When Do You Find Time To Read?

Back in the olden days when compile times were long I almost always had a book on programming or management at my desk and was able to buttress my experiential knowledge with theoretical. These days where turnaround times are so low that I can't even find my place, I haven't kept up in my reading.

I wonder if this could become a pervasive problem for rookie game developers and programmers - on the bright side, you're spending all your time getting stuff done - on the down side, maybe those long periods of head scratching and perusing manuals and websites trying to figure out "why doesn't this work?" could have been bypasses if you had already read the manual or language guide or whatever. Plus you'll possibly be out of the loop on the latest in good coding techniques which you may also pay for in the long run.

I don't know. When do you find time to read these days?

Comments

[Donovan]

Pretty much in the morning, on the toilet. I am working on creating a nice reading space in my apartment, in the hopes that it will encourage me to dedicate more time to reading.

[Cathy]

I'm not reading work-related books very often, but I always have a book with me. Lately I've gotten back to reading before bed, which means going to bed a little earlier. I also carry it anywhere I might end up waiting. It fills me with fear to think I might get stuck waiting in a doctor's office or something without a book!

[Drew]

I've been reading books on my phone since I got a smartphone. I think I read the entirety of War and Peace on toilets. Since I started, I've developed a set of digestive issues that helpfully provide me with plenty of time to read!

[Tim]

I tend to peruse the articles on Gamasutra first thing in the morning and then flip through my RSS feeds of Polygon & Kotaku when I am cooking builds and read the articles that catch my eye. I'll also read some articles when I need to give my brain a break from something I have been focused on for a long time so I can come back and look at it fresh again.

[EpiphanyG]

I commute to work 3-4 days a week by bus. I get through a lot of books that way. I have no idea how I'd find the time if I didn't.

[Mike]

A lot of my previous types of reading material have been replaced with video these days. These can often explain concepts better than a book can, though I still like books (though I also don't have much time to read them). I do have a long commute now though, so I have a lot more opportunity than I used to.

Watching videos from your lap was just not practical (or even realistic) when I was growing up, but times are changing and I think we'll see the way we learn change with it. Then again, it's just as easy or easier to read books from a phone/tablet as well.