I discovered that I read many fewer books for research than I expected. I'm speculating that it feels like I do more reading for research than I actually do because reading for work takes so much attention. I take detailed notes as I read for work, so it takes me much longer; I might be reading the same book for a week or even longer.
In late 2014 I started participating in online reading challenges, and created an academic reading challenge of my own for my academic friends. The reason I did this was that I was getting bored with myself, and felt over-specialized in academic reading to the point that I was not aware of books not directly related to my research topic. At the same time, I regularly teach a class in current scholarship in my field, and that makes me want to keep up-to-date on ongoing scholarship regardless of its relevance to my own research.
For me, as for many academics I know, time spent reading stuff not-for-work feels like an incredible luxury, since if you're reading something, it should be for that book you're working on that still isn't finished. BUT - I've also missed reading serious fiction, which I did at a much greater rate before I went to graduate school. So I had a couple of goals: to read more literary fiction and fewer murder mysteries in my "pleasure reading" time, and to read more academic work not related to my research or teaching, particularly books written by my friends. As I hoped, my not-for-research reading allowed me to find ideas related to my research project despite their not being obviously connected to it, for example in Jodi Melamed's Represent and Destroy which is about neoliberal ideology and multiculturalism.
The question that might be generally applicable is this one: Does participating in reading challenges or book groups, or expanding serious but "not for work" reading result in doing less academic reading for work than you otherwise would? It turns out, surprisingly, that at least this year, and for me, the answer was no.
I may be a particularly unproductive person, but I compared this year's numbers with my reading choices from a year when I did not do any reading challenges (2012) and found that I did more serious for-work reading during the reading challenge year AND I read more serious fiction in my downtime.
If I count the books I believe I'll finish by 12/31, I'll have read 93 books by the year's end. The counts below are overlapping, so don't be confused if the numbers don't add up.
In 2015, I read 36 books related to one or another research project, including novels, so I read far more books for pleasure, general edification, and for teaching than for research. However, it wasn't because of the reading challenge. I read 31 books for research in 2012, including 25 academic books and 6 memoirs, journalistic books, and novels related to my topic. I will note that in 2012, I was in the process of doing archival research, which meant that I spent considerable time reading stuff that was not books at all.
Not counting books I re-read for teaching, I read a total of 40 academic books this year, whether for future teaching, research, or as part of a reading challenge; 6 of these academic books were read only because of the reading challenge I did in the spring...though I might devise ways to teach them in the future. In 2012, I read 31 academic books in total (6 for teaching, 25 for research)
In 2015, listened to 12 audiobooks, mostly while driving to and from work, working out, and doing chores.I read 11 mysteries and 12 works of literary fiction, I read 4 books by friends and acquaintances, 4 general non-fiction books and 4 memoirs.
In 2012, I read 23 mysteries, a few works of SF and fantasy, and 9 works of literary fiction. So I see where the biggest change happened. I listened to 8 audiobooks that year. I attribute greater audiobook numbers in 2015 to the fact that I was driving in 2015 and not in 2012. I also read a grisly book about bear attacks - which I just could not put down. yes, sorry, pun intended.
Sadly, the vast majority of books I read in both 2012 and 2015 were by white people. The split between men (55-56) and women (37-38) in 2015 was more out of whack than in 2012 (48/38). In 2015, I noticed that in 2015, I read more men for research and more women for teaching and for non-work reading.
Numbers aside, the most memorable things I read this year were...
Work Related/Academic:
Siegfried Kracauer, The Salaried Masses .A brilliant analysis of German white-collar employees in the 1920s
In a similar vein, Daniel Guerin, The Brown Plague a French socialist's news reports and journals of his travels in Germany in 1932-33
Priscilla Wald, Contagious: Cultures, Carriers and the Outbreak Narrative . I taught a chapter from it in my research methods course as an example of interdisciplinarity. Really, really good and the students loved it too
Franz Neumann, Behemoth, Very long and detailed, and totally transformed my book project this year.
Hans Fallada, Little Man, What Now read for research, partly while in Berlin.
The aforementioned Represent and Destroy.
Lynnell Thomas, Desire and Disaster in New Orleans A history of race and the New Orleans tourism industry. This is absolutely a must-read for anyone who plans to go there.
Carol Mason, Oklahomo Examines conservative anti-Gay politics through several case studies in Oklahoma.
Not-Academic, Not Read for Work:
Paul Murray Skippy Dies as a beautifully performed audiobook
Leslie Feinberg, Stone Butch Blues, which I can't believe I didn't read sooner.
Hector Tobar, Deep Down Dark This book is the story of the 33 Chilean miners trapped in a mine for over two months.
Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky, Sex Criminals (v.1 and 2). funny, smart, sexy and very much of our time.
Paula Fox, Borrowed Finery The most unsentimental treatment of terrible childhood experiences that I have ever encountered.
Miranda July, The First Bad Man hilarious, almost embarrassing, moving, thanks to my friend LT for recommending
David Treuer, The Hiawatha. The secret history of building Minneapolis skyscrapers, heartbreaking.
Junot Diaz, The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao The combination of a geek-culture-reference drenched narrative and the use of footnotes was really excellent as a pedagogical project.
Ernest Cline, Ready Player One, Listened to the audiobook as read by Will Wheaton.
Chris Abani, Graceland, Nigerian politics from the point-of-view of a teenager in Lagos
Also, re-reading Pride and Prejudice for the first time since I was 13 and talking with my husband about it while he read it for the first time was a great experience.
And counting down....
I am in the midst of:
Kathryn Schulz, Being Wrong (for teaching & in the self-improvement category from Book Riot challenge)
Henry Jenkins, Fans, Bloggers and Gamers (for research)
George Orwell, 1984 - re-reading for research
Barry Maitland, The Marx Sisters which I have been reading while falling asleep, and thus not getting far in...
and just started Anne Charnock's A Calculated Life on audiobook last night while doing chores.
Will I finish any of these other books I started and then set aside this year?
Slavoj Zizek, Organs Without Bodies
Peter Longerich, Heinrich Himmler
Peter Weiss, The Aesthetics of Resistance v.1
Matt Fraction, David Aja and David Pullido, Hawkeye v.1
progress update...I finished Schulz, Jenkins and Maitland and made it to 94 books. With three days to go. I'm half way through Robin Sloan's Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore, which had been sitting on my bedside table for several months.
ReplyDelete