I read Luscinnia’s answers to these on her blog a few weeks ago and today I read Servetus’s answers. She has so handily translated these 10 questions into English, which makes it even easier for me now to go ahead and answer these as well. 🙂
Before I do, you should probably know that while I really do like to read, ever since the kids came I have been reading far far less than I used to before. When I read and a book grips me, I find it hard to stop and when life gets in the way, that frustrates me. My kids are now big teenagers and I guess there should be no real reason anymore to not read as much. Still, often I find it hard to find long stretches of time or to even find the focus to do so. This means that I do have a ton of books I still want to read and at some point I do hope to get around to them! So, yes, I love reading and yes, I really should do it more.
Anyway, for now, here are my answers to the 10 reading questions!
Do you have a specific place to read at home?
I read on one of our two couches in the living room or in a comfortable armchair we have. Sometimes I also read in bed but when I do that I tend to fall asleep quickly. Mostly it’s better for me to be comfortable upright when I read.
Bookmark or any old piece of paper?
When I read on my e-reader, my e-reader tells me where I left off, so I don’t need a bookmark then. However, when I read an actual book I do have three preferred bookmarks that I use. One I once bought in Newcastle upon Tyne back in 1993 (!!) while I was doing an internship there and for some miraculous reason I still have it. Another bookmark I bought at Jane Austen’s house in Chawton on our summer holiday in 2009 and I bought a third one at the Brontë Parsonage in Haworth a little over a year ago. So, usually I’ll have one of these three in use.
Can you stop reading anywhere in a book?
Only if I have to, I prefer to stop at the end of a chapter. If I’m loving the book I hate to stop at all!
Do you eat or drink while reading?
Depends on how long I’m reading. I do like to have a cup of tea with my book and maybe a cookie or some chocolate.
Multi-tasking: Music or television while you read?
I’m pretty good at concentrating on my book in a busy room, I’ve always been good at that. One of my older brothers used to say that a bomb could go off beside me, I’d still just keep on reading without looking up. I guess that’s the bonus of growing up in a large family. 🙂 Having said that, if I can see a TV screen, that will distract me, so I’ll sit in the armchair I mentioned above from where I can not see the screen.
One book, or several at the same time?
One. I tend to immerse myself completely into the world of that book and can’t find the room in my head to focus on another narrative alongside that. Unless I have to read something for work…
Reading out loud or quietly in your head?
Definitely quietly in my head. Reading out loud and I don’t go together well, hence my difficulty with audiobooks, they never converge with the voice in my head. Reading is something very private for me and having someone else voice that or even having me voice it aloud myself interferes with the feelings and thoughts I develop for that book while I’m reading.
Do you skip passages from a book or even pages?
Pages very seldomly (unless it’s 50 Shades of Grey – I skipped half that book and didn’t bother with the two sequels). I do tend to skip passages when they become very long and overly descriptive. I’ve skipped quite a bit of Dickens that way. 😉
Break the binding or leave it so it looks as much as possible like new?
I never really think about the binding. I guess I do like the broken-in look, shows that a book has really been read and handled by someone, that it’s had a life.
Do you write in your books?
Nope. Unless it’s something I read for work but even then I avoid writing in them if I can.
So, what about you, how would you answer these questions? Join in if you’d like to!
Similar here… My shelf is full of „to-reads“ but I really need some calm time to concentrate and indulge in a book. I have started to read e-Books while waiting – for my kids at their sports or music classes during the last years or wherever. But those short breaks aren‘t really suitable for each kind of literature…
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Yes, like you, I get frustrated with only bursts of time to read…
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I’m very antiquated I guess. I love books the smell of them, turning the pages, boomarkers in them. I love love your three book markers and the back stories behind them. Just so heartwarming and cool. I read less than you do and after joining these blogs where everyone recommends books I have a huge list now. I read on the couch. I fall asleep in bed or the pups wil curl up and want attention in bed so I too have what should be a sectional but quite isn’t and there is where I hibernate to read, email at home, and peruse on line for intel.😉I don’t have a valid excuse for not reading more maybe research on a Richarding to catch up to everyone else?!😛😀
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The internet, and Richarding, has definitely influenced my reading, i.e. I read less books than I used to when I was younger because I spend time online. It’s all so distRActing to be here. 🙂
I prefer physical books too (and love using my bookmarks when I read them!) but especially when travelling, you can take more books with you on an e-reader. And as I read mostly on holidays now, the e-reader does come in handy.
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Thanks for the link love! That chair looks super comfortable!
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It really is! 🙂
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Oh, I love these questions. I’m not reading nearly as much as I would like. My TBR pile is staggering, but finding the time is also my problem. I’ll read anywhere. The living room couch at home but anywhere really outside the house, especially when I have to wait. Waiting rooms, bus stops, in line at the post office. I always carry a book (either an ebook on my phone or a physical book) because I hate wasting time—unless I get lost on the internet. 🙄 I definitely waste too much time that way. Usually I can’t find my bookmarks, so I’ll use random things. In a pinch I’ll remember the page. I love your bookmarks, Esther. I don’t like stopping mid-chapter but since I read on my lunch break it’s sometimes inevitable. That also answers the next question. I read while eating if I’m not having a meal with someone, so yes. I don’t necessarily munch while reading though. I *can* read with distractions if necessary but I prefer quiet. Soft music at the most. I’m strictly a one book at a time person. If I like a book, I couldn’t pick up another until I’ve finished the current one. For myself I read quietly in my head. I do love reading children’s books out loud to an audience—especially if they rhyme or have a good rhythm. If I skip passages, I ask myself if this is the book for me, but I’m not a quitter, so I might skim really fast if something is boring. I did skip the gory stuff in Outlander—too graphic. I’m very meticulous with my books. No bending or notes, please. It’s why I only lend my books to ‘careful’ readers.
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Thanks for your reply, Kate, what a lovely read! 🙂
And I see similarities like reading quietly in your head and not liking to stop mid-chapter. 🙂
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Fun questions. Those bookmarks are great, especially the purple one from the Bronte Parsonage.
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Yep, love that one too! It’s the most rigid of the the three, though, and most easily slides out of a book.
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