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Dog ears, Enid Blyton, Library, meme, Reading, Shopping, Top Ten Tuesday
I’ve not written a meme for a LOOONG time, but I came across Shannon’s blog entry Top Ten Tuesday: Book Confessions and liked her responses so much I thought I’d join in. I do have my own queer reading habits that I’ve honed for years – but I think some of you will probably identify with the more common ones that we are all guilty of.
1. I am a consummate library goer – never was to begin with (always liked my books clean with a sense that they were ‘mine’) but financial circumstances and an awareness for trees/paper have made me one. In fact, I’ve probably bought about 5 books in the last three years. All the rest I have taken out the library or scavenged off friends.
2. I am never without a book. I have them in my bag, on my phone, on my laptop. Everywhere. If I don’t have anything to read I start getting panic-attacks.
3. Sometimes I can get panic attacks/ dizzy spells in book stores just LOOKING at books. Despite being a book lover, I can’t spend more than 15 mins in a library. I start feeling sick. It is strictly ‘go in, give books back/ take books out, quick exit’ with me. It sucks!
4. I read in the toilet, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. So there.
5. I read three books at a time. In fact I usually end up walking away from the library with either 1, 3 or 5 novels. Lately I have realised this comes from my junior school days when I figured out that the only way to progress from the ‘brown’ sticker books to the yellow ones was to read through the entire collection. For those interested I never made it to the yellow section (that’s where the Enid Blyton books lived), but I did get my parents to buy them for me. That’s how readers are born.
6. I don’t use bookmarks. I dog-ear. A terrible habit caught by my mother, another consummate reader who likes to dog-ear from the middle of the page. THE MIDDLE. Great, big diagonal creases that no amount of folding backwards can erase…
7. Lately I like to read in silence either in the early morning, or late at night. It’s my time to relax/ get ready for whatever is ahead of me.
8. My daily challenge, no matter how many books I have on the go is 50 pages a day. If I have 3 books, then I must read 150 pages. I often dog-ear my daily portions which means I know exactly how many days a book will take to finish.
9. If someone insists that a book is really good, I won’t read it. I am very suspicious of other people’s taste and rarely read what other’s recommend. It’s the only type of snobbery I have.
10. When I’m going through bad/ uncertain times I read to escape and relax. Some books are like my happy zone, I swing by and revisit certain scenes/ chapters to top up on positive thoughts. ‘Anne of Green Gables‘ has had many visits.
So, what are your reading quirks?
Related articles
- Top Ten Books I’d Want on a Desert Island (joshualisec.wordpress.com)
- Top Ten Tuesday #2 – Top Ten Books I Wouldn’t Mind Santa Bringing Me (unconventionalbookviews.com)
- Top Ten Tuesday!! Books I wouldn’t mind Santa bringing me! (myseryniti.wordpress.com)
- 2013 Book Bingo Reading Challenge (thebookishsideofme.wordpress.com)
- Top Ten Tuesday: Book Blogs! (booksandreviews.wordpress.com)
I get anxious in the library, too, but my reason is because I’m so worried I’m going to miss something good, or that I won’t have time to read everything good. To prevent that, I started going to the website first to request that they hold books for me, so now I can go in, get my books, and wander around or not.
I am leaving to do a little bit of traveling with my husband tomorrow and my biggest concern is whether or not I will have the books with me that I want to read. What if I leave one at home and then have a craving to read it?
I’m a huge book snob. I like people’s recommendations, but unless you’re one of 3 people, I’m going to need much more than your recommendation to read a book.
I’m also a happier and nicer person when I read books! 🙂
That’s also my approach. Mortality never crosses my mind until I spend too much time in a bookshop/ library. There’s just too much material I want, not enough bloody time. So like you I reserve and go pick them up when they arrive. It’s much simpler that way. Plus, if I’ve filled my 3 book quota I’m less likely to get all fussed over ANOTHER book that I want. It simply goes on the TBR list.
Hope you had a great time travelling. I wrote this blog post on holiday, and was armed to the teeth with reading material. Read loads of Ebooks, bought books while I was out there and everything. It’s good to have a craving every now and then though. Anticipation makes the experience much better!!
Who are your 3 special people then?
The 3 people who can recommend and have me read a book without any questions are my mother, my sister, and my friend Mindy. We’ve done enough book chatting and exchanges that if they say I will like something, it’s almost certain that I will.
It’s always fun to bring books on vacation, and with the ease of e-books, it’s nice to be able to buy on command when you want something. Although, I try to borrow e-books from the public library as well, so as not to spend a fortune! 🙂
Rebecca
I’m a fan of my library too, but… you’ve only bought 5 books in the past few years? Wow! Don’t tell my bf, he’ll immediately impose a book buying ban for me 😉 Ever since I purchased an e-reader earlier this year, I carry that around (lightweight, possible to read several books at once and digital book purchases don’t attract too much attention *grins*).
Ugh, no… no dog-earing! Except old and battered library books that is. I’m always in dread of the book police to barge in whenever I dog-ear a pwetty book o___o
Remind me that I’ll never recommend you books? :p
Well, I went on a book buying binge on holiday so that statement is now obsolete. My only excuse is that I don’t have the extensive library I have at home, so I’m currently trying to build a second one. It’s really exciting!
A really good friend of mine has also recently bought an e-reader and has enviously amassed quite a few titles on it. It certainly is a space-saver and she has grown quite attached to it. She is trying to talk me round to buying one too. I’m still reluctant. I like having these musty tomes around me.
Oh dear, please recommend to your hearts content – it’s an awful habit I’m trying to break out of. I need to be more open-minded, but it’s when I get thrusted a copy of ’50 Shades’ and a ‘you must read it, it’s GREAT!’ I want to scream… lol.
I am the same with numbers 4 and 6 🙂
😀 I think that fills most people’s criteria. I know people with mini libraries in the bathroom. Makes utter sense if you ask me.
Interesting list Zee 😉
We are only same in number 2. I never dog-ear, even when someone borrowed my book I prohibit her to do it…I love my book to look good all the time.
Interesting list 🙂 Oh, and I do #4 too! 😛