Book Tag - My Reading Habits

I've been tagged by Melanie @ Me, Bookshelf and I to tell you about my reading habits.  I know this isn't what I usually blog about, but I thought it would be fun and I'm going to keep it food related.

Do you have a certain place at home for reading?

I love reading anywhere cosy, my beanbag is one of my favourite places but honestly so long as it's covered in one of my knitted blankets it really doesn't matter.

Bookmark or random piece of paper?

It depends on the book.  I switched to using a Kindle during my year in Germany to save space in my suitcase and that remembers where you are automatically which is great as I stopped using actual bookmarks a while ago and always forgot my place!

With recipe books it's different though as I still love having an actual copy of the book (partly because I'm afraid of taking technology into the kitchen), so my recipe books have numerous sticky notes in them marking all the recipes I want to try.

Can you just stop reading or do you have to stop after a chapter or certain number of pages?

Once I get going I can't stop!  And that's true even if it's not a conventional book - if I can't find inspiration in one of my many recipe books I turn to the internet and let's face it I can (and do) spend hours reading cooking blogs, looking at recipes on Pinterest and browsing my Facebook feed.  I just enjoy looking at food and reading recipes, to see how other people do it.  For me reading recipes is a hobby in itself and I enjoy it so much because it is so different to the reading I have to do for my university work (basically it's got pictures!)

Do you eat or drink while reading?

Yes, although I tend to find that sticking to cold food and drinks is best as tea and other hot items tend to go cold as I forget about them when I get absorbed in a book!

Do you watch TV or listen to music while reading?

Not when reading novels, there's no way I could concentrate on both at once.  While reading recipes and browsing what to cook for dinner, sure.  Although thinking about it this could be the reason why I sometimes miss ingredients/instructions.

One book at a time or several at once?

I always have lots of books on the go.  It's how I know I'm reading a book I really enjoy because I have to finish reading before I can carry on with any of the other books I have on the go.  I have different books depending on the mood I'm in, a light-hearted easy read for when I'm tired and being a linguist I am generally reading at least one book in a foreign language at any given time, although they are harder-going so get read more slowly.  Having a Kindle really isn't conducive to reading one book at a time - why read just one when you could read hundreds!

Reading at home or everywhere?

Everywhere I go my Kindle goes, I think that sums up my attitude to reading.  I love finding new spots, often cafes or parks, on my travels where I can sit and read for an hour or so.  Also never let me loose in any shop which contains books, I can spend ages browsing/reading them!  This is particularly bad if I'm presented with a shelf of cookery books as I could spend forever browsing!

Reading out loud or silently in your head?

Silently.  Given how often I read in public it would be a little weird if I read out loud.  Although having said that it would explain my occasional giggle which can lead to odd looks from those around you if they have no idea why you're laughing!

Do you ever read ahead or skip pages?

I used to always read the last page of a book first.  I guess it stemmed from when I was younger and wanted to make sure the book I was reading had a happy ending, as I got older I said it was so that I had the whole book to come to terms with the ending!  However, I don't do that any more, having spoiled several endings for myself I learnt my lesson.  The only time I skip pages in books now is when reading for my essays for uni, but that doesn't really count.

Breaking the spine or keeping it like new?

I always like the idea of keeping the spine like new, except I always ended up breaking them somehow!  So I decided to just not bother and most of my books now look a little tatty but well-read.  Also Kindles don't have spines which means that all my books now remain in the condition I bought them!

Do you write in your books?

All the time.  I'm not really ashamed to admit this as I don't write in all books as there is a reason for it.  It's really useful to keep notes in recipe books for future reference.  If I replace ingredients, do it a bit differently, or think I should change something next time I make a note so I can remember.  I also tend to write when I cooked it and whether I (and others I cooked it for liked it), this means I don't repeat recipes too often and I know whether I need to make changes in future.  Being at university I naturally annotate the books I read for my course and I have to admit, even library books.  This is seen as a taboo by libraries, I on the other hand see it as a great way of helping future students - I have often been saved a lot of time (or at the very least amused) by notes and annotations pointing to the relevant bits of a book.

I'm tagging Chantelle @ Mama Mummy Mum.  If you want to take part then you don't have to be tagged, just share your link in a comment below.  Happy Reading!