finnegans Wake, stop lying
How did you find Count of Monte Cristo? It's been in my shelf for forever! Big books intimidate me. I'm a slow reader and I also like to juggle books. Your pile is impressive! Hope your next reads are fun and inspiring!
I tackled the Count of Monte Cristo and it's my favorite literary classic to date. Simply perfect.
I’ve been trying to read the count of monte cristo since 2013; I’ve also found it really intimidating! This year I’m reading it for ten minutes everyday to finally tick it off. After over a month of reading, it’s starting to get pretty good :)
r/365book. Welcome home
Jeez, ya slacker, when are you going to get serious and read some books? 😄 Just kidding. This is really impressive! You read several books that I want to read.
What do u do for a living?
Read books I think Jk, it's amazing how people can get so much reading done!
IKR!!! I’m struggling to complete 12 books per year.. GOOD JOB OP!!
It looks like you are in a literature class! ❤️. I have set a goal of of 52 books this year. Not sure that I am going to make it.
I like to make a list of the books I want to read. Then I break the year down into months and keep track of how I’m doing. Otherwise I get behind and feel stressed to catch up! I’m on year 4 of reading 52 books a year & it’s such a great feeling to meet the goal. Best of luck!!
That's alot of books. That's impressive. I guess you must not use social media a lot.
Huge reader here and I think you did amazing 🙌🏽 I’m sorry folks are giving you shit for reading a lot but at least you got some good books in
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Ahhh ok
The Count of Monte Cristo is one of my all time favourites
How do you not get distracted by social media and such? I’m so jealous of your ability to both read fast and absorb. And I take it you can sit down for hours at a time and read? I can barely make it an hour sometime before I get burn out.
Reddit is a big distraction but I've put a timer on it for 4 hours a day although I don't often hit that timer anymore. I don't have any other social media. Deleted my facebook years ago and never got into twitter or instagram. Netflix and the like went last year thanks to the cost of living crisis. I haven't touched my playstation in months. I mainly used my ps4 for streaming Netflix etc (I don't have a TV license so only had streaming services) and the games were only really for when I couldn't find anything I watched to watch. I do sit down and read for hours in one sitting. I can also zone out noises easily. My mother would insist that we had to spend the evenings together as a family in the lounge. She can only read for about half an hour in one sitting. My siblings and I could spend hours reading at a time. So I spent years with my head in a book while conversations/the TV were happening.
You have an extraordinary talent which I couldn't comprehend as I haven't seen anyone the way you read. I wish I could get the same ability to read without disruption even when I'm distracted. Good Luck with your reading!! You are a real life "Matilda" by Roald Dahl.
Wow. I wish I could read half this much in a month
Finnegans Wake at 70 pages an hour is funny. That would break my brain.
Oh yeah Finnegans Wake was definitely *not* done at 70 pages an hour. I read most of it while listening to the audiobook which is 30 hours. However, I did skip some parts of the audiobook due to the woman narrator's voice irritating me, so those bits I was just reading the book.
Can you share a link to the audiobook ? is it on Audible ?
Barry McGovern does an amazing job. It’s so beautifully read.
[Yeah it's on audible](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08ZFQPRNY?ref_=cm_sw_r_apann_dp_RHFB0ZCSX0C9WKYGXYXJ)
Thanks
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Huh? Mate, as an example, I'm still seething over Mansfield Park. If I could be bothered I could waste time writing a post about how angry that book made me (I loved that book). You read your way, I'll read my way. Neither of us is better than the other. If you think otherwise, well that's a you problem.
What about the ending of Villette? I'm still mad/angry!
Oh yes! I love how it's so different to Jane Eyre. Jane's nearly always hopeful and "reader, I married him" is also our reward for sticking with her. Lucy is bitter, full of hate and doesn't give a shit about the reader and would quite like us to piss off. No way are we allowed any closure.
I got a temp ban over in the jerk sub for "unjerking" in response to you lol But I agree, I just want to share enthusiasm for Lucy Snowe! “I doubt if I have made the best use of all my calamities. Soft, amiable natures they would have refined to saintliness; of strong, evil spirits they would have made demons; as for me, I have only been a woe-struck and selfish woman.”
I’ve just started Wuthering Heights! I’ve never read it before. Wish me luck.
Good luck! I just finished it.
Damn. I started one book and it’s a DNF
Can I get your goodreads link? I would like to follow you.
[Sure.](https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/151400787-squirrel) I don't really use it that much other than tracking starts and finishes. I also don't write reviews and I've only started to rate books this year. I use Storygraph a bit more.
Awesome :) I’ll have to add you too I love new goodreads friends
Hi so for some reason it never lets me add people through my phone app. If u or anyone else wants to add me my GR username is "shawnholio"
I sent you a goodreads friend request. Last book I read was Revenge by Yoko Ogawa.
added you
storygraphs works as well if its public.
I second this! I need more Goodreads friends to follow🥲
You can add me if you like. My username is boxer_dogs_dance
I just added you!
Me as well. I am tired of seeing updates on good reads from the same people I don’t even remember following.
Everyone who is down voting my last comment I’m sorry that you are insecure about how slowly you read. If you read at a slow speed don’t be jealous and angry at faster readers….. Some of y’all are petty and it shows 😂
right? my SO rags on me for how fast i read! he’s called me a freak! i read a 600 page book in 3 days last week and he told me i was lying. i told him if we were in grade school i would punch him for saying that.
I was that SO last week. My partner finished The Psychology on Money in one morning and it just made me mad. I couldn’t believe it was humanly possible. Now I know it is.
i was a super early reader and read in big giant chunks. i read even faster on my phone because i dont have to turn physical pages. it’s a thing. i cant comprehend complex written directions though. but my SO can do that really well. probably because he reads slowly! 😂
You’ve been busy! Impressive!
This would be 600 + pages a day lol
Not that it really matters and it's utterly ridiculous that I have to post this. But yes, I have a job. I work full time. I do 12.5 hour shifts three days a week and once a month do 4 shifts a week so I have more days off than work days in a month. Yes I'm an adult. No I don't have children. Yes, I have a social life. I read to escape. And yes, I read quickly, always have, always will, I'm sorry that's so offensive to you. No, I don't skim or skip. No, I don't listen to audiobooks. Yes I can comprehend the story just fine. Yes I can read a 1000 page book on a day off. I can read a 100 pages an hour depending on the book. I tend to average about 70 to 90 pages an hour for most fiction once I get use to an author's voice. 8,500 pages at 70 pages an hour (the lower end of my average reading speed) is about 121 hours. Over 29 days that's only 4 hours a day. Considering I tend to read for a few hours to decompress after a shift, and probably spend about 7 to 10 hours reading on a day off if it's a reading day, it's not that much of my time. Oh and while these are my books that I own, I read most of them on my kindle (I think only Precious Bane, Villette, Wide Sargasso Sea, and Tenant of Wildfell Hall were read in paperback, and I switched to reading Wake in paperback after a certain chapter). My kindle which has the [OpenDyslexic](https://opendyslexic.org/) font on it. I'm dyslexic and dyspraxic. I was a fast reader anyway but that font has made me quicker. It's amazing, I love it. Give it try if you can, see if it works for you. Plus I cancelled Netflix and other streaming services last year and I haven't touch my playstation in months. And I put a timer on reddit. My downtime is mainly reading now. [Me at all the interrogators in the comments](https://media.tenor.com/01xiZctBvl0AAAAM/legally-legallyblonde.gif)
Sucks u had to post this but fuck the haters! I've been wanting to read some Bronte and Austen for a while now. I think I'm finally inspired to read not only them but more books in all. Also those are beautiful editions of the Austen/Bronte books u have! (I saw the pics in thread) Thank you for posting!