My Bookish Habits

We all have habits, good habits and bad habits, some we share with others and some are ‘frowned’ upon. Some bookish behaviours become a routine and reading isn’t quite the same without these behaviours. So, let me share my habits with you.

Book buying, let’s start there! I love books, I buy more books that I can handle. Does that stop me? Nope! I have no impulse control at all. Anyways, when I go in to any book stores and lock eyes with ‘The Ones’ I will always, ALWAYS, take the book from the back / bottom of the pile and if there’s only one, well I’d leave it there. I do this because it’s a lower probability that someone with germy hands has touched the book, flicked through it and just affected the perfectness of a new book. This is the same reason why I tend not to buy books from a charity shop, I say ‘tend to’ but I have and I will if it’s a book I really want – no I’m not a book snob just a bookish germaphobe.

How do you pick yours? I’m a ‘judge a book by its cover’ kind of gal, I like pretty things, if the cover of a book is eye catching I won’t even read the blurb BUT this is a habit that I’m trying to get out of because it’s costing me a fortune!

Book sharing, I’ve come to realise that I’m not a re-reader of most books unless they’re a series of themed, so for instance I’ll read Pet Sematary and The Shining again, as well as the Harry Potter series but usually I will only read a book once. So what is a girl to do? For years I stored them in boxes just incase but as I have come to realise – my house isn’t big enough to store every single book that I read. So, I will pass on to my bookish buddies so they can help share the book love with hope that they enjoyed a book as much as I have. These books are to be shared not sat vacant upon a dusty shelf, although everyone is different, some people will have three degrees of the same book with different covers in different formats, that’s great but it’s just not for me and my tiny cottage! Also sharing is caring! I am super lucky to have a book bestie that lives literally around the corner (Rachel of Rachel Read It), we pass books to one another and it’s always fun!

DNF-ing has been the talk of the bookish town as of late, everyone has different principles. Mine is if I get to page 100 (I try and give a fair chance to all those slow burners out there) and it doesn’t click with me, I just don’t finish it. It’ll get passed on to friends who read, i’ll take it off my Goodreads shelf and not speak of it again, well in blog format. I may discuss with friends but I don’t want to put someone off a book just because I don’t enjoy it and I’ve seen so many Goodreads reviews where they unbelievably rip into a fiction book for not being completely factual, like WTF then it puts someone else off it who otherwise might have loved it. Don’t be one of those! Share book love not hate.

Reading, I’ll pick up a book, read it front to back and then i’ll almost immediately start reading the next book. I write notes while reading, so I can get my exact thought and feelings down immediately after the big twist, death or scandal happens, then Iican recover from that book hangover with another book. A bloggers version of ‘Hair of the Dog’ if you will. The only thing I must say is that the next book can’t be the same genre as the previous because it might get a bit muggled.

Bookish behaviours, some of you may be disappointed at me when I share this frowned upon bookish behaviour but i’d like to point out that I only treat my books this way, not borrowed books. *Deep breathe* I love breaking the spine of a paperback book, yes I know it’s despicable, but it feels so good to do it and fold the book. No i’m not a monster, I won’t just run in to a bookstore break innocent spines and run out. I’ll even dog – ear my books because it’s more reliable that my runaway bookmarks. These books are loved and comfortable, I will not be sharing my copy of Pet Sematary but it is intact and looks unbelievably read.

Where do I read? Anywhere and everywhere, in the bath, schoolyard, bed and kitchen. I can’t read while in the car, that’s what audiobooks are for. The reason for this is I get THE WORST travel sickness where I either need to eat or sleep. I once packed two books for a bus trip to London, I ate my body weight in sandwiches and slept like a small child for 5 hours.

My to go to genre, I’m a thriller fan / addict, however you want to say it. Although thriller is my go-to reads, I’m delving into newer genres outside my comfort zone; rom – coms and dystopian included, as well as falling back in love with non – fiction.

So, that’s me and my bookish habits. I’d love to know what yours are! Let’s get to know each other’s bookish – selves better!