[General Discussion] Reading Habits

What are your habits when you read a book you own?

Do you mark up the pages with notes?
Do you highlight passages?
Do you dog ear pages because they contain favorite passages?
Or do you leave the book unscathed in an attempt to preserve your precious purchase?

Also, how fast do you typically read?


I generally keep my books mark-free. I wrote in one book (with pencil) and it was very strange. Seriously, I couldn't believe I was doing it. But I felt like I had to for whatever reason, like I needed to recognize the themes as they were laid out in front of me.
Since then I've been more open-minded about writing in books, but I still don't do it often. Mainly because I never have a pencil in front of me while I read, but also because I tend to protect my investments (I swear I have OCD when it comes to that stuff).

As for my reading speed, it all depends on the book and the the layout. Double-spaced pages are a lot easier to read than the small-print ones typical in mass market paperbacks. I think I average about a page a minute, give or take.
Sometimes I like to recite what I'm reading in my head as I read it, other times I just scan through it and process it all on the fly. I'm not very good at that though, and usually I'll miss fine details. Usually I'll do that though when I'm pressed for time or reading a boring part.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Alice

One last thing: I always have four or five books going at once. I keep a couple of them in my car, one in the bedroom, one in my gym bag, etc. That way no matter where I am I always have a book to read.

Wow, how do you keep track of the stories? I'd probably forget something crucial in one of them, or blend plot lines together.

Originally Posted by parKbench

I am ALWAYS reading a book. I used to keep my books in great condition, but then I found a used book shop near me and started buying recent used books for under a buck each. Some were in crappy condition, but I found paperbacks much easier to read when I bend the spine back, so now I do that even with my new books. The covers and pages are in excellent condition, but the spines are all creased. I mean, who am I keeping them in good shape for?

See, I can't really justify spending any money on used books when I can get them for free from my local library.
Yeah, that stuff is ragged too, but why pay for ragged books when you can just get them for free?
Creating your own ragged book on the other hand, that's like breaking in a pillow. It's your damage, so its like your personality embedded in the book you've been reading.

So far most everyone doesn't mark up their books at all. I wonder why that is?
It's not like we buy books to speculate on the market, and later resell them for a profit. Granted, some books' margins are too small to write much of anything in, but underlining is always possible.

There's nowhere I can't reach.