My Current Reading Habits
I wasn’t a reader for most of my life. I actually hated to read. I avoided reading in school and I read maybe one or two books a year in my adult life. It wasn’t until I read the Harry Potter series that I started to enjoy reading. The true catalyst for my love of reading was the Twilight Saga, which I first read in June 2007.
In the last 15 years, I’ve noticed that my reading habits change from time to time. When I was only reading one or two books a year, I dog-eared my books. Now, I’d never even consider doing that to my books.
I know there are other readers who are on the no dog-ear bandwagon like me and others who don’t think it’s a bad thing. I also know that some of my other habits would be like nails on a chalkboard to other readers. For this reason, I thought it might be fun to share some of my current reading habits.
Reading in the Tub
My most favorite place to read is in the bathtub. I’ll read a physical book or my Kindle. I’ve never dropped anything in the water. Since I don’t have any kids, I soak in the tub with the door open; I don’t have to worry about the steam curling the pages of my book or ruining my Kindle. I read in the tub for around two hours by emptying the tub when the water gets cold and refilling it with warm water. It’s very relaxing.
Bookmarks
I always use bookmarks. I never use random junk as bookmarks. I actually like to collect bookmarks. When I travel, bookmarks are one of my favorite souvenirs. They’re inexpensive and they take up little room. I also think bookmarks make the best book swag from authors and publishers. I have a cute basket on one of my shelves that holds all my bookmarks so they’re easily accessible.
Chapter by Chapter
I like to read a chapter at a time. I don’t mean just one chapter and then I’m done. I mean that I don’t like to stop reading in the middle of a chapter. If I don’t finish a chapter before I quit reading, it’s usually because I’m staying up way too late and I fell asleep while reading.
No Snacks
I know a lot of people like to snack and read. I’m not one of them. Even during Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon, I don’t snack and read. I’ll drink water or gatorade while I’m reading, but that’s it. If I’m hungry or snacky, I take a break from reading for a few minutes and then continue reading after I’m done eating.
No Distractions
I don’t usually listen to music while I read. I usually like it quiet. Otherwise, I find myself concentrating on the music instead of what I’m reading. I only listen to audiobooks while I’m driving because, otherwise, I get distracted and I don’t pay attention to the book.
Mostly Monogamous
I usually only read one book at a time. I don’t really like to jump from one story to another. However, when I’m reading a book that’s taking me a long time to get through, I’ll often read another book alongside it.
Read Silently
I think I’m like most people when I say that I read silently. Reading out loud takes too much time. The only time I read out loud is when I read to someone, like my friends’ kids or a niece or nephew. I do enjoy reading to kids, but I like reading my own books silently. I think this is why I prefer reading books myself to listening to an audiobook.
Spoilers Welcome … Sometimes
Sometimes I read ahead and spoil myself. I know! I know. I only do it when the tension is too high, but I don’t skip pages. I read everything.
Books Have Feelings
As I said above, I don’t dog-ear my pages anymore and I don’t break my book’s spine. I also don’t write in my books, unless they’re textbooks or scriptures. I try to keep my books like new for as long as possible.
What about you? What are some of your current reading habits?
That is so interesting that you were not a reader when you were young. This is a fun way to get to know you!
Yeah, I was the only one in my family who disliked reading, but now, I read more than anyone of my siblings. 😀
Great post! I only read e-books now but when I read physical books I did dogear them if I owned them. Any bit of junk was employed as a bookmark. I’ve always loved reading, though didn’t read very much for myself once my kids came along as I didn’t have the time or money for it and didn’t get back into the habit until I got my kindle in 2015.
That’s really interesting. I’m glad to hear that you’re reading for yourself again. I love reading on my Kindle so I understand why you only read ebooks now. 😀
That’s so funny! I was never a reader either! And Twilight was my segue to reading also. My sister-in-law sent me her copy. I haven’t really met other bloggers who weren’t life long readers.
I don’t dog ear but I use post-it notes – for bookmarking, for noting passages. I’m obsessed lol
I do snack and have the tv on in the background but don’t take baths so no tub reading.
My reading has changed dramatically over the years – right now I read 2-3 books at once which I could NEVER do before.
Karen @For What It’s Worth
That’s really cool that we found our way to reading the same way. 🙂 I’ve thought about using Post-It notes, but I never have any around, lol. I love learning about other reader’s reading habits. It’s so much fun. 😀