My Favourite Ways To Read

Getting into specifics, age-old debates and asking plenty of questions

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I thought — whilst I’m currently gathering together some more reading to review for you — I would tell you about my love of reading, my habits, routine and preferences and ask you about yours.

Best read with a comfort beverage of your choice! If you like!

Reading about how others read fascinates me. There’s often something cosy about this. When and where. With who and how. What time of day, week, year. By what means. How they choose. What they choose. How it feels. If it’s always been the same. What is and isn’t acceptable to them. (Read on to find out how I feel about DNFs, dog-eared pages and margin notes.)

I thought I would delve into the specifics and maybe you’ll be inspired to consider all the nuances of your reading too.

Physical vs. Digital

I’m a real life, page-turner, book-held-in-my-hands reader for the most part. I love perusing book covers in the wild and taking them home with me. I love knowing how far through a book I am in accordance to which side it’s weighted on and glancing at where the bookmark shows. I love design and colour in my physical space and I love having a physical book-shelf to peruse. I have loved an e-book for its convenience, its potential immediacy, as a break from twisting myself into various book-holding positions when it can be easier and lighter to read from a device and for how affordable some e-books can be. But I’m still a physical book person at heart and I read the vast majority in this way. Audio-books — I’m not a huge fan of listening to anything whilst I’m doing something else. I feel like that’s a strange thing to admit. I understand the appeal though.

Hardback vs. Paperback

Paperback. I feel like, maybe, you knew I was going to say that. I can go for a hardback to change it up occasionally. If I’m really excited about a book. . . and, mostly, if I’m reading where I’ve got something to lean it on. But. . . paperback. And I don’t know what it is but softer paperbacks are my absolute favourite — the floppy kind — although I’m sure it’s probably because it’s actually a lower quality paper or something?! I don’t know why I’m like this. Someone please tell me they know what I mean!

The Best Places to Read

I read in cosy spaces. I haven’t mastered reading whilst travelling, although I wish I could. My favourite place to read is on the sofa, really. I’d love to read more before bed or even before getting out of bed in the morning, but it’s never as comfortable as I imagine it could be. I know that there are so many options here and I think, perhaps, I need to branch out with where I read. If I’ve ever read in a coffee shop, I’ve enjoyed it. I don’t get as much reading done there, but one with the right atmosphere definitely ticks the cosy box. I’m a cliché, what can I say?

Do you read on the train, bus, in the car while someone else is driving? Outside? In a park? Between meetings? On your lunch break? In any obscure scenarios?

When Exactly and With What

The best time to read, for me, is on a free weekend or when I’m awake reasonably early and have hours to spare. I think the where and the when are as they are because reading is a form of self-care and ‘me time’ for me, so I want to be as relaxed as possible. This is also, usually, why I have a cup of tea ready for the end of a chapter or a break — comfort all the way. Though I try, I can’t really read and drink at the same time. Although, I can and do whilst reading other Substacks.

I’d love to know what everyone else’s accompanying drinks and snacks are? Or do you add in other things like background music?

If I had to make an educated guess at the time of year, I think I get a lot more reading done during the summer and I’m really not sure why. I do love to read in the garden occasionally, if the weather is nice, but even when it’s just bright and the birds are chirping, or when it’s warm enough to have windows and doors open — yes, please. Although, there’s also something about reading when it’s really cold and/or raining, with all the layers and blankets. I guess it’s just extremes.

When I was studying, I barely read, I call this my reading break, a time of my life when everything else kind of just took over. I think it’s a little sad but I also really enjoyed rediscovering my love for reading later, so maybe that was its purpose.

Are there any times in your life when you’ve read so much more, less. . . or not at all?

One, Two, Three. . . At a Time

I remember a time when I would NEVER read more than one book at a time, which seems funny to me now. I need at least two books on the go most of the time, a fiction and non-fiction, and sometimes more depending on my mood. I don’t want to be dragging myself through something that I could’ve enjoyed at another time. I think I used to stick to one because I thought I would get confused, forget what was going on (sometimes I do) or just because I had the need to complete something before moving on. What I’m feeling in the moment is more important to me now.

Speaking of moving on. . .

Is This Acceptable?

I put down a book, probably within less than 100 pages, if I don’t like it or I’m not feeling it at that time. I’ll happily leave it on the DNF pile forever, or come back to it at another time. I think there’s a lot to say for the time in your life when you choose and enjoy certain books. Again, this hasn’t always been the case. I used to finish whatever I started (although, I probably wasn’t concentrating all that well).  

I don’t personally write in any of my own books. I would be really interested to see what people do write in their margins and I would still read a book with writing in it. I’d probably ignore it on first read through and then flick through any intriguing scrawls and imagine why the person wrote certain things. I’d also definitely consider folding down the pages of a book if I knew I was going to keep it forever. Controversial, or not?!

Notes and Reviews

Do you write in margins, or use post-it notes or some other note-taking method? I don’t always do it, but I do enjoy making notes whilst I’m reading. It encourages me to think a bit more deeply (and remember what’s happening — see ‘forgetful’ earlier mention) as well as to get a general idea of my taste over time. I do think it’s really special, too, to have times when I’m completely absorbed and not noting anything down.

I used to write my own little reviews, not for anyone else, just to muddle through what I thought of a book (a bit more stream of consciousness). I’d like to pick this up again, at least just once, to see if it serves me now. I also used to record my reading in an annual journal of lists and other things. Even when I wasn’t sharing it anywhere, I would break it down into categories like my favourites — you don’t need anyone else to do this for if you fancy doing it for yourself.

What and How I Choose

I’m a big advocate for reading whatever excites and interests you, not what you think you should be reading. But, also, now that I’ve chosen whatever suits me for some time, I do really like trying to diversify my reading, in various ways like through genres, stories, countries and authors, and I think I could definitely do more of this.

Some of the genres and styles I’ve gravitated towards most, in recent years, have been essay collections, self-development, literary and commercial fiction and dystopian fiction.

I’m constantly adding to a list of books to look into (of course!) from online and in person recommendations. But nothing beats the excitement of loving a book you simply stumbled across, that you’d never heard of. Why is this so satisfying?!

Sometimes, I like to make choosing books into a game. (I like a little fun and novelty!) It could be. . . find a book with X characteristics, or each choose a book for the other person. Finding surprising gems this way is incredibly satisfying too.

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I’m up for changing any, and all, of the above preferences, and letting go of my expectations within reading. My reading has changed so much and so many times already.

Is there anything you’d like to do differently with your reading, or something you could never give up?

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I was inspired to write about reading whilst reading Growing up in a house full of books by Charlene Storey of Haver and Sparrow — a lovely read.

I also absolutely loved Pandora’s thoughts on the ownership of books in Are you a hoarder or a purger? I thought this was the perfect place to share this too.

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Are there any obvious nuances of a reading routine that I’ve missed here?

Do you read completely differently to me?

What’s the best part of how, when or where you read?

I really need to get better at narrowing down my questioning.

I’ve always been curious.