Did I Read 386 Books in 2023?

Hi everyone, let's chat gatekeeping, what makes a reader, and what kind of community I would love to foster here.
Books/Links Mentioned:
I Read 386 Books in 2023 Video: • I Read 386 Books in 20...
4.5 Tips to Read More Video: • 4.5 Tips To Read More
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Introduction 0:00
Part One - Direct Responses: 1:21
Part Two: 9:00

[@manoela2452]

i think all of the points you made are very valid, but i feel like what bugs people the most when it comes to seeing these huge "what i read this year" lists boils down to jealousy; most people who work 8h shifts and/or study don't really have the time to read much, and comparing yourself to people who have very different lifestyles and how much free time they have is really unhealthy. so yeah, looking at a list of 386 books read in year makes me go: "there's no fcking way" bc there's no fcking way *i* could've done that, with my routine. i've seen some other booktubers coming forward to talk about how it's unfair for a viewer to compare themselves to them bc some of them do booktube full-time, that's their job, some of them work from home, etc. idk, it's just of my opinion that this kind of discussion should surround your access to books (like having access to audiobooks! like you said) and how much time you have available to actively choose to spend it reading.

[@UtopiaStateofMind]

I definitely agree! Comparing ourselves to others never ends well and I'm definitely guilty of that in other things too! I think it's only natural for that to be the first like gut instinct. Yeah, I like the idea of pivoting the conversation to reading accessibility and I'd add reading habits too (like reading across genres or formats) and less on comparing what we all do with our time just because I agree with you and think it's a more productive conversation.

[@scheherazade2291]

My work allows us to work with out headphones in so I’m constantly listening to audiobooks at work and then I read at home so I can see this being completely doable. Especially since I’ll DNF books at 40-50% if it’s not good but I’ll still mark it as read because I have it a good try. People need to realize that not everyone will use their hours in the same day as them. I don’t have ids or a partner so I’m free to use my time as I like.

[@UtopiaStateofMind]

agreed! I think audiobooks really help me listening to more books it also keeps my mind from wandering too much while I'm cleaning or setting up photos.

[@MrOaklington]

I think you missed the most obvious perspective on the manga thing, namely that they’re much much shorter than a novel and while it’s still reading a very different medium than “regular” books/novel. A quick google search gave an estimate of 12-19 manga volumes per standard 300-400 page novel, or 19 ‘regular’ pages per manga volume much less than even most novels.
That would put your 386 at equivalent of roughly 25 novels, which is a lot for a normal person, average for an avid reader and few for a dedicated booktuber (normal caveats about pressure to read as much as possible as you mention in the video).
That being said, as someone who has read a lot of manga in the past, I don’t think the two mediums are at all comparable. I have during vacations ripped through the entirety of one piece in a few days, which according to the estimation would be 5-9 novels, which I couldn’t do even as a fast reader.
So while I agree it is reading, just the format alone makes it incomparable in the context of booktube or Goodreads yearly goal or whatever. If I still read manga, I’d tally it in a separate category, like “I read 46 books and 142 manga volumes last year”, not just 188 books period.

[@UtopiaStateofMind]

Yeah, I definitely agree with you in terms of timing and how long it can take to read a book in different formats or mediums. I think what underlies the issue, and a conversation I see around too, is this idea of using the pure 'number' of books as a way to sort of gatekeep who counts as a reader and what kind of reading 'counts'. But maybe a rephrasing is in order, like number of hours read? For those who wanted to know if they were all manage, would it be different for them if I had read 100 mangas but the rest books? Do they consider 'verse' novels to count as a 'standard novel'? It just seems that the question seems to hide other questions within. Does that make sense?