This is an unashamedly nosy post. I want to know more about everyone’s book habits.
How do you prefer your books? Are you a traditional paper and ink type of person, do you go nowhere without your kindle, or do you get your fiction fix listening to an audiobook?
Are you a serial reader? Do you make your way through your books one by one or do you end up reading a couple at the same time?
Don’t be shy! Share your reading habits in the comments below!
The first two thirds of 2016 I went through a phase of barely reading anything but listening to an awful lot of audiobooks. I discovered a couple of great series, the Inspector McLean novels by James Oswald, and the Rivers of London books by Ben Aaronovitch to name a couple, that were so well narrated and brought to live I was almost a bit nervous to actually read the book rather than listen to it when the next one came out. Fortunately I wasn’t disappointed when I did.
Towards the end of last year I drifted back towards reading physical books again, I’ve already read four since Christmas but I’ve never been the biggest fan of eBooks, I’m not sure if it’s just that I miss the physical feel of paper, if my eyes struggle more reading from a screen after using a computer all day at work or simply the weight of my device, I have the kindle app on my iPad rather than an actual kindle but I find it far easier to put down a story I’m reading on my iPad than I do an actual book.
I have a stack of books on my shelf to read, however if I end up with a stack of books by my bed filled with makeshift bookmarks it doesn’t bode well. I’m definitely a serial reader, part of it might be that often I read quite similar books so I worry if I start another I’ll get the characters confused, but I think more often once I get into a book I just don’t want to put it down so there’s no chance for me to read anything else simultaneously. If a book’s been put to the side then something about it just hasn’t grabbed me and screamed don’t stop, just read one more chapter…
I look forward to hearing more about your reading habits below. Also I’d love to know how you record all the books you want to read. This year with me having the blog for the first year I’ve created my books of 2017 post to record the new releases I want to get hold of through the year, I’ve also got a hidden wish list on Amazon just so they’re all in one place, what about everyone else’s? Do you just use your blogs, or do you have notepads filled with your must haves for the year?
Sarah Withers Blogs 
FictionFan
I’ve spent the last few years as a decicated Kindle reader but have found recently that I’m drifting back to paper books a bit – partly because it seems to me publishers are taking more care to make ‘real’ books look and feel attractive than they had done for a while. I also go through phases of listening to audiobooks but somehow I find it much harder to concentrate on them, so I find using them for re-reads works better for me. And I have a huge spreadsheet where I record all things bookish – what I’ve read, what’s on my TBR, what new publications I’m waiting for, etc., etc., etc.,… 😉
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Sarah
I do love a spreadsheet – it’s the geek in me lol.
I have to agree. It feels like a lot more thought is going into covers now, I do love getting a hardback and finding something pretty hidden under the dust jacket. My biggest annoyance though is a publisher changing the cover style halfway through a series. It bugs me if my books don’t match!
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Unbalanced Woman
I’m mainly an audio girl for medical reasons. (Won’t bore you.) So I tend to ‘read’ while walking. It’s still a novelty as I only discovered audio books about 18 months ago. I love walking and listening to a story. Or laughing out loud in the street or in a train! It is very dependant on the narrator though. There are books I think I would have preferred if i’s been able to hear a different voice.
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Sarah
I have a habit of listening to audiobooks before bed. Problem with that is even though the audible app I use has a sleep timer I end up dozing off before it finishes so end up having to go back and try and find the last bit I remember hearing!
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Donna
Audiobooks are a big no-no for me. I get bored just sitting listening to something, but if I do something else at the same time (like housework for example) I can’t concentrate on what I’m listening to. When I first got my kindle (six years ago) I was an instant convert and started reading mostly on that, but in the last couple of years I’ve definitely moved back to physical books, and I’m starting to actively dislike reading on my kindle sadly, although it’s so handy to take away with me. I’ll sometimes have a book on the go on kindle and a physical one, but generally I’m a serial reader.
I have a tbr list in my bullet journal, but that’s more for books I already own – if I didn’t break down the piles I’d be overwhelmed – but I’m not very good at logging new releases I want to read. I pretty much just rely on seeing them in the shop! But I am in the fortunate position that I can just buy a book when I see it without having to think too much about the cost.
Sorry for the mammoth comment, but that was a really interesting question and made me think about how my habits have changed!
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Sarah
Don’t apologise! I posted hoping people would share their thoughts. I’m nosy so I love knowing if people are similar to me or different. Makes the world interesting.
I keep thinking about starting a bullet journal, but any time I see one they’re so pretty and I’m really not artistic so I’d probably just get frustrated I couldn’t make it look at nice in reality as in my head
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blairviews
Oooh I love this topic!
When I started REALLY started reading it was in 2015 and at the time Kindle had introduced their Audio/E-book immersion reading feature. I have been using that to read most of my books for the past two years. In doing so, I can read my books much faster because I can read and listen and then listen while doing errands around the house without losing my page. I also find that it helps me read books written in language patterns that I am unfamiliar eith e.g. most of the classics.
This year though, I have found myself with several hard-copy books and I realized I had forgotten how to HOLD the books properly! After feeling like one rather embarrassed bookworm, I figured it out again and realized just how blissful it was to read a hard-copy book again. It was like my mind and hands were craving for a solid book for years.
As for how I read my books, I am usually a serial reader, but this year I found that I’ve been reading 2 books simultaneously. They are totally different genres, settings, characters etc so mixing them up isn’t an issue for me. To keep track, I have a word document full of the books I want to read and I track what I have read for the year in my persona journal and in a special page on my blog.
I think I’ll keep my eye on you! I may have to steal a few of your 2017 recommendations!
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Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
I used to ONLY read physical books and ONLY one at a time, but I’ve switched things up a lot since I’ve been blogging. I now read slightly more ebooks than physical books (mostly because of review copies) and I also listen to audiobooks, which I never did in the past. I usually have at least one audiobook going as well as one ebook or physical book. Occasionally, I even find myself in the middle of an ebook AND a physical book. 🙂
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Sarah
I’m only new to blogging, but I’ve had a couple of books through Netgalley so this far I’m probably about half and half, so I’m probably going to have to get used to reading on my iPad. I do prefer physically turning a page though.
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Michelle @ FaerieFits
I mostly listen to audiobooks, but I do go through phases of reading more on the kindle and out of physical books. (Even then, I read more on kindle than ACTUAL books just because I have an 8 month old daughter who likes to eat everything I touch and CAN YOU IMAGINE THE TRAUMA?!)
I use Goodreads to manage my TBR in general, and occassional export my TBR to spreadsheet to do some faster searching/analysis on what authors/series I should go back to revisit or whatnot. But mostly I play it by ear. There are a few new releases that I somewhat plan for. But now that I blog so much, I honestly mostly end up just following trends I see in the blogosphere.
~ Michelle @ FaerieFits
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Ineamimye
I read books in all forms, I don’t have a Kindle yet so I make use of my phone. Apps like Wattpad, okadabooks, radish and the likes are my go to. I also read paperback. I’m sure I’m famous at the bookshops near my house by now. Then for audiobooks I can’t really say because I’ve not tried one yet.
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