Do you have any reading quirks? Always sit in the same place? Required snacks? Pillow? Blankie? Read the ending first
?
I can’t wait to hear what you require for the perfect read?
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I’ll share a couple of mine. I have a massive collection of bookmarks and always ask traveling friends to bring me one. So I like to match my bookmark to my book.
I also will often read the first chapter/pages of a book just to get a sense of language, style, and tone. Then I go back to the beginning and settle in. I often do this especially with audiobooks so I can get in the groove when I take it out for my morning walk.
Oh, and I have custom paper designed for reading notes. I have a daughter-in-law who is a graphic designer. One year for my birthday we worked together to design the perfect format for note taking. I now have the template and can simply print copies.
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I do have a few…
- I have a curved couch, and I always read in the “crook.”
- I always cover my legs with the same throw (unless it’s 90 in the house - we don’t have AC).
- My strong preference is to have my Siamese cat, Jasper, either on me or within arm’s reach. This might be more his quirk than mine, as he whines until I assume the proper position & then immediately joins me.
- I read any author’s notes/acknowledgements first, although I admit sometimes this introduces spoilers.
- The room must be quiet; I can’t concentrate if the TV is on or music is playing. (My poor hubby makes do with headphones, but he’s half deaf anyway so that works.)
- I have a strong preference for reading on my phone (weight, light, note-taking capability, searchability…).
How about you, @Anne_Glasgow? What are yours?
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Wow @kim.kovacs. Great self awareness. You were ready with the list. I am a quiet room person also. I will occasionally put on something instrumental if I need to block out background noise.
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Hah! Not sure about self-awareness; I’m just set in my ways, LOL.
Your quirks are much more interesting than mine. Like you, my husband likes to read a few pages of the book before committing to it. That’s, like, 180 degrees out from my reading habits. Even when I can choose any book I want, I go by the description and don’t read a bit of it until I’m ready to read it start to finish.
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Oh interesting! I hate reading book jacket copy before I start a book. Somewhere along the way I’ll have read a review or heard someone recommend a book that makes me add it to my tbr. Then when I am ready to start reading I don’t want to have any outside influence so I won’t read more reviews of any sort. Mostly I add books way ahead of publication dates so by the time I get them in hand I have no idea why they made it onto my tbr. I just pick up and start reading from the beginning.
If I’m struggling with a book I will sometimes go looking for reviews, criticism, or interviews to see what I’m missing or to confirm I am on the right track.
I think the first pages “sampling” is sometimes necessary because I literally go from one book to the next without pause. It is sometimes hard to shift gears between authors/stories. I often forget the endings of books for this reason. I’m rarely in a book slump so I just keep moving forward.
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@Anne_Glasgow I loved hearing about the bookmarks. My bookclub, dating back about 40 years, although I’ve been involved since about 1994 had a group that always brought back bookmarks from their travels. Sometimes paper, sometimes wood. some fabric but oh so interesting. Each speaking to the culture of the visit. Like you, I have so many. Each a treasure although I could not tell you which friend gave me which one.
Like Kim, I have a cat and any reading habits involving Miss Kitty are at her discretion. I just live here. But she seems to find me if I am reading during the day and finds her spot on my lap which seems quite appropriate.
Otherwise, NO NO NO I would never read the end. Not even the notes. I think they reside at that position for a reason.
Atmosphere - must be quiet, well lit. Love your question…
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Ha! Mine are BAD. I read the award winners from 5 different categories and compose my reading list. I have a reading goal for the year and work out how many pages I have to read to meet it. My day usually has 5 reasonable breaks to read (with morning coffee, planning period, lunch, waiting to pick up kids, and when my kids do their homework).
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@Anthony_Conty I see nothing bad here. I’m glad someone else is reading award winning books. Interesting that you have broken your year end goal into daily page counts. I do that with large books if I have a deadline.
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Your “well lit” note reminded me that my absolute favorite reading environment is early, early morning in a totally quiet and dark house with only my reading light and a cup of tea. Unfortunately my husband is also an early riser so I rarely get this unless he is out of town.
My book club used to do the bookmarks as after-travel gifts also. It was always fun to see what people brought back.
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Ok, here’s my super nerdy quirk. I keep a notebook, hand-written list of books I’m interested in reading. It is color coded, has publication dates if relevant, notes about which of my libraries has a copy and in what format. I also keep lists of awards annotated for when shortlist is selected, winners, dates of prize announcements, which titles I’ve already read and want to read. The notebook also has a massive list of the books I might try to read before the Texas Book Festival. It’s usually about six weeks between author announcement and the event so I cram in as many as I can. There are also lists of interesting sounding books from my favorite publishing houses. Lists of series by author. As I said, this is my most nerdy quirk!
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Not sure it’s a quirk, but I almost always have to read at least a few pages in bed before turning out the lights to sleep. I read other times of the day and other places in the house but nothing as habitual as that bed time reading ritual.
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Oh, @Anne_Glasgow, I LOVE your notebook.
I’ve got an official off-the-shelf Reading Journal that I love. It’s also color-coded. It contains not only the books I’ve read, dates, format, genre, & rating, but books I want to read, pages read per day, & lots of other stats.
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So happy that we all share a variety of bookish dos and don’ts. @Evonne_Benedict I would probably share your habit of reading before lights out but my bed simply doesn’t accommodate reading very well. I often listen to bookish podcasts that promptly out me to sleep. 
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I’m a bookmark aficionado, too. My husband and I plan our travel around National Park Service sites and I always purchase a bookmark related as a keepsake of our visit. My only other quirk is I take a book with me wherever I go. One never knows when the opportunity to read will arise.
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I see you @Lana_Maskus! Never without a book.
@Anne_Glasgow I’m wondering if you can remember the plots and characters of all the books you read? So many! Quite honestly if I’m reading 2 at one time, I start confusing them, or if I read a book club selection a couple months in advance, I have to read reviews to bring the plot back into focus. How do you retain the information?
I just thought of another quirk I guess you’d say I have. If I’m reading a book that refers to a poem or poet, I always look up the poem and poet. Same actually now that I think of it if a book title is referenced as in Whalefall by Daniel Kraus, the book Cannery Row by John Steinbeck almost had the weight of a character. I researched both book and author to appreciate the full scope of their importance to the Kraus story. Very interesting and fleshed-out even further the impact of the book on the father in Whalefall. I will read Cannery Row soon - would make a great companion read to Whalefall if anyone is looking for a book club duo 
@Anthony_Conty It sounds as though you have the discipline of an author! Good on you!
Mostly no, @Connie_K. If I read a book multiple times or if I prepare to lead a book club discussion then I have better retention. There are some books that are so unique or ones that I absolutely adore that seem to linger. Otherwise I am reading in the moment and when I close the back cover I’m finished with it. I may have a long term sense of whether or not I liked it. I’m in it for the enjoyment and if I need something more from a book I figure I can always revisit it.
How about you?
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