How Much Do Writers Read?

Authors, how many books do you read per month? 
How much is fiction and how much is nonfiction?

Selah Janel: Depends on the month, reason, format, etc. If it's for graphic novels or manga, I can burn through like 20 volumes easy if I'm not doing much else in my off time. Or if I'm doing other stuff, probably half that. Novels or nonfiction, depends. Anywhere from 3-7 again, depending on how I'm using free time. I'm also reading a lot of genre and lit magazines right now, too, and those numbers are somewhere in the middle. For May I think I did probably 7 manga volumes, 5-7 graphic novel volumes, I'm finishing up a novel, one nonfiction, and two genre magazines.

Connor Boyle: I average 3 novels a month with several short stories in between.

Ernest Russell: It varies. 2-3 fiction and nonfiction; it depends on any research I may be doing.

Ellie Raine: I'm a slow reader, and it depends if I'm writing that week, etc. If I'm reading, I can't write my own stuff. if I'm writing my own stuff, I can't read other works--or else I'll never get the work done. When I'm at a good stopping point in writing is pretty much the only time I get to read, and I'll try to read it ALL before going back to work if I can. It's a really erratic and slow process, but it's how I get the work done while finding time to read as well.

Bill Craig: 17-20 books a month, mainly fiction but once in a while I'll read non-fiction.

Amanda Niehaus-Hard: My goal now is one fiction a week (so 4 a month), 1 non-fiction a month, and 1 poetry volume or a complete literary journal every two weeks (can be a re-read). I end up reading about one short story from an anthology every night, so sometimes I read one collection a month or one every 6 weeks. But we homeschool, so I have to read a ton of stuff for the kiddo, and I don't have goals for that beyond "keep up with his interests." lol.

Robert Krog: I usually read a chapter a night to the children from some classic novel or the other, so that’s one. I’ll finish a nonfiction work for myself and frequently a novel as well. Then, I’ll be rereading certain parts of other works at the same time. At least 4, I guess, volume wise.

Ron Fortier: At least 3 a month. All fiction. I like most genres, a la sci-fi, mystery or adventure. Will occasionally re-read what I consider classics, i.e. Burroughs, Heinlein or Herbert.

Mark Lee: 2-3 a month. A mix of classic and contemporary. Mostly nonfiction but I love me a good epic fantasy.

Kevin Noel Olson: At a normal pace, one or two a week. Lately, so much of my reading goes into reading and re-reading research material it's difficult to gauge. Also, I have about 5 books going at once, one of them being a ponderous book of around 1200 pages. Not to mention comic books, so I won't mention them.

Jana Oliver: 20+, the majority of which are fiction. I read fast. Only a rare, rare few make the Keeper Shelf. I'm an omnivore apparently. When I'm working on my own books, someone's else's shuts down the internal "chatter."

Barry Reese: About 6-7 a month, usually 1-2 nonfiction and the others are fiction.

Derrick Ferguson: I would say three a month. I'm a terrible backslider. I remember when I would read three in a week.

Bobby Nash: It varies. All fiction.

Janice Elliott Howard: I read fiction. 4-5 books a month and non-fiction 2-3 books a month. I write only 10-15 days out of the month.

Angie Gallion Lovell: I read 3-4 books month when I’m not writing. Mostly contemporary and fiction.

Greg Goode: Sometimes one or two a month, sometimes several a day. Nonfiction:fiction :: 80:20

Rob Cerio: Depends if you count graphic novels. Without, 1. With, about 7.

Jason Waltman: One or two mostly sci-fiction, dark modern fantasy or new pulp. I not counting any role-playing game book because they're work-related.

Brian K. Morris: My reading schedule involves an average of five a month, usually 3 fiction, 2 non-fiction (often to do with publishing because I can always stand to be a lot smarter than I am).

Marlin Williams: As of lately, about two. All of it is fiction. It's a fifty-fifty mix between contemporary and classic. I just finished reading Ravenwood Stepson of Mystery collection of short stories by Frederick C Davis.

Danielle Procter Piper: I read a lot less because I'm a lot busier now. I've been reading mostly nonfiction the past few years, but I make time for the newest Agent Pendergast novels and Serge Storms.

Andrew Salmon: 10-15. Getting the Eby Stokes series launched, it's been more research than fiction and the fiction is usually tied to Eby's genre. Still I try to squeeze in some fun reading though.

Neen Edwards: I read all fiction... depends how much per month. Last month I read 17 I think. This month, I'm on my fourth book because I'm doing a review for someone and I have no clue what's going on in the book.

Matt Hiebert: Just two or three and a few short stories (which puts me somewhere close to last in this crowd).

Ed Catto: About one and half books a month lately.

Perry Constantine: Before, about one or two a month. But lately, due to all the sales that have been on ComiXology, I'm pretty much only reading graphic novels and TPBs. Lately when I do read a book or prose story, it's usually non-fiction or it's something I'm reading to teach in my lit class.

Nicholas Ahlhelm: I spend as much time with comics and graphic novels as the pictureless kind of books. I usually read somewhere between two and four prose works and probably a dozen graphic novels (at least) in a given month.

Jenny Reed: It varies wildly how many I read. Mostly fiction over time, but the percentages vary wildly from month to month, too. Both classic and contemporary.

Tom Hutchison: I haven't read a book in years. If I read it's a comic or more likely reference for whatever I'm writing at the time.

Adam Garcia: Depending on the length of the book, amount of free time I have, etc. 1 - 4 books a month, mostly contemporary with some classics sprinkled in.

Stuart Hopen: I'm all over the place. Typically I'll read five or six books concurrently unless something really grabs my interest, and then I'll put everything else down. I read fiction and nonfiction, but more of the former. And everything from golden age comics and pulps to Joyce and Shakespeare. Currently, I'm reading Infinite Jest, Will Durant's Story of Civilization, Foucault's Madness and Civilization, and Mike Cary's The Unwritten.

Lee Houston Junior: At least two library books a month and whatever I accomplish every night on the Kindle before I go to bed, so I'd say a monthly average of about 5 or 6 easy. The genres vary between books because I like variety, but mainly sci-fi, fantasy, detective/mystery with other stuff thrown in from time to time.

Trina Robbins: Typically 1 -4 books per month, depending on the length and how hard./easy to read. Heavier on the fiction than the non fiction, but I'm always reading. As soon as I finish a book, I start another one. Currently reading William Gibson's The Peripheral, and that man is hell to read, so it takes me longer than most writers because I have to keep going back and rereading parts so I can figure out what the hell he's talking about.

Van Allen Plexico: I have stacks of books all over the house, not counting the ones on my various bookcases, and am always reading from different books depending on what I’m in the mood for that moment. So it’s hard to quantify it. 1-2 dozen probably. They run probably half and half fiction and nonfiction. I also have tons of comics from the 1970s on my iPad and read them all the time.

Steve Ekstrom: It varies... I just don't stop reading and/ or writing. I rarely lean into any classic literature but when I do it's like a headlong deep dive into something really dense.

Keith M. Weller: Four to 5 books a month, all depends on what I'm in the mood for.

Kalesjha Madsø: Depends on length of the books, but around 8 to 10 a month. I read high fantasy mostly.

Bethany Hoeflich: 20-40 books a month. Maybe 4 or 5 nonfiction and the rest fiction. They are a mix of genres from fantasy and sci-fi to romance and horror. And most are contemporary. I like to stay up to date with the trends in fiction.

Gael Figueroa: 3-6 depending.. split between non-fiction and fiction.

Goalie Benkers: About two to four. I prefer sci-fi and fantasy but I read everything. Just finished Jane Eyre and really loved it. I'm still in awe of the writing style; very complex and deep. Right now I'm reading a mystery thriller. It's not bad.

Brett Kihlmire: Depends on the length and available time. I've read 14 of varying size since the start of the year. I'm halfway through a 300-page Star Wars novel right now.

Barbara Goode Bodnar: Around 10. Lot of mystery, biographies.

Gabi Balend: I honestly don't read a lot of published books anymore. I mostly read fanfiction stories these days (there are a lot of really well-written ones out there if you know where to look). I honestly couldn't tell you how many I read every month - I don't keep track of my reading like that. In the past, I primarily read science fiction and fantasy, although I did enjoy nonfiction science books as well (Cosmos, A Brief History of Time, The Elegant Universe, The Fabric of the Cosmos, etc.).

Demetra Had: One per week is my standard for fiction. Last month was crazy, I've read 12. I don't read non-fiction anymore, instead, I listen to audio books while doing other things to save time ... At least one non-fiction audiobook per month

Marianne Reese: 5-10 all genres. I like to read and support indie authors so I make sure I read several indie books a month. I do, however, read traditionally published authors, too.

Michael Grant: 1-10. All fiction. Mostly contemporary.

Eileen Troemel: It varies... I read anything. I read Audacity, which is a biography poetry book -- the author wrote poems to describe a Russian's work in the union -- early Russian refugee... and Quiet which is an interesting study of introverts. I've also read JD Robb, Anne McCaffrey, Kathy Lyons, Anne Bishop, Rebecca Zanetti... and a whole bunch more. My reading is sporadic -- when I feel like it I read.

Joe Noble: About 50 books a year on average, changes from month to month how many I get through.