Speed Reading

I did not plan for my new commuting patterns to alter my reading habits but here we are. Giving up bundling up and fighting car traffic on my bike for riding out on buses and subways has been a welcome change. And it affords me time to do things I can't do while I'm on two wheels, like play Scrabble or check email or fire off texts.

But my favorite commuting activity by far has been reading. Indeed, that plus a newfound laziness for going out of my way has compelled me more often that not to wait for a bus that I know will be slower (because I'm usually riding during rush hour) rather than walk a little further to a subway stop. The latter may be 20 minutes door to door, but only 5 or 6 of those minutes are available for me to read. Whereas the former, if the wait is long and traffic is bad, might take closer to 30 minutes, but at least 20 of those minutes are available for me to read.

In 20 minutes one way, I can usually read a chapter of a book, which let's say the typical book I'd read on the go is 10 to 15 chapters, so that means that I can usually finish a book in a week and change. In parallel, I'm trying to hit more must-read long books, which I do during my usual evening time slot, and those might take upwards of a month per title. 

It's a different way to my usual 50 to 60 books a year, but no less enjoyable. Evening reading before going to bed as absolutely a life habit I look forward to every day. And catching a pleasant read at the beginning and end of the work day is fun too. Who knew how many positive ripple effects would result from a simple decision to trade in my bike for a transit pass?