8 Surprising Reading Habits
Bookworms are united by our shared love of reading! But we also access and interact with books in ways that are intriguingly diverse. On my Facebook author page I recently invited readers to share their unusual reading habits with me. I found their responses fascinating!
#1 To Re-read or Not to Re-read, That is the Question
“I can read books I love over and over and over. It’s like visiting old friends. I have even been known to finish a book, flip it over and start again immediately.” – Sara Brooks
“I’ve never re-read a fiction book. Too many other adventures are calling.” Caryl Kane
#2 Love/Hate Relationship with ‘Spoilers’
“I don’t read blurbs. If a cover (or author) doesn’t sell it for me, I’ll read the first page or more to decide.” -Toni Shiloh
“I can’t stand reading book previews. Reading only part of a good book is even worse than only being able read part of a good series!” -Rachel Tanner
“I will not read a book if I know the ending. It ruins it for me. I want to enjoy the story as it unfolds and make predictions as I read (especially if it’s a mystery or crime drama).” -Lori Forrest
“I skip to the end and read the ending. Mostly when it’s stressful but also just to make sure it’s worth finishing.” -Lori Sweet
#3 Series Binge
“I don’t read books unless I have the whole series. I like to read them back to back without waiting for months for the next book to come out.” -Dawn Scott
“Before I retired, I had an older woman who always wanted the entire series. She was afraid she’d forget in between, or heaven forbid, die.” -Jude Zweibohmer
#4 Let Me Count the Ways We Lend/Buy/Keep books
“I’m strictly a library user. Every time I move the library is one of the first places I find.” -Jude Zweibohmer
“I LOVE walking around in libraries but I don’t like to borrow books from them. I love owning my books so I can recommend them and let people borrow them. And, who doesn’t love bookshelves!?” -Shelbie Groot
“I donate every book after reading. If it is on my Kindle I delete it, even from the cloud.” -Melissa Parcel
“I have a small group of friends who share books. We take turns buying them and pass them around.” -Sandra DeWitt
#5 More is Better (When it Comes to TBR Piles)
“I have 422 unread books on my Kindle app. I can’t seem to stop getting books — a free one from a new author, a sale on my TBR list, the next one in a series I have read… the list is never ending. I keep telling myself not to buy any more books until I’ve read most of what I already have, and then, wait! Let me check my email, I think there is a book listed I just have to have!” -Cindy Yake
#6 Thirty-One Flavors of Book Format Preferences
“I don’t have an e-reader. All paperbacks or hardback.” -Becky Grayson
“I used to have piles of books everywhere until my daughters gave me a Kindle for my birthday. Once I got used to that, it changed my life as I can get a book anytime of the day or night and when I travel I can take lot of books with me.” -Anne Wolters
“I just might have a physical, kindle and audiobook copy of a lot of favorites!” -June Hickenlooper
#7 Balance the Books
“I read multiple books at the same time. Like, instead of just reading one straight through and finishing it, I read a couple chapters of one and then a couple chapters of the other.” -Adrienne Everitt
“I love both contemporary and historical genres. But I can’t just switch from one to the next lickety split. It takes me weeks. I drag my feet.” -Hannah Mae
“I go through phases. I can devour book after book and then hit a time where I barely read at all.” -Ashlee Lowder
#8. Creatures of Habit
“I have a rule of once I read a book by a much-loved author, I don’t read that author again until I read 10 other books. This rule I rarely break and it helps me from binging.” -Nicole Femmerlid
“I can’t leave my characters in peril… as a result, I’m often up late reading until they’re ‘safe’. I also can’t stop reading unless I’m at the end of a chapter.” -Joy Tiffany
“I didn’t start reading until I was 32 years old. I even used to use the word ‘hate’ reading. Now I am a binge reader and almost always finish a book in two days, three tops.” -Leslie Brown
I love that our approach to reading is as individual as we are! Do you share a reading habit mentioned here? Or do you have a surprising habit that wasn’t mentioned?
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It used to be that I never re-read books, but a few months ago I listened to an audiobook that I had heard before and loved it just as much the second time. Also, now that I am writing as well as reading, I find that I read books differently. I often stop to analyze why the author organized the story in a certain way, or how she described that particular reaction or facial expression, or some other detail. I forces me to slow down and really think about the story. I interact with the plot and characters in a whole new way.
Yes! Once I became a writer, I began to interact with novels in a whole new way, too. It became challenging to turn OFF my writer/editor brain and simply get lost in a story. 😉
I share a few of these habits! I do have my favorites in multiple formats, because I never know if I might want to reread one on my Kindle while traveling or lend one out. If I’ve read a book that I really like from the library first, then I might just have to purchase it, again in multiple formats. And I will often (okay, usually) read the end before I actually get there, sometimes sitting in my car in the parking lot of the library. I love my Kindle because the TBR pile takes up much less space! On another note, I have a friend coming to Storyfest with me who has never read Christian fiction, so I’m getting her started on my favorite authors (and I have a lot of them, including you) from my home library!
Thanks, Linda! One of the best things about maintaining a book collection at home is the ability to lend books to friends and family. It sounds like you’re an ambassador for Christian fiction — which its authors so appreciate.
As a writer, I’m mystified by people who spoil everything by reading the ending ahead of time. I work so hard on crafting a satisfying ending!
Me too, Lynn! Only once have I ever skipped ahead and that was because if it ended badly, I didn’t want to waste my time on a very heavy book.
Ditto! I’m the type of person who never tried to peek at my Christmas presents early. I like the feeling of suspense, anticipation, of wondering what’s going to happen with a story. However, it sounds to me like some readers don’t enjoy that feeling. Before they can delight in a story, they first need to know everything is going to turn out well. 🙂
This is absolutely fascinating, Becky! I’ve only once or twice in my life reread a book (except for the Bible, of course) and with that novel years ago (Lavyrle Spencer’s Then Came Heaven) I read the last page and turned back to the first page and started reading again because I didn’t want to leave the characters or setting.
I read one novel and one non-fiction (usually either craft-of-writing or Christian living) at the same time, but I can’t read two novels at the same time without getting confused.
Wow — that’s quite an endorsement of Lavyrle’s book! I, too, have only re-read books a few times.
It’s funny you should mention LaVyrle Spencer… I own every one of her books and have reread them (Including Then Came Heaven) so many times I can recite them practically. But as a rule, I don’t re-read much anymore. Hers are special friends though!
I, too, have multiple books going at a time–usually just two. One will be a print book and the other a book on MP3 CD or CDs. When I can sit or lie down and read the print book, that’s the one I read. When I’m getting ready for the day (hair, make-up, dressing) or getting ready for bed, I listen to the audio book in my bathroom. At times, I get a second audio book going in my kitchen if I’m going to be in there cooking or working for a long period of time. I don’t like earbuds and listening as I walk around, so I usually stick to two books at a time. Reading is so entertaining!
Reading is SO entertaining! Like you, I always have an audiobook novel going and a print novel going simultaneously. Sometimes (like now), I’m also in the middle of a non-fiction book. 🙂
I used to only stop at chapter breaks until I was reading one of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books and discovered (after much delay and thinking I’ll have to reach the end of the chapter SOMETIME soon) that it had no chapters, just scene breaks.
LOL! That must have thrown you for a loop. 🙂
I like to pick an author of the year and I call that my featured writer. It’s usually a writer that I would like to get to know more through her books. Usually when I read a book she’s written or a series than I check outall the books she’s written on Amazon or the digital library. If it’s a lot and I’m I interested in reading some of her past series I will choose her to be my featured writer for the next year. I started this last year. This year with Marta Perry and I’ve read twenty of her books this year. Next year will be Laura Bradford. I’m on goodreads so I set up a special shelf for that writer with the year and all her blood read in that year go on that shelf. I also read the specials series Guideposts puts out and I’m reading 4 series of those. I try to keep up with my favorite writers new releases and I always review each book I read. I have only two books in my did not finish shelf.
All her books read in that year not all her blood. Spell check drives me crazy sometimes!
This is the first I’ve heard about an “author of the year” approach. What a fun idea, Shirley!
Mostly, I don’t want to know the end. But in one very popular series, I heard someone was going to die. I HAD to know who it was so I could relax and enjoy the read. LOL. I prefer real books but have read quite a few on my kindle. I love the feel of books in my hands as I read. I seem to accidentally find myself reading the FIRST of a series, and the series is not complete so I have the 2-3 years of waiting for the entire series to get done. By then, I’ve forgotten details and even book titles. I tell myself, “NO book series unless they are complete.” But that doesn’t work. I still get in the same boat. Regular reading is a daily habit.
“But in one very popular series, I heard someone was going to die”
Yep. With popular books, movies, and TV shows, word tends to seep out. You hear that someone’s going to die. Or that it doesn’t end happily. Or that there’s a plot twist. I think some would say that those sorts of general murmurings aren’t spoilers. But, to my mind, they are. Because, once you hear something like that, you can’t come to a book without any preconceived ideas – the way the author hoped you would. As you’re reading, you’re thinking, “Someone’s going to die. Who’s going to die?!”
What a great post, Becky! I’ve moved so many times in my life; I always search for “my” church AND find the library/get a card! I read one book at a time, hardly reread books, and never read the endings! Took awhile to really enjoy Ebooks, and I usually wait to find the first book in a series. Many a night, I’ll be up reading a book, enthralled. All of us in our family are avid readers. 😜 I’m enjoy reading all the different responses.
“Many a night, I’ll be up reading a book, enthralled.” I can relate to this very well, Donna! I love that “I should be sleeping, but I’m going to live dangerously and continue reading because I have to find out what happens next” feeling. 🙂
I struggle to read the last book in any series. I still haven’t read the last 25 pages of Harry Potter. When I have a review due for the last book in a series I start the book months before it’s due to work myself up to finishing it. I know it’s strange, but goodbye is hard for me. Lol!
Aww! So you procrastinate finishing a series because goodbye is hard. I understand. I don’t delay reaching the end of a series, but I do know what you’re talking about because as I’m nearing the completion of a series I enjoyed, I’m struck with nostalgia. Parting is such sweet sorrow!
Dawn Scott and I are kindred spirits regarding binge reading! Becky, Thank you for this fun post. I enjoyed learning more about my bookish friends and their habits.
You’re welcome, Caryl! I had fun putting this post together.
This is fascinating! I would have never guessed there are so many different reading styles. I start at the beginning and read to the end, I don’t want to know the end first. If I start a book and after a couple chapters know I don’t like it much, I’ll quit reading it and move onto another. There’s too many books out there to read to waste time on one that I’m not interested in. Thanks Becky for putting this together. Very interesting!
There was a time when I finished every book I started. I still finish most of the books I pick up but, like you, I’ll occasionally read (or listen to) a few chapters and realize that a book isn’t for me. When that happens, I’ll move on.
This is a good lesson for authors! Our opening chapters really have to grab readers or many of them won’t continue to invest their valuable time in the book.