The Reading Habits Tag

I want to start this post by thanking Rachel, over at Journal Of A Bibliophile, for tagging me in this.  I’ve never officially done one of these reading tags before so I’m excited to give it a go.  So, that being said, let’s take a look at my reading habits shall we?

Do you have a certain place at home for reading?

I’ll read pretty much anywhere but, being a creature of habit (and comfort) my favorite place to read at home is on my couch and/or love seat in the living room.  When it came time to decorate my house, I was less than excited about many of the design choices.  (Who really looks intently at the handle on cupboards??  Thank God for Mom and Aunt Judy to handle those tough decisions.)  BUT I was totally invested in the comfort of the couch and the fluffy comfort of the mattress.  Both were successes!  So it’s a great place to read – lots of natural light too, which I love.

Bookmark or random piece of paper?

I’m traditionally a bookmark guy.  But you can’t leave a stopping part unmarked!  So, in a pinch, I’ve been known to use a piece of paper, a napkin, an envelope, or anything that can slide comfortably between the two pages.  It has to be flat though!  I won’t use a pen or anything that can damage the book’s binding.  More on that below :).

Can you just stop reading or do you have to stop after a chapter/ a certain amount of pages?

I prefer to stop at the end of a chapter; I like the sense of closure.  It’s easier to drift off to sleep knowing I’m at a set stopping point.  But there are times a book’s chapters are too big or I get called to do something else or (occasionally) I’ll just be too sleepy to progress.  So adapting to life means I need to be ready to stop at more random intervals.  Because, as much as I love chapter breaks, I don’t want to read on too much when tired and wake up to realize I have no idea what I’ve read.

Do you eat or drink while reading?
I’m pretty OCD about my books (some may say INSANELY SO…but I digress) so I’ll only eat or drink if it’s in a controlled setting.  The food has to be bite sized and not leave any gross residue behind that I can unintentionally transfer to my books.  Drinks are a bit easier, as long as it isn’t balanced someplace precarious or isn’t sweating too much.  When they circumstances play out right a little drink or snack is a nice companion on a day of reading!

Multitasking: Music or TV while reading?
No, I like to invest myself fully in my books when I’m reading and I’m too easily distracted by the TV or music that’s happening around me.  So I prefer to be in silence.  Now, the light background noise of reading out at a coffee shop or something can fun.  But it can’t be too attention grabbing or I’m pulled out of my book.

One book at a time or several at once?

While there are exceptions to the rule, I’m traditionally a one-novel-at-a-time kind of guy.  I’ll mix genres from time to time, reading a novel, maybe some nonfiction, and of course scattering random comic books or trade paperbacks at any time into the mix.  But I like to stay focused on one story at a time.

Reading at home or everywhere?

I love to read best at home but I don’t mind reading out at coffee shops or, in the right circumstances (remember that crazy book OCD?) reading outside.  Sadly, I can’t read in the car or on plans.  I get sick when I try to do that.  I’ve always envied people who can.  There’s so much time to read on long trips!  But, alas, not for me.

Reading out loud or silently in your head?

I read silently in my head unless, of course, I happen to be reading to small children.  There’s also the one time a year when, during our lesson on environmental stewardship, I surprise my tenth graders and we go back to elementary school with a class reading of The Lorax.  But, by and large, I read in my head.

Do you read ahead or even skip pages?

Nope, never.  I consider spoilers a kind of sacrilege (and even jokingly tell the students in my pop culture class I’ll fail them for spoiling a movie we’re watching or a book we’re reading for the students in the class who haven’t seen or read it).  I’m a one page at a time kind of guy.  You need to let the plot develop and be surprised!!!

Breaking the spine or keeping it like new?

Gah…just thinking about this question freaks me out.  Remember how I said I kind of have book OCD?  Yeah, the idea of dog eared pages or cracked spines or anything like that causes a physical chill to go through me.  It’s worse than the dentist.  It’s worse than nails on chalkboards.  I once took a trip with my family, foolishly packed wrong, got home to realize I totally destroyed the cover of  one of my books…and I threw the book out and rebought it.  I’ll happily buy someone their own copy of a book rather than loan them mine.  And I wash my hands often (if not necessarily every time) before I begin reading.  See??  I’m insane.  But I’m okay with that :).

Do you write in your books?

This may be weird given my above response, but yes I do.  I would NEVER write in a comic book.  And many of my novels don’t have markings in them.  But anything I’d teach from (or anything I’m reading to learn from) is filled with my highlights (always yellow) and my notes in the margins (always black ink).  I don’t mind my notes but sometimes what other’s put in their can bug me so I buy used books cautiously.  However, I find my marks in a book help me find what was most important/interesting/moving to me in that book a lot faster.

Who do you tag?

Kalie at Just Dread-Full

Danica at thelittlegirlaround

Jeannette at .wondrousbooks.

Nancy and Kathleen at Graphic Novelty 2

And of course my brother in blogging – Green Onion’s Blog

I’ve chosen these people because, since I started this blogging journey, they’ve been constant companions and have grown into supportive friends.  So, as such, I’m kind of interested to see how they read too.  And Danica just shared a Liebster with me so I wanted to share the love (that post will be coming soon).  Don’t feel pressured to answer though!  I promise, no bad luck will follow anyone if they decide they don’t want to continue the reading habits tag.  However, I AM intrigued to see if anyone else is as crazy as I am with their books.  Hmm….