How Do You Read?
Every once in a while I get this note from a reader:
“Loved your book. Read it in a day!”
I’m elated when a reader lets me know they love one my books. Knowing they read it in one day, that’s something else again. Why, oh why, can’t I read a book in a day? The answer is, reading a book in a day isn’t my style. Reading is like eating: some of us devour our books, some pick at them, and some have a balanced book diets.
Me? I’m a Stop and Starter. How about you?
Stop and Start Reader You have a pile of open books by your bedside: fiction, non-fiction and magazines and maybe a map or two. If it’s got words on it you read it. Heck, you even count that owners manual for the TV as reading fare. You may finish a book in a week and or a year. You come back from the bookstore arms piled high or you click away on your Kindle. It doesn’t matter that you have years of reading at your finger tips because your happiest when your plate is full. You’re a different type of reader in the morning than you are at night. You like one thing on the weekend and another during the week.
The Genre Book Lover You relish every nook and cranny of your genre. Fantasy epics are like a banquet, romances are endless plates of chocolate, mysteries are exotic morsels. When you’ve found a genre you love, you stick with it no matter what anyone says. There are so many incredible authors and never enough time. The genre groupies I know are also experts in their field. How satisfying is that?
The Classic Bibliophile If it was written after the 21st century you want nothing to do with it. You’ve worked your way from the Ancient Greeks to the modernists, adore the history behind the work and nuggets of knowledge about the author. You love a challenge, you’re focused and leaving a book unfinished is not an option. You appreciate a classic in the same way you appreciate a fine wine. Good things hold up to the test of time.
The Conditional Bookworm You don’t always have a book going, but there are times that you wouldn’t be caught dead without one. Airplanes, beaches, rainy days are the conditions that leave you screaming for a book. Conditional readers don’t worry about how fashionable their choices are or how fast they read, they just need to have a book when the time is right. You’re not a series reader and Ulysses might be a bite too much but getting time to yourself to read, that’s perfect.
The Omnivore Booker You fear no book. Classics to cutting edge literature all have a place on your table. Romance, history, horror, thrillers, literature or even erotica – so long as it has two covers and pages you’ll gobble it up. Reading is the way you explore the world, it satisfies your need for variety and your desire to be challenged. You’ve never met a book you couldn’t take or didn’t love.
Next time you sit down with a book don’t give a second thought to how you read, just remember how delicious it is to read.
This article is copyright © Rebecca Forster
