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Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Reading Habits Tag

I was just recently tagged by Girl With Her Head in a Book to answer a series of questions about reading habits (you can see her answers at the above link).  Fun!  So here goes:


1. Do you have a certain place for reading at home?- Not really.  Well, I read all over the place.  My favorite places are stretched out longways on the sofa with the little lap dog curled up next to me or at the kitchen table in the morning.
2.  Do you use a bookmark or a random piece of paper?- Random shreds of paper.  The little tear-out ad cards in magazines work beautifully.  Sometimes I feel like I should have real bookmarks (see this post and this post), but for the most part, I use random shreds because I lose the real bookmarks so quickly.  They're like bobby-pins.  So loseable.
3.  Can you just stop reading or does it need to be at the end of a chapter or a certain number of pages?-Definitely at the end of a chapter.  I can never get back into a chapter that I've stopped halfway through with.  You know what else is weird?  People that read the first chapter of a book and then stick a bookmark in and walk away.   I have to read a least 5 chapters into a book before I stick a bookmark in it.
4.  Do you eat or drink while eating?- Well, I read at breakfast and lunch.  At dinner I tend not to because everybody's back from work and it's nice to sit and talk.  I would feel weirdly anti-social reading at dinner.  Sunday afternoons, when I have a huge glut of reading time, I'll often make some little treat to share and eat myself while reading.  My family has a tradition of eating sunflower seeds in the summer while reading novels.  I still carry that on.
5.  Do you read one book at a time or several at once?- Always several at once.  I like having something light, something tome-like, and something pretty to look at.
6.  Do you read out loud or silently in your head?- Huh!  I didn't know there were people who read out loud to themselves.  So yes, I read silently.  I can still remember the first day that I learned to do that in about 2nd grade.  I was so proud.
7.  Do you ever read ahead or skip pages?- *Ahem*.  Well, yes, I do.  I very often skip long, rhapsodizing descriptions of scenery or people.   If I see a whole string of sentences chock full of adjectives, let the skimming begin!  I must say, I am quite a skilled skimmer.  I read ahead if I suspect an author of writing a depressing ending.  If I find out that the outcome is not what I want, I slam the book shut and no harm done because I haven't gotten all invested with the characters.
8.  Breaking the spine or keeping it new?- Argh.  What a question.  I always want to crack the spines, but as soon as I do, I feel bad that the book has lost its newness.  I ask myself which I'm going to do every time I open a new book.
9.  Do you write in your books?- Depends.  Never in fiction, but from all my academic exposure over the years, I do write in nonfiction books.  I do think that writing in some books can have value.  I love finding old family members' books that were written in.  It's like a window into their minds.  So I'm not opposed to writing in books, I just don't do it frequently.
10.  What are you currently reading?- An Old Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott, Eat and Make by Paul Lowe, Tea with Jane Austen, and The Wit and Wisdom of Jane Austen (the Austen books are for Austen in August).

Thanks so much to Girl With Her Head in a book for this fun challenge!  I can't wait to see what others say about these questions.

4 comments:

  1. Working on my post...I love the author bookmarks.

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  2. So glad you joined in :) I'm the same about having to read in a few chapters before I can stop - otherwise it's too easy to just not come back to it. Hope you're enjoying the sunshine - assuming that it is sunny where you are :)

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  3. I responded to 8 & 9 on Girl with her Head in a Book's blog, so I'll deal with some others here on yours!

    #5 - Do you read one book at a time or several at once?
    #6 - Do you read out loud or silently in your head?
    #7 - Do you ever read ahead or skip pages?

    Not just more than one at a time, but I can leave one, start another, go back to the other days or weeks later and pick up where I left off.

    Silently in my head, are there really people who read out loud to themselves?

    Read ahead? No but Skip Pages? Yes, too many books and too little time!

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  4. I love to read on the couch and it's almost time to pull out something comfy to snuggle up with.

    I use bookmarks, some of which my mom made for me.

    I like to read to the end of the chapter, but sometimes life happens.

    I only drink water while I read. I never eat while reading.

    I usually have several books going at once.

    I read my Bible out loud, if I'm not studying from it.
    Otherwise I read to myself.
    While our boys were growing up I read to them.
    I miss those days.

    Sometimes I read ahead. Usually not.

    Funny thing is I break in my Bibles..but not other books.

    If a book is really ministering to me I will highlight and underline.
    Otherwise I like my books to look as good as new.

    It's been fun visiting with you today :)

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