How I Read

I thought I would talk a little bit about my reading habits, just for fun, and because I think it forms some of my opinions on this blog.

Where do I read? Anywhere, often when there's going to be a wait. For the most part I've carried books with me to school in case I had spare time; I've often red before bed; and often on the couch, in my room, and in the car (I waited a year--y'know, until I was actually 16 instead of 15--to take driver's ed because of this, which I can't say was the best decision because of my competitive nature--I was older than everyone and behind them). All of these habits were not always consistent.

How do I read? There was actually a time where I just read 30 pages every night. (That was how I got through Little Women.) I'm less structured now, and I'll read if I can and nothing else takes precedent. I don't like marathoning books (nor Netflix), preferring to live in a world for some time. Also, I feel guilty if I spend too much of my free time on just one hobby.

I also think I process stories more externally than internally, especially as I get older. I can get very involved with characters, plot, and setting (though plot and setting less so), but I tend not to engage in speculation and then inevitably feel let down. I don't get too involved in what characters should and shouldn't do. Rather, I take the text and think about how it relates to me, and read about what went on behind-the-scenes to shape it, and from that I usually form my opinion. (This applies to other media as well, especially television.)

What do I read? For most of my elementary school life, I ordered books out of the Scholastic catalog, so I've got a lot of children's (and a few YA) books from those catalogs. I also bought some from bookstores, received gifts, and borrowed from the school or library. I can't say I've progressed out of "children's" or "middle grade" especially well...I read more YA and adult and classics now, but I try not to feel shame for reading the upper-level "children's" books, because I still love many books in that age group (and I want to write it).

I originally read exclusively mysteries and contemporary (or even historical) fiction. Not anything really popular, because I have a natural aversion to those things. I avoided fantasy because that was what  Harry Potter was, and that was popular. Eventually I broke down because I was curious, running out of things to read, had delved into fantasy since picking up A Wrinkle in Time in third grade ("Special Edition: With an essay on the real-life science behind the fantasy."), I was even writing fantasy, and it wasn't so popular anymore anyway. So I read all 7 books in a month, and wow...fantasy could be intriguing and relatable too. (This story may not be entirely accurate, but it is to the best of my memory a significant example; I'm planning on doing posts on my most influential books later.)

That summer I read a lot of series that were often considered fantasy. I created a list of favorite series and reread them. But my fantasy series phase eventually closed down...I would love a first book, but as I progressed through the series I became more distant and felt as though I was just reading them to read them. I also wasn't great at keeping up with releases. Now I'm more interested in experimental one-shot novels of varying genres and age groups, as well as classics, always searching for something that seems to say something personal to me, and that makes me think.