Back in April, I wrote a post celebrating writer quirks. A few of you responded in the comments with your reader quirks, which inspired me to dedicate an entire blog post to the wonderful world of reader quirks. On my Facebook author page, I invited readers to share their quirks and was blown away by the fantastic responses. Thanks, everyone! I’ve quoted many of you below.
Many of you abhor the idea of damaging your books in any way:
“I have a strict no dog ear policy. I don’t even let my kids dog ear pages! And PLEASE don’t bend the cover back on the book while you’re reading it. That makes me physically ill!” -Rachel Dodson
“No marks in novels. Even my editing resource books have only pencil marks inside. (I prefer to use sticky flags to mark important pages.) I hold books at a 90 degree angle so the spines don’t develop creases.” -Jami Bennington
“I will always grab what’s closest to me for a bookmark. This sometimes results in my losing important pieces of paper.” -Tima Murrell
Some of you feel that well-used, well-loved is the right approach to books:
“I really want to know where the end of the book is while i read, so I fold the first page of the authors notes or whatever comes after the “last page” of the story. I initial the title page before I pass it along and ask everyone else who reads it to do the same. I correct books as I read them.” -Alicia Lowery
“I bend the page I read and use my magnetic bookmark too. I also underline books constantly.” -Julie Rowan
“When I get a book, the first thing I do is open the spine (very carefully, of course!) because I plan to read it a lot and it keeps it from breaking.” -Katherine Search-Good
Your love of books is impressive:
“I could spend hours in a bookstore. It’s like a piece of heaven for me.” -Stephanie Hanes
“I treat a book like an old friend. I have some I read every summer and another group that I read at Christmas.” -Vickie Turner
“I read on my kindle so often I have to use ice packs to help my sore hands! Seriously! it’s a problem.” -Erin Baker
“When I read a really good passage, I have to go back and read it out load.” -Laura Watts
“I tell my husband about the fictional characters and their problems and he’ll ask me later how they’re doing! We have whole entire conversations about them and try to solve their problems!” -Kelly Goshorn
“I miss the characters when I’m done with a book…especially a series…as if they’re friends who have moved away.” -Janna Halterman
“I will read anytime and anywhere. Home, work, car, whenever I can. Even if it’s only for a two minute commercial break of a show we are watching!” -Jessica Baker
Some of you have guidelines for letting others borrow your books:
“I have a master list on my computer of what books I have loaned out – who has it – title and author of the book – date I gave it to the person. Plus my return address labels are in all my books.” -Tracy Rodgers
“If I loan a book and the person folds my corner, they go on a list of people never allowed to borrow my books again!” -Treva Sooter
“When I loan someone a book, I take a picture of them with it so I can remember who has it. That way I also have visual proof when they claim I didn’t loan it to them.” -Joy
Some of you have very particular idiosyncrasies:
“I always read the first few pages and then the last few pages to determine if it’s worth it to read the whole book.” -Amanda Everett
“I take forever to choose my annual beach read. The story has to be fun, but not too light, and it can’t involve snow or winter or Christmas.” -Andrea Fuller
“I absolutely have to finish a chapter. It kills me to put a book down in the middle of a chapter.” -Jen Davis
“When reading a hard copy of a book, I use a bookmark that has a “front” and “back,” and if I stop in the middle of a page, I turn the bookmark sideways and place the “front” of the bookmark facing the page I’m on and the “bottom” edge directly above the line where I left off.” – Sarah West
“I keep my cell phone next to me because if I don’t know how to pronounce a name, or any word, I have to stop and look it up!” -Hulah Gorby
“I can’t leave a character in danger. Sometimes that means finishing the entire book…” -Crissy Loughridge
“I like to stop reading in the middle of a suspense filled moment. There’s something about living in the anticipation and lack of closure that’s fulfilling. It’s all the more sweeter to come back later.” -Sondra Kraak
“I make the facial expressions that the characters make i.e. winking, biting lips, rolling eyes, etc.” -Abbi Hart
“I highlight spelling/grammatical errors when I’m reading in my kindle app.” -Terri Sweetland
“95% of the time I read a book from beginning to end in one day. I have to take breaks for real life (why do my kids always need to eat??) but I’ll stay up as late as necessary after they’re in bed to finish rather than leave anything unread overnight.” -Sadie VanderKodde
“When I start a new book, I look to see how many pages the story is and find the half way point in the book! I get excited when it falls on a beginning of a chapter!” -Rachel Schwab
“…my 93 year old grandmother, for her whole life, has always read page 99 of a book to decide if she wants to read it or not.” -Lissa Niederer
“I usually alternate a couple contemporary romances with a historical or Amish read. I also often read a novella in between that cycle (every 3 or 4 books) as I feel it helps my brain have a rest.” -Sara Derscheid
“I have to look at the end of the book (carefully so I don’t spoil anything for myself in the reading) because I NEED to know exactly how many chapters there are and if there is an epilogue before I start.” -Brittany McEuen
“When I follow an author and buy their books they either have to be all Kindle form or all paperback. They cannot be mixed!” -Moriah Broome
“I put a date on the chapter when I read it.” -Jessica Campbell
“I hate the wait…so sometimes I wait for a series to be finished and read the whole thing in a week. Binge reading at it’s best!” -Rachel Reed
“I like to stop on an even numbered page.” -Margie Mijares
Some of your are reading multi-taskers:
“I always read while I dry my hair (might explain a lot). I either use my Kindle or if it’s a physical book, I use a heavy hairbrush to hold it open!!” -Melissa Romine
“I read while folding or sorting laundry (using the basket to hold the book open to my page)” -Karen
“I live in a city so I have a lot of traffic lights while driving to work. If I am reading a really good book, I read at the red lights. I get honked at to go at times and I know other drivers think I am on my phone!” -Patsy Curry
“I have a paperback I read during the day and a ebook I read at night. I also have a audio book I listen to when walking each day.” -Shonda Fischer
“I prop my Kindle on the window sill while I’m doing the dishes, and I’ve mastered the art of keeping the knuckle at the base of my middle finger dry so I can swipe the pages with it (in rubber gloves!)” -Erin Donovan
Do you share any of these quirks? Do you have any reader quirks I haven’t listed?
Becky Wade
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Wow…we are quite a quirky group aren’t we. I found I could relate to several of these ladies…enjoy your vacation Becky!!!
Thanks, Carol! We’re having a wonderful time. 🙂
Wow! These are incredible! I adore my Kindle so I can read and nurse my toddler and not have to worry about delicate pages getting ripped. Another reason why I love my Kindle? Whenever I read a paperback, I ALWAYS jump to the end to sneak a peak at the ending. It is just too tempting for me! That is why I love my Kindle so much… you can’t flip through the pages! It keeps me from temptation!
Good point!
So funny. I do a number of these things. It’s good to know I’m not alone in the quirky category.
Getting ready to read during a commercial.
Ha! No, you’re definitely not alone in the quirky category, Betty.
This was such a fun post. I too, love to wander bookstores, and like Sondra Kraak often make myself stop reading at a pivotal point in the book so that instead of rushing through it to finish, I make myself wait to savor the moment. I don’t read while I fold laundry, but I have been known to read while I cook and my hands suffer sometimes from holding to many pages. I have to apply heavy creams when my skin becomes ragged between my thumb and forefinger.
“I have to apply heavy creams when my skin becomes ragged between my thumb and forefinger.” Someone should make a Booklovers Hand Cream!
Love these comments. Whether I am reading an ebook or paperback, I always have to see how many pages and how many chapters are in the book before I start reading.
That’s a fun quirk! I think it’s wonderful that we’ve all developed our own reading habits. 🙂
Quirkers UNITE!!! What a fun post. I can totally relate to a few of these. I prefer paperback books over e-books hands down. Probably because I don’t own an e-reader, but that’s beside the point. There just something wonderful about the physical ‘opening’ of a book that enthralls me. Kind of like the curtain opening for a play or movie. So much excitement and anticipation! Also, I’m not a fan of audio books, as I’d rather read books and put my own imagined voices on the characters. Also, I love the smell of books! Yup, that sound you hear in the library or bookstore is me sniffing them.
A newest quirk for me, is re-reading a book as soon as I finished it. The name of said book?? “Falling For You”….you may have heard of it. 🙂
I have indeed heard of that one, Amy!!
I think a lot of us love the smell of books. Ahhh. That paper, ink, library scent. Delightful!
Wow, we all sound like we have OCD when it comes to our reading quirks. LOL! I’m glad to see I’m not alone. I am so picky about dog ears that I won’t loan books at all. Another quirk I have is that if I find an exceptional book that I know I’d never want to live without, I’ll get it in all formats: print, ebook, and audiobook.
“if I find an exceptional book that I know I’d never want to live without, I’ll get it in all formats: print, ebook, and audiobook.” For which publishers and authors everywhere are very grateful. 🙂
This is such a great list! I loved seeing everyone’s answers. We are not quirky – it’s those people who are just “boring” that are the odd ones 🙂
Yep!
Here are some of my reader’s quirks.
I always HAVE to read the synopsis on the back of the book before I start reading the book so I know exactly what the story is.
I often read the very last word of a book just so I know if the characters get a happy ending without getting spoilers.
I like to stop reading on a somewhat round page number like 250 or 380.
I love these quirks, Melody!
These quirks seem perfectly normal to me.😀
I used to take my book outside to read as I fed my dog in the evenings. He wasn’t allowed inside the house unfortunately, landlord’s rules. So while he got fed, I read! Unfortunately that doesn’t happen anymore. My dog had to get put down six weeks ago when became seriously ill.
Other than that, I’m most like some of the others.
No dog ears in my books.
Writing in books is a big NO NO!
One of the things that is an even bigger no no is taking my books to read in the bathroom. You just don’t know what bacteria are in there. I DON’T want germs on my books! GROSS!
I prefer paperbacks over other media.
No greasy, oily marks on my books, (from your skin).
Always have a book on hand if you are going to appointments. You never know if they are going to be running late.
Try and get a series at a time if you really like the book. That way you can run straight through the whole set of books one after the other and don’t have to wait months to get the next instalment.
I never bend my books, including the spines.
I could happily spend hours in a bookstore, browsing and reading.
When I go to my favourite Christian bookstore, I make it a little treat for myself. I order myself a milkshake and on the odd occasion a cookie to go with it. I don’t have many treats like that as I am diabetic. So going to my favourite Christian bookstore is a real treat for me, not just for the edible drink, but the reading opportunities too. I can sneak cheat too if there’s another series I might be interested in.
It is not unusual for me to be reading more than one book at a time. People ask how I keep the story lines straight, but it’s very simple: Each book is a different genre–historical, Amish, contemporary, YA, speculative/dystopian, mystery/suspense, etc. I have a habit when I am on a time crunch (aka, only have a few days until the book must be returned to the library) or if I am having a hard time finishing a book, I will figure out how many pages I have left to read, divide that by number of days to read it in, and try to read at least that amount of pages each day until I am done (ie. 276 pages to read in 4 days = 69 pages per day). It makes it seem more manageable.
#readerlife This was too funny! Everyone has their own little quirks. I’m guilty of several of these listed!
I loved this post! It was fun reading about quirky things we readers do! Now I don’t feel quite so different!