10 questions about reading

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!

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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.

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So, what about you, how would you answer these questions? Join in if you’d like to!