Bookaholc's quirks

[Denise60]

I agree! I would rather read than do just about anything else! I have been known to read going UP stairs, not brave enough to try it going DOWN!

[poonamgupta35]

Hi,
I don't have much quirks-
- i sometimes leave a book unfinished for 3-4 months and then start it again
- i love sitting in a book shop for hours and going through back covers of books and latching on one if it holds me
- i almost missed my flight back from my honeymoon - after strolling into a bookstore.....even forgot my new hubby
- never use bookmarks, though admire them a lot
- i never stick to one category of books .........have read fiction, history, literature, crime, food etc. What I am not able to read is sci-fi
- now i love my kindle and have a guilty feeling that i am not visiting my usual book stores

[ralfy]

- Hardcovers, except for what is not worth reading more than once (which I try to avoid buying), or if I have no choice

- Always one book for short trips, more for longer trips

- I always use bookmarks, unless the book has a ribbon marker

- Several genres, at least one for the natural sciences or math, another for any of the social sciences or humanities, and one more for fiction, poetry, or drama (sometimes separated)

- any e-readers only for searching for passages (often not necessary as I annotate books with a pencil; no pens or markers); preferably a tablet or notebook as these have other functions (like word processors)

[Denise60]

Never thought I would enjoy e-reading. However...I purchased an IPad to keep up with my 14 year old daughter and it has lead to online activities I previously deemed frivolous! I now enjoy Words with Friends and Overdrive (library ebooks). Guess we never should say, NEVER!

[poonamgupta35]

Yup, absolutely right. I used to enjoy book stores, libraries a lot. Since I got kindle, am totally hooked to it.......but downside is that I used to meet a lot of book lovers in the stores and libraries. These interactions have decreased

[autumnconfusion]

Putting me in a library is pure torture and probably the most remarkable quirk I have. I love seeing all those books and my fingers itch to touch all those spines and covers, finding the stories within, but I physically and mentally can't touch them because I go insane knowing how many bacteria are simply waiting inside to multiply. I am positive that a library functions as a germ factory. Have you ever noticed the amount of people who put their fingers in their nose when being bored (or reading a book!!) or fail to realise how important it is to wash your hands after using the bathroom? The amount is alarmingly huge. When I used to get a copy from the library, I always came across a page with snot or blood. Ever since then, I decided to never step inside a library again.

[Boo]

I always carry a book with me.
I only buy paperbacks. I can wait for them to come out.
I dog ear pages to mark my place. When I am done with the book, it is pretty beat up.
I don't like to read borrowed books because I have to modify the above behaviors.
I have reread a few books but I was disappointed every time.
When people ask me why I always carry a book, I tell them it's because we spend so much of our lives just waiting.
I have recently started reading eBooks. I didn't think I would like it but I am quickly being won over.

[shyluh_anne]

I always have a book (or 3) with me.
I have an eReader for travel and convenience but I will always have a love for printed word.
I read when I eat.
I can read several books at a time.
I have crammed, packed bookshelves.
I love the smell of musty books.
I spend a good portion of my finances on books.
I never, ever, ever fold down pages.

[primrose777]

Have enjoyed reading every ones "quirks" on this page, here are mine...

I too would never, ever dog ear a page in my books, and would be distressed if anyone else did.

I can never write in or make notes in my books, my pages have to be pristine.

I use anything and everything for bookmarks, shopping receipts, Video store vouchers, birthday cards but I favour postcards.

I can read in any moving vehicle except in a car on windy roads or on the back of my Husbands motorbike ( but I am trying to figure out a way )

Each time I have been pregnant the smell of the printed word in books has made me nauseous , which was devastating.

I prefer silence when reading, I cannot read and watch TV at the same time.

I will only read one book at a time and rarely reread a book. If however i love the book I will keep it in my collection and will be unable to part with it.

I try to read, Fiction, Non Fiction and classic Fiction in that order to try and get me to diversify my reading. I cheat often

Nothing compares with the thrill I feel when I discover a new second hand book shop. I love to fossick out any treasure within and can happily spend hours doing so.

I have been known to accost complete strangers, anywhere anytime, and strike up a conversation about the book they are reading. Have discovered a few gems along the way.

I am never without a book, ever. I took one on my 20th Wedding anniversary weekend ( you know , just in case) My Husband was not impressed.

I never read out loud, except to my children when they were younger.

I love the feel of a book in my hands, the printed word and struggle with the concept of an E Reader.

I love to read when I eat, which is a problem with the pristine page fetish.

[BooksNJoy]

Hi, here're my quirks
-I always smell the paper of an old book. (just can't resist)
-I always like to visit librairies or bookstores and spend hours without a precise idea of what I want to read.
-I love carressing the cover of books or holding them against my chest.
-I bookmarks are home made and must have one side without images on it.
-When I finish reading I place the bookmark so that the side that has an image on it faces the page I haven't read yet.
-I always have a book in my bag.
-I always leave my ereader at home (I want it to last as long as possible)
-I never turn down the corner of a page
-I never fold the book the two parts of the cover can face themselves (for me it's like mistreating the book)
-When I finish a book I spend time to think about it, about the end and its meaning. Sometime I feel nostalgic about the book, the time I spent to read it.

[plantladyme]

I keep a book in the car in case I have to wait at the train station for my husband.
I make my own book marks and book plates for my books. Each book mark or book plate is designed for the book it is to be used with.
I never loan books to anyone.
My book shelves are very organized.
I avoid books that "everyone" is currently obsessed with.
I never write in my books.

[DATo]

1) I treat books with the same type reverence that Roman Catholics reserve for the Virgin Mary. I never underscore or use highlight markers. My method of recording passages is to put a tiny dot the size of a period, in pencil, in the margin next to the paragraph containing what I want to save. I then write the page number (again, LIGHTLY, SMALLLY, and in PENCIL) on one of the back flyleaves of the book. This provides a permanent repository for important passages which is practically invisible and totally erasable.

2) I use small Post- It Notes as bookmarks. This has the advantage of not only marking the page but also the exact paragraph I've left off at (The Post It Note can also be placed along the LONG side of the page).

3) I collect International Bookseller classics because they are beautiful to look at, are inexpensive, and are easy to find at flea markets and book fairs.

4) I require ((((((((((((((( QUIET ))))))))))))))) when I read.

5) I have been known to walk to the bathroom at work, do my business without ever touching anything with the hand that holds the book, washing and drying my hand (singular), and returning to my reading chair without ever having taken my attention away from the book.

6) I want a BOOK damnit !!!! Not a Kindle, not an iPad, not an audio storyteller .... BUT A BOOK !!!! I equate reading a book on electronic media the same as having sex in Woody Allen's orgasmatron.

7) I do not smell books.

8) I would rather attend our local annual book fair, which only lasts three days each year, than get lifetime tickets to the games of any sports team on earth.

9) I listen to the advice of Fran and Gannon and Redlegs, all of whom are winners of the coveted DATonian Book Recommendation Award.

10) I force myself to read different genres of writing ... I learned this as a result of being force-fed Brussels sprouts and learning to my amazement that I actually liked them.

[Fran]

@DATo
No's 5 & 6 made me laugh nearly as much as Carla's funny song

No 9 ... had me

[Yelibenwork]

I always use bank notes as book marks.
I smell the pages old books.
I always see and remember the publisher's trade mark.
I read the front cover, the back cover, the spine before starting and after finishing reading the book.
Sometimes I buy two copies of the same book if I have enjoyed that book.
When I borrowed a camera last month, I took photographs of my shelf and my favourite books.

[PainKillerIndy]

- I don't read as much as I would like
- If I'm bored with a book I throw it away
- I never re-read books
- If I watched the movie, I almost never read the book even if it's a great a book
- I don't read the bios, dedications, introductions. Only the story.
- I used to buy way too many bookmarks when they were cheap.
- I need a quiet environment to read.
- Bookstores are my favorite place.
- I hate that my wife doesn't read much, and she is an English teacher.
- I don't like short stories, or books that have collections of stories.
- I don't like chunky books either, I steer away from them as much as possible.
- I don't have book fetishes. I don't smell them or feel them.
- I like all genre, except non-fiction.
- I can't read more than an hour at a time. I get headaches and sometimes feel dizzy.
- If I read something great, I find it difficult to read anything for a while. I feel like I'm betraying some sacred connection I had with a book.
- If I read something bad, really bad, it puts me off books for a while.
- I read only 1 book at a time.
- I give away most of my books after reading them even the ones that I like.
- I plan my readings. How much time a day, how many days to finish the book.
- When I travel, I buy books from the airports.
- I love that my book reader on my Galaxy Tab always tell me where I'm at (20% or 47.3%). It's great.
- After a while, all I remember is how I felt when I read the book, my reactions, state of mind. I remember some elements of the book but I forget most of the stuff.
- Next day if you ask me to name the characters in the book I won't be able to tell you. Names are the first thing to go .....
- Joining this forum is the best thing I've done in a while.