Mama Diaries

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Reading Habits

Last week in my wanderings, I came upon a blog tag over at Lori Maclaughlin's pad.  It was called, Reading Habits.  I found it rather interesting, and decided to participate.  It's a bunch of questions regarding my reading habits.  So, here we go:

1. Do you have a certain place at home for reading?  Uh, no.  In fact, I rarely read at home.  You'll find me reading on airplanes, music studios, dance classes, and anywhere else I happen to be.  (Same goes for writing.)  My free time at home is either spent blogging, doing social media, or practicing one of my instruments.

2.  Book mark or random piece of paper?  I prefer book marks, but it usually ends up being a random piece of paper, or anything else I happen to find nearby that will do the job.  (I've been known to use bread twisty things and paperclips.)

3. Can you stop reading at any time or do you have to stop at a certain page, chapter, part, etc.? If it were a perfect world, I would stop at the end of a chapter, or at least at a logical break.  But I'm often interrupted, so I end up stopping wherever I am at the time of the interruption.

4. Do you eat or drink while reading? No. I'm sure if I did, the results wouldn't be pretty.

5. Can you read while listening to music or watching TV?  I can, but I'd rather have complete silence - something that rarely ever happens for me!  Of the two, I find it easier to read in front of the TV, because I usually just ignore it.  Music is a little harder, because I'm a musician and I tune into that stuff. 

6. One book or several at once? I do several at once.  I think the most I've had going at the same time was five.  A little crazy, I know.  It started when I began reviewing books.  To get through so many requests, I had to do it that way.

7. Reading at home or everywhere?  I answered this one already.  Everywhere.

8. Reading out loud or silently in my head?  Silently.  The only time I'll read out loud, is if I'm reading to one of my kids, or reading one of my own manuscripts, to get a sense of the flow.

9. Do you read ahead or skip pages? Usually not.  I take it as it comes.  I will say, though, that sometimes, in a series, I'll jump from the first book to the last, to see how it ends.  I did that with the Twilight series and Harry Potter.

10. Breaking the spine or keeping it new? Keeping it new.  I don't like to damage books in any way.

11. Do you write in books? Usually not.  The only books I will write in, are cookbooks, where I make comments about what I thought about the recipe, or variations I used.

Those are my reading habits.  Do you have any you'd like to share?  (If you'd like to do this on your blog, consider yourself tagged!)    

46 comments:

  1. Five at once? I get confused reading more than two at a time.
    I can read while the television is on and music playing though!

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  2. I''ve found a gallery of really lovely book marks, will post them at Facebook soon :)

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  3. I like the end of chapters, if possible. Though, these days, I'm not reading much fiction.

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  4. I always like heading about the reading habits of other readers. Like you, I love bookmarks, but usually end up using something random. I also like to stop at the end of a chapter, if possible. :)
    ~Jess

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  5. reading about, not heading about. :) Guess I am tired!
    ~Jess

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  6. I think I'll have to do this one! I have too many comments because I want to answer all the questions haha.

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    1. Great! I look forward to reading what your reading habits are.

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  7. I also like reading in silence, great post and interesting to know how people read.

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    1. I think it's easier to immerse yourself in the story that way.

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  8. My personal reading - silently.
    But I love reading aloud in the classroom... it's gratifying to watch learners' reactions...

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    1. Reading to kids is awesome. I used to do pajama party story times to promote my books, and it was so much fun engaging the kids by reading to them.

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  9. I read multiple books at the same time, too. A book in the bedroom, three books in the family room, and most important, a book in my messenger bag so when I have to wait someplace I always have a book with me. What would we do without beloved books?

    Love,
    Janie

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  10. I read multiple books at the same time, too. A book in the bedroom, three books in the family room, and most important, a book in my messenger bag so when I have to wait someplace I always have a book with me. What would we do without beloved books?

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. Music and books. Two important things that make the world a more enjoyable place to live in. :0)

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    2. I wonder why I said that twice. Maybe because it's so important and so important.

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  11. Reading silently, unless there are kidlings about... 3-4 books going at a time, unless one is especially enthralling, in which case I concentrate on it to the exclusion of all else. Depending on the book, I will dog-ear it, write in it, even snooze with it. Books are precious and should be interacted with.
    I can handle listening to music whilst reading, but no television or Conversations!
    Stop reading? Say what?

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    1. Haha! That's funny that you snooze with your books. That can happen if you read before bed time. :0)

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  12. I've got three book I'm reading right now. I keep one in my purse in case I get stuck in line somewhere...or sitting in a car waiting to pick up my son after school.
    I highlight and write in my book (-:

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    1. A lot of people do. I think it helps them retain information in the book better.

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  13. I hear you about the music thing! SO distracting. 5 books is a lot to be reading at once? Erm... I think that's my minimum, but 3 to 5 of mine are research, inspirational, or mandatory reading. I'm typically only reading one or two fiction books at a time.

    Thank you for jumping on board with this one, Sherry. I loved reading your responses!

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    1. Wow. You do more than five at a time? That's impressive!

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  14. Music and tv sure does distract me, so I shut everything off, except the cat, he doesn't like that lol

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  15. I've used tissues as book marks! And your answers are great...so much like me!

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  16. I prefer to stop at a chapter's end or a scene break. I hate stopping in the middle of a scene. And I only eat and read when using my Kindle. It's way too hard to hold a book in one hand and eat with the other.

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    1. I'm sure I'd get food and drink all over anything I was trying to read! ;0)

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  17. My friend came back from China with this great metal bookmark that hooks over the book's spine. I've been using it ever since :)

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    1. That does sound pretty cool. My favorite is a leather bookmark from Italy. I got it when I was about twelve years old.

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  18. Great questions! I have a rule. I always stop at the end of the first paragraph on the page to the left. That way I can easily find my place.

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    1. That's unique! I don't think there are many people who do that.

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  19. Interesting questions and I wish to answer them sooner or later.

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  20. Great questions. I read constantly. It's nice to know how other people do it.

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  21. I read several books at once. On ebooks I stop at every 10% mark to switch to other books. That's why one week I might have no reviews, but the next I might have 5 or 6.

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    1. I tend to post several reviews at once, too - for the same reasons.

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  22. i do write in books...and underline...i usually try to hit the end of the chapter, but i can stop at the end of a paragraph if need be...i read mostly in the living room and in bed...i read several at once of different genres but seldom the same genre at the same time....

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    1. I don't think I read the same genre at the same time, either. I guess that might get a little confusing.

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