And away we go...
Do you have a certain place at home for reading?
At home? Not really.
When I was a kid, I read at home - probably mostly in my room.
When I was older and had a little more freedom and able to afford books on occasion, I would read anywhere I wanted. I had book-sonar in a sense - I would walk around while reading but was able to avoid bumping into anything or walking into traffic, etc. It was a hidden talent I had back then, and I have no idea if I still have now. (This superpower was only tested on mass-market books - never trades or hardcovers.)
When I lived at home, I usually read in my room. When I moved out, I read wherever was comfy and quiet.
Bookmark or random piece of paper?
Yes.
I'm not a dog-ear kind of person. That's not me. I don't like it. I don't like watching it. It makes me sad.
Usually, I try to have some kind of bookmark for the book I'm reading, but they're so pretty in their own right that I don't want to mess them up. I try to go for something flat between the pages with no tassel or ribbon sticking out.
If I don't have an official bookmark, I'll usually scramble through my purse or pockets for a scrap of paper - usually a receipt - to shove in the book. On occasion, I will use the flap of the dust jacket, but I'm taking the book outside the house, the dust jacket will stay behind as well so as not to damage it, and then I'd go back to a receipt... or even sometimes a napkin comes in handy.
Can you just stop reading or do you have to stop after a chapter or a certain amount of page?
I have been known to once in a while set guidelines for myself to get through a book. It started when I was reading for school, but that was a different type of text. (I mean, yeah, I read non-fiction from time to time, but my jam is mainly fiction.)
I would occasionally do this when a new book from an author I love would come out, and I would want to read it by a certain time (which was when another book from another author I love would be released.) So I would usually count how many days I had to finish the book, divide that into the total pages in the book, and then mark off with little bookmarks/pieces-of-paper page goals to reach by the end of each day. I didn't have to stop reading if I got to that mark - it was just a goal.
I would usually stop after a chapter so there was a clean break from where I left off to where I would start. I might also stop at a section - you know, within the chapter - but the end of a chapter is usually best for me.
Do you eat or drink whilst reading?
Yes... and no.
I "read" via three different forms: a physical book, audiobook, or my Kindle.
If I have a physical book in my hand, I'll usually have a drink nearby and maybe a snack. I try to keep the food and the book separate since I always think of peoples orange fingers after eating cheese puffs... then imagine little orange dust marks at the corners or sides of the page. Just the thought makes me cringe. So if I have a snack - like how popcorn goes with movies - I will wipe my hand on a napkin before even thinking about touching the book to to turn the page. I can recall trying to use untainted fingers to turn the page, but that can also be tricky, and your hand looks like some arthritic claw.
Audiobooks I traditionally listen to in the car when I'm on my way to work, home, or running errands. When I would go visit my family, it's a bit of a drive so I always plan to have an audiobook handy. Most of my audiobooks are from the library so the only issue is changing out discs since not everyone have their books in an mp3 format. If I have some on my phone, I either connect my phone to the car and play the audiobook through the stereo... or I plug my phone into the charger and put an earbud in to hear the story.
My Kindle - which I've had for a while now - is still new to me. I always thought I'd use it more for travel, but I don't travel all that much or am gone long enough to start/finish more than one book. But I'm trying to break that habit.
Multi-tasking: music or tv whilst reading?
Usually not. If anything, I may have something in the background with no lyrics - just instrumental (I love violins so something like that... or some piano or acoustic guitar).
Most of the time, I'm just reading and doing nothing else. Just me and a book and some quiet alone-time. If I'm in the zone, then I can't usually get distracted. But then once I'm pulled out of a book, I can't get back into it right away since I'm upset at being interrupted.
One book at a time or several at once?
I think nowadays, I'm more of a one-book-at-a-time lady, but back in the day, I was consuming as many as I could get my hands on. A number of my favorite authors write more than one series so I will occasionally pick up one book, read a bit, and then morbid curiosity will get the better of me, and I just have to have a taste of the other book.
The most I would do is have a book to read - either a physical book or something on my Kindle - and then an audiobook for the car. But more often than not - it's one book at a time for me.
Reading at home or everywhere?
Yes.
Reading at home is fine, but sometimes there's a little too much temptation to lay down, get comfy, and read... but the good intention usually ends up with me falling asleep.
I will sometimes go for a drive, get some snacks, park someplace pretty and peaceful, and whip out a paperback or listen to my audiobook.
Books can be enjoyed anywhere!!!!
Reading out loud or silently in your head?
Yes!
I've always loved storytelling... like when you were little and your parents would read you a story at bedtime. Or at school when your class would go to the library, and the librarian would read you a book or two before setting you loose to pick out books for your own. I've also watched a number of storytellers perform over the years.
And with me being an entertainment nerd, when alone, I like to read aloud like I'm a one-woman show acting out all the parts... or pretending I'm doing the audiobook or a radio play.
If there are people around, I save my "performances" for when no one can hear me.
Do you read ahead or even skip pages?
I don't do either.
The closest thing to this that I can think of is if I'm reading, and I realize a book has consumed me to the point of"Oh crap, I have to go to bed. I work in the morning!" - I flip forward to find how many more pages I have until the end of the chapter and then read up to there before bookmarking and closing the book and setting off to bed..
Breaking the spine or keeping it like new?
Oy vey - this one.
I have the tendency to do this to mass markets when I'm really in it. There are also times where the binding prevents me from reading a full-page correctly so I loosen it up just a bit so I can see the whole line and not have words disappear to the center of the book.
Trades and hardcovers don't get broken spines.
I do visit the occasional used bookstore and acquire previously loved tomes with spines already broken or lightly loosened for me, but with any book, I don't set out to break the spine. It's not really an intentional thing... just something I don't mean to do.
Do you write in your books?
No.
I've done a post-it or flag of some kind on the page that I want to revisit, but if I have any notes to write, I usually have a notebook nearby to jot them down in.
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Later my lovelies.
Have Goodnesss!
Rae
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