I recently came across a post entitled “Reading Habits Tag” at Random Thoughts of 210Darryl. I found it interesting and quite amusing and so decided to do one myself. Here goes:

Don’t judge me. If I got to know you I would probably think you’re weird too.

Question #1: Do you have a certain place at home for reading?
If I am reading an e-book I will sometimes read in my bedroom – in either a chair and ottoman or in bed. Otherwise, I read in a comfy wing-back chair in my study. I am at a loss to explain my preference for reading physical books in the study. Perhaps it gives me an air of mystery – or eccentricity. You decide.

My old wing-back

Question #2: Bookmark or a random piece of paper?
Preferably a bookmark. When one is within reach it always gets used first. If retrieving one requires losing contact with my seat, then a random piece of paper will suffice.

Question #3: Can you stop reading anytime you want or do you have to stop at a certain page, chapter, part, etc.?
I always try to get to the end of a chapter. If the interruption is urgent and I am forced to stop, there is a nagging feeling of “incompleteness”. The universe becomes unbalanced. The cosmos cries out for justice. In the words of Morpheus in The Matrix, “It is like a splinter in your brain.”

Question #4: Do you eat or drink while reading?
Only Diet Coke or Earl Gray tea (but never at the same time – that would be wrong)

Question #6: One book at a time, or several at once?
Usually just one. But every once in a while I will grow tired of a certain genre that I have camped in for several books. When this happens I will jump over to something new in the middle of a book. For example, while re-reading Patrick O’Brian’s monumental 20-volume Aubrey / Maturin series, I had to take a break in the middle of a story. I picked up a Steve Berry thriller and then came back to O’Brian later. It is a bit like having steak for dinner every night for a month – too much of a good thing.

Question #7: Reading at home or everywhere?
Generally at home.

My Study

Question #8: Reading out loud or silently in your head?
Always silently. Although, I must confess that I will sometimes say a phrase out loud (under my breath) if I am trying to understand the mood or inflection. I will sometimes do the same for a gesture that is described. Is that weird?

Question #9: Do you read ahead or skip pages?
I never read ahead and cannot bring myself to skip pages. I will stop reading before I skip pages. My dear Mother, on the other hand, had gotten into the abhorrent habit of reading the last several pages first and then going back to the beginning. I think she has since repented and no longer does this. But she still thinks nothing of skipping paragraphs, or even pages, that do not hold her interest. In her defense, she can plow through a book like an accomplished speed reader on crack.

Question #10: Breaking the spine or keeping it new?
Breaking the spine of a book should be punishable by death. It is utterly intolerable!

Nooooooo!

Question #11: Do you write in books?
I do under very specific circumstances and in pencil.

1. If I find a glaring error that demands exposure;
2. If I am so taken with a passage that I think I will want to find it again; Sometimes I will note the page number inside the front cover

So there you have it—My Reading Habits tag.

Do your own and drop me a note in the comments. I would love to check it out.