Questions about reading

Found at Luscinnia‘s. I needed something to get me churning out some words again, and I thought this prompt was interesting.

Do you have a specific place to read at home?

Not really. At the moment, I usually sit in a corner of the living room from which I can see most of the common living space as well as the front entrance onto our property, so that I can make sure that dad is okay and that nothing unexpected is happening. I sit there to do almost everything at the moment, from grading to blogging to paying bills, including reading. I used to read a lot in bed but I had to switch bedrooms after the stroke and I haven’t really re-arranged the new one yet.

Bookmark or any old piece of paper?

I am not organized enough to keep track of bookmarks, although I’ve been given some nice ones over the years. They remain unused although admired. What I usually use is the call slip from the public library (when I order a book in an advance they put it on a hold shelf with a slip in it like the one above. I then go in and pick up the books waiting for me). I do occasionally use some other piece of paper or even an empty chocolate wrapper, but if nothing’s handy it’s not usually a problem as I can usually remember very quickly where I was in a book.

Can you stop reading anywhere in a book?

Yes, mostly because I have to. Tonight I was reading in the nursing home where Flower is at the moment and dad was ready to go when I had only twenty pages of my mystery left. So I guess I’ll find out tomorrow how it ends.

Do you eat or drink while reading?

Definitely. I keep a book or two in the passenger seat of my car so I have something to read if I need to eat in a restaurant. I now eat most of my meals with dad at home, so I don’t read in that setting, but if I am up late reading, I will make a bowl of air-popped popcorn with butter and eat that while reading. But I can also read without food.

Multi-tasking: Music or television while you read?

Only if I can’t avoid them. I prefer to focus on reading alone.

One book, or several at the same time?

Usually three or four at a time, plus whatever I am reading for class.

Reading out loud or quietly in your head?

I used to read out loud to my nieces from time to time, but I read silently to myself. I don’t hear the text in my head as I read, either — I read too quickly for that.

Do you skip passages from a book or even pages?

Definitely, if the story or the language isn’t grabbing me. Sometimes in fiction with multiple viewpoints, I get annoyed by one of the characters and just skip those chapters or sections.

Break the binding or leave it so it looks as much as possible like new?

I don’t try to break the binding, but I don’t see breaking a binding as a catastrophe.

Do you write in your books?

On principle, I don’t write in library books (even if marginalia are some of the most interesting things in some of the books I used to read for work). I don’t usually write in fiction, but if I am going to teach a book (whether fiction or non-fiction), I always write in it so I have the markings to hand when I’m in a class discussion.

What about you? Join in if you’re interested.

~ by Servetus on November 3, 2018.