Reading Routine

In response to Ms. Victorious blog entry about her reading routine, I am writing this post. I am not sure how long it’ll be, but I am sure I may have a lot to say.

My bookshelves now look different

1. How I tend to read books

I’d say the best way to answers this is “any way”. I have a tendency to sit next to the bookcase (on the floor) and just read, there on the floor without any preparation beforehand or any thought about it. I used to do this at my parents house, sneaking behind the dining room table and in front of the bookcase, reading my mother’s YA novels (this is 70’s and 80’s YA books) since she thought I was too young for them (I probably was but it was books and I love reading) or maybe reading the Juvenile Encyclopaedia (I can’t remember the exact name but it had language lessons, encyclopaedia articles, stories, etc. I read Rikki-Tikki-Tavi on it (amongst other things but I just have the memory of it).

But I digress, sorry!

How I tend to read is just by grabbing a book and submerging myself into it. Quite simple I have to say. Of course I have preferred ways of doing this, such as going to bed with a cup of tea and reading for a few hours, or sitting next to my bookcase and reading or just on the couch. But unplanned reading is as welcome as planned.

As for my reading speed, I am a very fast reader. I have yet to meet someone that reads faster than me (doesn’t mean there isn’t someone who does). Which means I don’t like reading out loud, my eyes+brain are about 10 pages ahead of my mouth and hands, so it becomes a chaos of stumbling upon words because yes, my mouth is reading the first line in the first paragraph, but my eyes are already several paragraphs ahead and insisting that I say those words too. It is a struggle for me to slow down when reading (it helps if I’ve read the book before, since I have photographic memory and that means I remember the words so I don’t have to read as much and can concentrate on wording them out). Being fast also made it difficult to keep track of where the group was reading when it was one of those classes at school where we each read a paragraph in order and yeah. I would usually count the people and mark my paragraph so I knew what I should read out loud when my turn came.

My mum has a funny story that when I was in elementary school, something like Y4 or Y5 (8-10 years old) on a parents meeting thing the teacher was adamant that parents should make sure their children read for 15 minutes everyday and my mum asked “very well, but how do I make my child read for just 15 minutes a day? She won’t stop!”. In all fairness, I learnt from her, she would read a lot too, so she was to blame for this.

And as for the environment, I don’t mind music or silence, I admit I prefer a quiet room so I can concentrate better but if ideal conditions aren’t met, I can still read perfectly fine.

2. What kind of books I tend to read

I can say all kinds but to be honest I read an eclectic picky mix. My main reads are fantasy (and it’s many variations, urban, high, etc) and sci-fi, but for example I am not very fond of Asimov and a few other Sci-Fi giants and prefer more obscure ones. Same with fantasy. Of course, I read a lot of YA. And I have a soft spot for Mary Higgins Clark’s mystery/thriller novels or anything from Kathy Reichs.

I can also read contemporary though I am not as keen and I prefer for those kind of reads things like Cecilia Ahern and such, or japanese writers (Murakami is the most known but there are others). And my other favourite thing is historical. It can be historical fiction or non fiction. I have a lot of books on WW2 and aircraft, but then I also have books on colour, costumes, drawing, the art of, etc.

And last but not least, I like graphic novels (but I am not wowed by Marvel/DC). This of course includes manga.

Most of what I have read (until I started buying book boxes) is older books and authors that either are famous now or ar not known anymore except by older people. Authors like M.M Kaye (learned a lot about history and the West Indies), Brian Jacques, Madeleine L’Engle, Robin Cook, Robin McKinley, Ken Follet, Anne McCaffrey, etc. (If you saw my post on my favourites, most of the books are old or they are new editions bought to replace the broken old ones). Some of my favourite books are now out of print or it is hard to get hold of them because people aren’t buying them anymore.

3. Where I tend to read

Short answer: everywhere. Long answer: everywhere, for real. I don’t know exactly when but it was in my teenage years (probable between 10-13 years old) I made the habit of almost never leaving the house without a book. You never know when you can sneak time to read, so I can say I’ve read while waiting (standing or sitting) in a queue, at a bus stop, waiting for the train, sitting outside a classroom, while in class (killing time after having finished the assignment), I’ve read on a plane, in a car, etc. The list goes on. I just read everywhere.

My favourite places are bed, couch, floor and under the stairs (there is a tiny space there and I just sit among the coats and cleaning stuff and all that and read, somehow it is comforting). Another favourite occasion is sneaking some reading on a boring event (I may sin of being rude by taking out my book and reading at a conference during a talk or things like that, but I am multitasking most of the time and whatever the person is talking about I either already know it or it is not interesting me).

4. What kind of snacks keep me company while reading

I don’t prepare snacks for reading time, as you can gather from all I’ve written already, I basically just read. If I am reading before bed I try to take a cup of tea with me, but what usually happens is I forget about it while I read and only drink it once it is cold. If I am reading at a coffee shop then of course I will be drinking something and maybe having some cake (every now and then I go to a Costa or something, buy some coffee/tea and a cake and read and eat and drink in peace there, change of environment sometimes helps and is needed, sometimes I like being alone in a busy place). Snacks may happen at other times of reading but it is very variable so can’t say I do specific something. Tea is the most probable answer to be fair, but I drink tea almost a cup per hour so the odds are stacked in favour of tea.

So now it is your turn, what is your reading routine?

What kind of books do you read? Is there a particular place that inspires you to read for hours? Coffee or tea while reading? What kind of snacks work for you?

Pictures this time include old shelves, a visit to Costa coffee, December’s Book Box Club and a lovely window seat with a view to snow in the valley (I was very lucky to have this as part of my job at the time).