Reading is definitely my favorite thing to do in my free time. Reading is a constructive activity--you can learn so much by what you choose to read. It also helps keep your mind sharp and active. You could certainly never say that you're wasting your time with reading as a hobby.

I used to love to collect baseball cards, but who can afford to do that anymore!!!

Reading and writing!!!! I am the happiest when I am doing these things. Of course, one can't spend life in isolation with a book, and I do enjoy being social as well, so my next favorite hobby is spending time with friends in a casual setting.

All of these posts sound really inspired, so I won't 'out' myself by saying that my best hobby is watching reality television or anything...  On a more serious note, my true love is reading; I am a book-addict!  Like post #5 mentioned, when you teach all day long and are surrounded by people, it is definitely nice to have some quiet 'me' time and prop my feet up with a good book.

I have three favorite things to do, listen to/play music, read, and exercise by walking or swimming.  There are few days on which I don't do all three, at least for a little while, and I try to arrange things so I don't have to choose amongst them because I value all of them so highly.  I spend a great deal of time with other people through the day, particularly in the classroom, so these solitary activities are what recharge my batteries. 

The hobbies I find most rewarding are playing/making music and making art. 

I do collage art and draw. It's always fascinating to sit down to a blank page, spend some time with it, and end up with art. The process is a transformation that is both obvious and actual, and also metaphorical. 

I also play guitar and sing. This is a quite visceral outlet, often inspiring and relieving at the same time. 

I am a longtime collector. I have a spare bedroom filled with music and music memorabilia (including about 4000 CDs and many old LPs); tens of thousands of old baseball cards (mostly pre-1980s); and a large stamp collection. I also have many antiques and artwork, mostly purchased at auctions over the years.

My favorite hobby is reading literary poetry, short stories and novels. I enjoy poetry by T.S. Eliot, Robert Frost, Suji Kwock Kim, and a host of other poets whose work appears in contemporary print and on-line journals. I also enjoy genre novels of the espionage category.

Another hobby I enjoy is following baseball and engaging in some study of baseball statistics - of which there is a myriad of on each team and their players. 

Another favorite hobby of mine is playing chess. I typically play on-line, although I do have a nice chess set at home for face-to-face games. I love the strategic and analytical aspect of chess. The challenge to me in this game is improving my performance and my rating when I play. I try to learn from mistakes I've made in previous games to take my chess playing to the next level.

T.S. Eliot