Your reading habits

[Frostball]

Some people like to read in complete silence, while others enjoy some music or background noise. Some like to read in a particular spot or chair, others don't care. We all have habits that exhibit themselves while reading or preparing to read.

My biggest habit is one of almost obsessively keeping track of my progress by ratio of read verses not read. First I always check how many pages there are in the novel. Then, on my way through the novel I always note when I am 5% of the way through, then 10%, then 15%, but then a shift occurs in which I begin thinking of it in fractions. I note the passage of being 1/5 completed, then 1/4, then 1/3, then 1/2, then the pattern somewhat reverses itself with 2/3, 3/4, 4/5, then back to percents with 15% left, 10% left, 5% left, and finished. I've done this exact pattern in my head so often I've noticed a few peculiarities. First is that I take note of the 1/5 and 4/5 locations, but none of the other fifths. This makes the largest gaps between "landmarks" falls between 1/3 and 1/2, and 1/2 and 2/3. Nearly 17% (actually 16.6...) of the novel lies between these two gaps. They wouldn't be nearly as long if I counted the 2/5, or the 3/5, but for some reason, I never have. For some reason I enjoy this, because when I'm first starting a book the landmarks whiz by easily. Then in the middle when I'm at the real meat and potatoes of the book, landmarks are far apart, so while it's a bit more boring, it makes me chug through more to actually get to one. Then when the story is getting near the end, generally picking up pace, and reaching a conclusion, the landmarks become once again much more frequent, apparently adding to my enjoyment somehow.

My other big habit is that when a book reaches a stopping point such as a paragraph, or end of a part, I always feel like I have to do something before reading on. I always have to check something on the internet, or get up and do something, even if only for a minute or two. I find it hard to just sit, and read. It's hard to get to a stopping point, and just chug on as if it weren't there. I find this odd, because when one goes to see a movie you might sit there for two hours giving your undivided attention to the movie. But a book hardly gets that much from me. I tend to read in a great many chunks throughout the day. I've been working on this, however, and improving.

So what are you habits? Any particular ways that you read?

[Paulclem]

I the bad habit of buying too many books and starting reading too many at a time. Thus I have a number of books hanging at any one time.

I can read anywhere - in quiet or noise, with or without music. I read on public transport and late at night - the days are usually too busy.

I tend not to re-read books - there are too many I haven't read.

I annoy my wife by piling books up next to my chair. There's always a hefty pile. I like them there though.

[chrisvia]

I read 3 at a time (1 theology or philosophy, 1 fiction, and 1 critical work) at all times, in addition to the Bible; I demand complete silence; and I absolutely must finish whatever I start, as painful as it may be sometimes.

[YesNo]

I'm usually at home at the computer or when I read a physical book I will sometimes lay on a couch, but often with the book in hand I like standing or even walking. It keeps me focused. I have to remember to avoid the cat when I do that.

I don't count the number of pages. If the book doesn't provide satisfaction even after skipping around, I stop, no matter how far I've gone in it and no matter how well-reviewed it is. This is the only way I could ever say I read anything of Joyce's Finnegan's Wake. I think I got to page 3.

[Vota]

I prefer to read in silence. When I really want to absorb a book I need to be totally focused on it, and even though I can tune out extraneous noise I find it's a waste of mental energy.

At this point I only read 1 book at a time. I know I could handle 2-3, but I like to stick with one book or story to maintain unity with the story until I've completed it. I generally try to finish everything I start reading and do my best not to skip parts. This can be trying. Currently I'm reading Huckleberry Finn and while it is enjoyable I don't find it very engaging, so it's taking me longer to complete than I would like.

I try to read for a minimum of an hour every night, but sometimes I only read for 30 minutes or so. Ideally I would get about 2 consecutive hours in each night. Alot of this just depends on how much I am enjoying whatever it is I am reading at the moment.

I like to get 25+ pages read as a minimum. That's my typical metric.

[MorpheusSandman]

I also prefer silence. Favorite place to read is outside on my porch in the spring and fall, and at nights in the summer via my Kindle. Winter sucks because I have to read inside, and because I don't live alone there's rarely absolute silence. So I've gotten used to reading in my bedroom with the door shut and ear plugs in, though it's not my favorite place/way to read. I usually read at least 20-30 minutes before bed. I tend to split my reading time these days between poets/poetry and some non-fiction, usually literary or film criticism. I really, really try to read at least 100 pages every day and read a minimum of 2 hours, but I don't have any specific time to do it. I usually like having 2-4 books going at a time, though preferably different types (ie, different authors/subjects/genres/types). I also subscribe to several poetry periodicals that I read in the bathroom, at the doctor's, half-time during football/basketball games, or anywhere else I expect to have to wait a while. You'd be surprised how much you can get read by reading during those spare moments, even if it's just for 10-15 minutes.

[Halifaxius]

I tend to read three books at once--something philosophical, something 'literary,' and something easier, like fantasy or sci-fi (which I read before I go bed, when I'm too tired to read something difficult).

As far as places go, I can basically read anywhere as long as it's quiet and (ideally) not very crowded. I can't stand noise when I read, especially the sound of television. I also like to recline when I read, rather than sit.

I don't really monitor my progress in a book--really the opposite. As much as possible, I try to not know how pages exactly a book is. It would distract me if I knew that I was 143 pages from the end or whatever.I'd rather get lost in the book.

[hannah_arendt]

I tend to read three books at once--something philosophical, something 'literary,' and something easier, like fantasy or sci-fi (which I read before I go bed, when I'm too tired to read something difficult).

As far as places go, I can basically read anywhere as long as it's quiet and (ideally) not very crowded. I can't stand noise when I read, especially the sound of television. I also like to recline when I read, rather than sit.

I don't really monitor my progress in a book--really the opposite. As much as possible, I try to not know how pages exactly a book is. It would distract me if I knew that I was 143 pages from the end or whatever.I'd rather get lost in the book.

I tendt to do something very similar. I like reading two books at the same time: a novel and something of history for example. I read before going to sleep.

[Aceda]

I tend to read in silence just in case I get slightly distracted and I miss something. The only progress tracking I do is on Goodreads but I use it mainly just to keep an organized list of what I've read whilst writing a review while I'm at it.

[Volya]

I only ever read one book at a time, I would feel like I was being promiscuous if I read multiple books at once... Preferably I like to read in a quiet, peaceful environment like my bedroom or outside when the weather is nice, but a lot of my reading nowadays is at school during free periods which is noisy but bearable. The only kind of noise that stops me reading is music, it's just too distracting.

I went through a few months, almost a year of having read almost no new books but since September I've picked up the pace again, probably because instead of doing school work I read instead... Ah well :)

[Emil Miller]

I like silence when I read but sometimes it isn't possible in a city environment; especially when attempting to read outdoors. London, however, has its great parks to sit in during the summer months (such as they are) and they are usually large enough find a spot away from people.
Even then it doesn't always work out. I was working at the Home Office and, due to its flexible hours system, I was able to take a couple of hours off for lunch, which was handy because it's adjacent to St James's park and I could take a book, with a beer and sandwiches purchased from a nearby cafe, and relax in a deck chair for some serious reading. For some days, however, I was interrupted by a curious banging that went on and on to the north of the park and drove me nuts. I later discovered it was due to the erection of barriers to keep back the crowds expected at Princess Diana's funeral procession. As I was already fed up with seeing her photo everywhere for years on end, I was more than a little pissed off.

[ChicagoReader]

My current routine is that I read during my hour train ride to work, then I read another hour or so during my lunch break, another hour on the train ride home, and then sometimes I'll read for fours hours before I'm ready for bed. The four hours after work is when I'm really immersed in what I'm reading, but at the very least I read for an hour or two at night. I typically read one book at a time, and it's usually a novel, though I like to mix in short nonfiction or poetry from one of my anthologies. When I'm reading something long, I sometimes feel the need to hit a daily quota, like 50 or 100 pages a day. I can read in any situation, and I honestly prefer a bit of background noise when I read. Something about complete silence leads my mind to wander. I'm also a fidgety reader, I change my body position every 15 minutes or so, I can never get comfortable! My new favorite thing to do is place the book I'm reading on top of my open New Oxford American Dictionary so that I can look up words whenever I please. It's so much more satisfying than using an app on my phone.

[Frostball]

Reading my OP I realized that I accidentally said that I'd stop every paragraph to do something, when I really meant chapter. Imagine interrupting your reading every single paragraph to do something! How silly!

Speaking of reading with a dictionary handy, I very often read on my couch in front of my computer (which lies on my coffee table directly in front of my couch(it's an Imac, so that's not as weird as it seems(or maybe it is))) so I can very easily type any word into google for a definition. The ease at which I can get definitions from google has probably spoiled me. I can't imagine rifling through a physical dictionary every time I want to look up a word.

[Helga]

I usually sit at my kitchen table when I read, or at a coffee house. I like noise, it keeps me focused, my mind tends to wander in silence.

I have a few books at a time.

[Lykren]

Only one book at a time for me, excepting when I have to read multiple books for school. I always read inside and lying down. I also count the pages I have until I'm finished with the book.

[ChicagoReader]

Reading my OP I realized that I accidentally said that I'd stop every paragraph to do something, when I really meant chapter. Imagine interrupting your reading every single paragraph to do something! How silly!

Speaking of reading with a dictionary handy, I very often read on my couch in front of my computer (which lies on my coffee table directly in front of my couch(it's an Imac, so that's not as weird as it seems(or maybe it is))) so I can very easily type any word into google for a definition. The ease at which I can get definitions from google has probably spoiled me. I can't imagine rifling through a physical dictionary every time I want to look up a word.

You know, it might be because it's a novelty (I got the dictionary for Christmas) but I really do enjoy it, and for some reason I seem to retain more when I check the word with a physical dictionary rather than on the internet.