A couple of days ago, I found a video where a girl was going through the questions of a new tag. The topic: reading habits. I liked it, so I spoke with Alina and we decided to answer them, see what we get. We won’t be tagging anyone in particular, but we would love to know a little something about your own reading habits.
1. Do you have a certain place at home for reading?
Alina: I love reading in bed, usually before bedtime. I’m pretty much a night owl, so at times, when the book is too interesting, I kind of forget to go to sleep until I cannot read anymore.
Elena: I usually read in bed or in an armchair.
2. Bookmark or random piece of paper?
Alina: I definitely like bookmarks. Books from certain collections have a bookmark attached to each volume and this is something very convenient for me, because the chance of losing the bookmark is close to zero. I also like book apps and there I don’t have to worry about forgetting where I left off.
Elena: Bookmarks. Or my phone.
3. Can you just stop reading or do you have to stop after a chapter/ a certain amount of pages?
Alina: If the book is addictive, I would read it all day long, otherwise I would be obsessed with it. But, if it’s necessary for me to stop, I would rather finish reading the current chapter or at least the paragraph.
Elena: It depends on the book, really. I can stop reading at any time, but it doesn’t mean that I want to or that I will. I prefer finishing a chapter before putting the book down.
4. Do you eat or drink while reading?
Alina: I don’t like eating or drinking while reading. These are very good pretexts to have a break, to regain energy, to clear my mind and to protect my eyes.
Elena: I never eat while I’m reading, but I always drink coffee, tea or wine. Mostly coffee.
5. Multitasking: Music or TV while reading?
Alina: When I’m reading or learning, I need silence. I hate when loud or noisy neighbours distract me from my intellectual activities.
Elena: No, never. I usually don’t watch TV, so that’s not an issue. And I love music almost as much as I love reading, but I can’t focus on both at the same time. It’s either one or the other.
6. One book at a time or several at once?
Alina: If I’m captured by the storyline, I cannot start reading another book. If the book is not that great, I would try another, even if it is a poetry book.
Elena: One book at a time. If I don’t like it, I’ll abandon it.
7. Reading at home or everywhere?
Alina: I can read anywhere as long as the place is not noisy. I’ve read in the car, on the beach and on the ferry and it was pretty cool.
Elena: I’d much rather read at home than anywhere else.
8. Reading out lout or silently in your head?
Alina: I prefer reading silently, but when I have trouble concentrating or understanding something, I read it out loud. Sometimes I also burst into laughter while reading, if a scene is hilarious. It happened when I read “Don Quixote“.
Elena: You won’t hear a word from me when I read. Unless I read for someone else, but that’s a different experience.
9. Do you read ahead or even skip pages?
Alina: I never read ahead, it would spoil the experience, but I skip pages if things become too boring. I usually skip long descriptions, because too many details don’t really interest me.
Elena: I tend to read the last page of a book even before I glance at the first one. It’s not the best idea, I know. But I usually forget the ending while reading, so that’s not a problem. And I might skip some paragraphs, but never whole pages.
10. Breaking the spine or keeping it like new?
Alina: I like to keep my books new and I don’t like lending them to other people. They usually don’t take care of the book as I do or they lose them and that is truly annoying.
Elena: My books are my babies. I don’t keep them “like new”, especially since some of them are quite old and had other owners before me, but I keep them in the best condition possible.
11. Do you write in your books?
Alina: Whether they are books I have to read for clesses or for pleasure, I like to keep them clean. Instead, I like to write down passages on another sheet of paper. However, I love to highlight passages and write notes in the ebooks I have on my tablet.
Elena: I avoid writing in my books. I might put a little note that I loved a certain line or paragraph, but that’s it. What I do instead is use a highlighter and write down this and that on a notebook.
by Elena Atudosiei and Alina Andreea Cătărău
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