OT reading quirks

[Tara]

Does anyone have any weird reading quirks about them? Habits or idiosyncrasies either conscious or not?
For example I used to be obsessive about not DNF books until I got old and had kids and just feel like life is too short for books I'm not enjoying :)
Also I don't/can't read added poems or songs in prose texts. Like in the hobbit I didn't read the songs they sung. Whenever there is a long section of italicized verse within the text of a novel I skim it at best. I don't know why! I enjoy poetry, but for some reason I cannot focus on reading it in that context. It's bizarre but even when I try I end up not actually taking it in.

[Sara]

Tara wrote: "Also I don't/can't read added poems or songs in prose texts. Like in the hobbit I didn't read the songs they sung. Whenever there is a long section of italicized verse within the text of a novel I skim it at best."

I totally do this, but I'm also not really a poetry/verse kind of girl. Even when I do try to read them I don't feel that I'm absorbing it at all!

[Sarah]

I do the same. Unless it is just a couple of lines, I will skim read any songs or poetry, even if they're intrinsic to the story. I just find it really jarring to go from prose to poetry

[Sam]

It wasn't until this past year that I was able to walk away from a book and it is still a struggle. I pretty much can only bring myself to if it is an audiobook. I also do the same with songs/poems in books. I had to read the fellowship of the ring for my last English class before getting my degree and I kept having to go back and actually read those parts for the class.

[Ed]

I still make myself finish books I'm hating.... most recently Ulysses and Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian.

[Tara]

Sam, I started last year. After doing the popsugar challenge in 2015 I kind of felt like reading had become too chorelike and I vowed not to do that again. It's my biggest joyful activity and there are so many good books why would I struggle through bad ones? But it is a struggle lol I'm not fully comfortable with it!

[Ed]

Also usually have several books going at the same time but in different formats... audible in the car, audible on Walkman while exercising, audible on phone in the jacuzzi, hardback, paperback, kindle.... and sometimes on the computer when on vacation.

[Megan]

My "weird" reading quirk is that when I finish a book, I can't immediately go in to a new book. I have to have some time to digest one book before going in to another one. Even if its just a couple hours. I just can't jump right in to something new. *shrugs*

[Malaraa]

I often skip verse within the text at the time I'm reading unless it is only a few short lines or has something important plotwise, like if it's a clue that a detective is examining in a mystery. But I do go back after, and I read them then. Especially with things like The Hobbit, or LotR. I enjoy the poems much more when separated from the main text.

I've never had trouble with DNF. I don't really do it that often, but I have no hesitation or guilt over it when I do.

I also sometimes multi read but usually only 2 or 3 at a time. When reading heavier non-fiction, I often need a fiction break to jump to and let my brain absorb facts in the background awhile.

One of my quirks doesn't happen much anymore because I read so much on my e-reader now. I still almost always read in bed at night, but when I read mostly paperbacks, I would just set them next to me in bed, holding them, even if I knew I was done for the night. I'd always still be holding them in the morning. My other half used to have to try to get them out of my hands and apparently I had a total death grip on them. He could lift my entire arm by lifting the book, I wouldn't let go unless he managed to wake me up! So for awhile he learned to just sleep around them, but I suspect it's part of the reason he pushed the idea of my first kindle so hard, he was tired of sleeping with my books. :P

[Nichelle]

Megan, I'm the same way. I give myself a day before I start a new book. I want to "savor" or enjoy the characters one last time.

[Taylor]

I have a couple. One that I used to do but I've gotten better at is either flipping to the last page to see how long the book is or flipping to see how far to next chapter, section, etc. The problem with that is I would sometimes catch words or phrases that would give things away! I have gotten better at it but am still guilty at times.

Another thing I do is I almost always have to read with my mouth open. Really weird, I know! I tend to "mouth" along with what I'm reading while not moving my lips. I try to read with my mouth closed sometimes but I find myself stumbling a lot more and it actually slows me down! I don't understand the psychology behind it and it used to drive people crazy when I was in school, probably because I looked like I was always talking to myself!

[Cornerofmadness]

I used to be obsessive about finishing books until a) my tbr pile needed it's own storage shed and b) I realized life is too short to force myself to read a book I'm not enjoying (Unless I've been given it to review)

I'm not sure if it's a quirk or just me being a doctor, but I won't read my ereader at night because the light from the screens interferes with the glands that regulate sleep.

[Kristen]

Allison wrote: "Megan wrote: "My "weird" reading quirk is that when I finish a book, I can't immediately go in to a new book. I have to have some time to digest one book before going in to another one. Even if its..."

I do the same thing with flipping forward! Even If I'm going to be reading for a while I still need to know how long until the chapter I'm reading ends. It drives me nuts cause like you said sometime you catch stuff you shouldn't!

[Sam]

Cornerofmadness wrote: "I used to be obsessive about finishing books until a) my tbr pile needed it's own storage shed and b) I realized life is too short to force myself to read a book I'm not enjoying (Unless I've been ..."

By ereader do you mean a Kindle, Nook, etc. or a tablet?

[Tara]

Lol I do the same flipping forward especially if I'm not super into a book and want to see when I'll be done! But even when totally into it I'll sometimes check in to see how far I am. I find being able to track it in Goodreads and seeing my percentage helps me to not do that

[Nadine in NY]

Yes I used to be hardcore "NEVER DNF!" ... and then I realized, I've only got so many reading years left to me, and thousands of books I want to read, so why waste time on a bad book? (unless it's like Dickens or something, then I will struggle through, even though I hate every minute of it.) Plus, now that I'm older I enjoy branching out and reading books that I wouldn't normally read - the risk, of course, is that I may hate the book. So when that happens, I DNF.

I love poetry, but usually the poetry included in books (written by the author) is pretty bad, so that's why I will skip over it. There are some exceptions, of course. It's been decades since I read Tolkien, but I remember liking those verses (especially the riddles).

I also don't like to pick up a new book moments after finishing another book - that book has to steep in my consciousness for a little bit! Unless I'm in an unusual situation, like on a plane, I'll put at least eight hours between books And I do my best to alternate genres and author types and whatnot.

When I was younger, I would only read one book at a time. I couldn't understand how anyone could have more than one book in process at a time! Didn't they get the plots confused? Now in our "modern" age with so many options, (and now maybe my brain is different?) I usually have at least four books going: a book of poetry that I read from first thing in the morning, an audiobook for my work commute and other audio-friendly times, an ebook to read at lunchtime or in waiting rooms (Kindle app on my phone means I'm NEVER without a book! yay!), and a paper book on my nightstand to read at bedtime. (When I travel for work, it's ebook-all-the-time.) So long as all of the books are different genres, I have no trouble juggling them.

[Sheri]

I inadvertently DNF a lot, where i put it down "for a while" and then never go back. I have a hard time doing it for book challenges though, unless I have another book i am sure works for the same prompt. A lot of them it was hard to find something I was even kind of interested in, so I was soldiering through just to be able to mark it as done. Also books for book clubs, even if it's just a virtual one where I don't participate in the discussion. Once I start it, I feel like I have to finish it, because it was for the club.

My quirk is that if I've been reading too much stuff that is new to me books, I need to take a break and re-read something. Maybe it stems from my younger days when my book budget couldn't keep up with my reading. I don't know why I didn't use the library more. I think my mom stopped going, so I stopped tagging along with her and it never occurred to me to ASK to go? Anyhow, until I discovered digital library books, my reading was curtailed by my budget so I'd often spend most the year re-reading series to keep myself busy in between book buying. So now if I read too many new books in a row I feel like my brain gets too full of new stories and I need to go wallow in some old ones.

[Fannie]

I also skip most of the songs in books. With an exception for graphic novels, I only read one book at a time. I need to have another book close when I finish one. Even if I am not starting it, I NEED to know that their is another one waiting for me. And if I like a book, I tend to read it more slowly towards the end.

[Jess]

I used to constantly mentally calculate how far through the book I was. Goodreads and ebooks mean that the maths is now done for me.

I also use dust jackets as bookmarks and switch to the other flap when I've reached halfway.