Tag! What Are Your Reading Habits?

Click HERE for the Audio Edition!

 

I saw this Reading Habits tag on Natacha Guyot’s blog and thought I would also take this little survey.  You are welcome to do so as well!

Question #1: Do you have a certain place at home for reading?
I can read pretty much anywhere at home, but there are a few places I gravitate towards.  The first is the side of my couch farthest from the door, right under my reading lamp.  The second is back in my library on my window seat.  I also enjoy reading outside on the porch or even at the kitchen table, but those tend to not be as comfortable, especially during the winter.

 

Question #2: Bookmark or a random piece of paper?
Whatever is handy.  I have tons of bookmarks but they tend to live in a neat stack in my desk drawer, so I usually end up stuck with whatever paper I can scrounge.  The one thing I will NOT do is bend a page corner to mark my spot.  *shudders*

 

Question #3: Can you stop reading anytime you want or do you have to stop at a certain page, chapter, part, etc.?
Eh, I can stop wherever I need to, but I prefer to stop at the end of a chapter.  If I can’t do that, I try to reach the end of a section or paragraph, or the bottom of a page.  That way I can pick up the action easier when I return.

 

Question #4: Do you eat or drink while reading?
All the time.  I usually drink water or tea (hot or cold) and I favor sweet snacks, or anything else that I can easily munch with one hand with the other turns the pages.  I also read while eating on my lunch break at work.

 

Question #5: Can you read while listening to music/watching TV?
No.  If I really try I can read while someone has music going, but it’s hard for me to focus.  And forget the TV; I need to either shut it off or leave the room.  I prefer silence and no one else in the room in order to get the full experience.  (Cats, however, at welcome, even encouraged, to sit on my lap while I read.)

 

Question #6: One book at a time, or several at once?
I used to be a one-book-at-a-time kind of gal.  Now I often have several going at once.  I prefer to have nonfiction or short story collections for work because they can be devoured in small chunks.  Novels are better for home because I have larger swathes of time to devote to them.  If I book deeply engrossed me, I will read it straight through without break.  If it isn’t holding my attention as well (which isn’t a good sign), I’ll start up something else to vary things.

 

Question #7: Reading at home or everywhere?
Anywhere.  I would sooner leave the house without my keys, wallet, or clothes than forget my book.

 

Question #8: Reading out loud or silently in your head?
Silently in my head.  I actually don’t “hear” words when I read, so I can get through books very fast.  Alas, my retention of said book often does not extend beyond recalling whether I liked it or not.  It also makes reading aloud difficult because I don’t feel the rhythm that the words are supposed to have, or the inflection or pronunciation.  And my eyes travel faster than my mouth, so I often get tongue-tied if I try reading aloud.

 

Question #9: Do you read ahead or skip pages?
I never skip pages.  Okay, except for the feasts in Brian Jacques Redwall series.  Because those bore the pants off of me.  And I don’t skip ahead unless I’m getting really bored, and even then, I just flip through, letting my eyes catch a sentence or two before going back to my spot.  I never used to do that, but sometimes I need a little premonition to keep going.

 

Question #10: Breaking the spine or keeping it new?
I try very, very hard to keep my books in good condition.  A lot are old library books I got from sales, so many already have broken spines.  However, I am not a fanatic.  After all, books are meant to be read and as long as they aren’t deliberately abused, I understand a little spine-cracking.  However, this only applies to my own books.  If I lend my books out to someone, or if someone lends me a book, I expect to have it back (or to send it back) in the exact condition I received it.

 

Question #11: Do you write in books?
Only nonfiction books that I own, mostly related to writing.  And I still have some old text books with my notes in them.