The Perks Of Being A Book Addict discussion

I tend to read too many books at a time, right now I have 9 or 10 going.

Typically, I can only do two or three books at a time. And they have to be distinct enough from each other for that to happen.

Oh I have plenty of bad habits when it comes to books.

1. I can't stop reading unless I come to the end of the chapter or come to a break. (Probably my worst habit.)

2. No matter what is happening in the book I always see how many pages there is to the next chapter/break. (My second worst.)

3. Every time I close the book, before putting it down I always look at the location of the bookmark to see how far into the book I am.

4. I like to touch my books constently.

5. Starting more then one book at a time. (This one I have developed recently.)

6. Binge reading and then going days sometimes weeks without reading.

I keep buying books even though I already have loads.
Like Sam, I look through my books as I'm reading to see how many pages until the end of the chapter.
Occasionally, I look at the ending of a book to see how long it is before I read it and I accidentally spoil myself.
Sometimes when I buy books, I skim through them once I buy them even though I'm reading another book at the time.
Not always, but most of the time I'll finish a book even if I don't like it.

Oh, Oh. I have about 95% of these. So say, can't we just say that these are normal behavior for an individual who really enjoys reading? So they do not seem to appear to be bad habits?.....

One thing that is a bad habit of mine is that I tend to spill food on books I am reading. Yes, Yes, before everyone rushes over to my house to hang me, I try to read and eat at the same time only when the books are mine and sort of throwaways (really old and tattered paperbacks), but still not the greatest thing to do.

(Have to admit I do snack sometimes when reading!!!) My doctor is adamant that I must stop this, but since one of my bad habits is the inability to get into the reading zone and not be able to leave, it is unlikely!!!!

Annie wrote: "I keep buying books even though I already have loads.
Like Sam, I look through my books as I'm reading to see how many pages until the end of the chapter.
Occasionally, I look at the ending of a bo..."

Oh, and yes to add to my other note, I buy lots and lots of books. And on top of that I check books out of the library so I usually have about 40-50 books sitting around to read. THE PRESSURE!!! Obviously the library books have to come first so others can enjoy them, but it is always a challenge.

I always read the book too fast then I have to go back and read it multiple times.

My bad reading habit is that when I am getting to the end of the book...like two or three chapters from it...I read until it is finished. The bad part is that I do it at night when I need to be sleeping so that I can be refreshed and awake by 4 am the next morning or work!

Oh and another one, when I was in college, I read the first 7 of the Wheel of Time series in one Semester when I should have been reading thoroughly my books for each of my classes!!!! Spent too many nights cramming for exams. LOL

It seems that I can't take any amount of suspense in a book. I almost always read the ending beforehand and stand up all night aiming to finish the book by a certain date.
And like Sam, I'm also constantly checking how far I am in a book, at the expense of actually reading it faster. D:

Overusing libraries so that I have to return tons of unread books, as well as re-reading too much (in 2011 when I read 72 books, only 27 of them were new to me. Luckily this year is going a lot better on this regard!)

My worst habit is reading books I have decided to approach as critically as possible, expecting to hate them. Trying to break this one >_<

I have quite a few bad habits when it comes to reading. I admit to sometimes ruining things in the book for other people if I'm totally engrossed in it and want to share everything I'm feeling and why. Is reading too fast a bad habit? Sometimes I feel like it is when my body decides to become only sparingly human as it continuously refuses to acknowledge the concepts of bathroom, sleep, nourishment, and movement.

I've spilled hot chocolate on my bible and a Piers Anthony book (that I can easily recall)because I'm clumsy around books as well. That, or it could be because they are EVERYWHERE near me. I have to compensate for having a small bookshelf by piling books on my floor, tables, and underneath my bed in the book eating vortex.

When people talk to me while I'm reading I have a built-in system for dealing with them. I'll glance up to look them in the eye politely (though occasionally), go "hm" "uh hm" to whatever they say, stare pointedly from them to my book, then sigh and continue reading while my boyfriend tells me we're supposed to be leaving for my doctor appointment.

I always have to take a book with me everywhere I go it seems. My backpack for school is never filled with textbooks (oh no!), no it is filled with casual reading books (in case I read my textbooks too fast) which makes it so I have to carry my textbooks around in my arms.

Those are just a few bad reading habits.

I get sweaty hands(I have this just general, why does this afflict me?) when I read sometimes and this smudges the ink. That really annoys me. Also I do tend to see how far I got left in a chapter if I don't particularly like it.
"The horror, the horror!"

My worst reading habit is being so curious that I have to read the last chapter halfway through the book. I always spoil the best books this way

One of my worst habits is reading several books at a time. I always end up having two or more books going at one time. Another one of my habits that happens unintentionally is that I end up losing a book that I'm really interested in reading. I've been meaning to read one book for over a year but as soon as I decided to read it I lost it. I also end up spending more time than I should on goodreads which leads to less time reading.

my bad habits in reading books:
1.Once I get impatient in the flow of the story, or worried sick with the character and their 'happy endings', I tend to take a 'little sneak peek' at the last chapter or page of the book.
2. Then after doing that sneak peek and i get disappointed on how the story ends, i stop reading the book.

I stay awake way too late when I'm reading a good book and I suffer for it the next day.

I also like to read in the bathtub. Consequently, books sometimes don't make it. It's also why I don't use a Kindle too often.

I am guilty of reacting aloud to parts in my book, regardless of where I am. I also read out loud a part particularly interesting (to me), and load myself with books wherever I go. I can never go anywhere without at least ONE book in my bag.

I also have the bad habit of counting how many pages are missing to finish the chapter and how many minutes I will take to read .

I also have a habit of easily distracted ( not only for reading, but also when I'm watching a movie , studying , talking to someone ) . Anyway , sometimes I get half an hour reading and rereading the same parts of the book for lack of attention.

I tend to zone everything and everyone out around me if a book is really good. My husband, sons and even my dogs get jealous of my reading.

I read too many books at the same time and only end up finishing half of them, then I'll start new ones. The cycle never ending.

I also see how many pages the next chapter has, and then tell myself I have enough time to read it. I'll continue to do that until I realize hours have passed.

My worst would be to check the rating of books before starting it.

I have so many of these habits, I think Kathy is probably right, these are reader issues.

I'm constantly reading more than one book at a time, or I realize that I started a book without finishing the previous one. I can't not buy a book at a book store, no matter that I have a towering pile of books tbr at home. Or when I'm in the home stretch of a book I end up finishing it no matter that I should be doing something else, haha.

Well I also have a few bad habits...

I also can't stop reading until there's a break or it's the end of chapter. Although now it's better as I can also stop if there a full stop at the bottom of the page, but I don't like to do that.

Then I often kind of don't see I finished a chapter and start a new one, even though I have to go somewhere or do something. So then, I have the same problem again: finishing the chapter, etc.

Also I love smelling books, as every book has a very distinct smell which I love!

And reading while I'm in the bath tub, but I never do that a long time...

Always looking on which page I am to see how much I've read and how far it is till the end, even when I love the book.

Skipping paragraphs in the book, but not on purpose, and then going back because I feel I missed something. Or not reading a page or two well and going back too.

And so many, many more...

I know this may be weird but I love to smell my books. Before I read them I flip through the pages put my nose up to it and give it a good whiff. Favorite thing about starting a new book. Wish I could do it to Audio books lol.
I will go through and count the pages to the next few chapters and pencil it in next to the chapter header so I know how much time I need to commit.
For a long series I will take notes and make character lists to help me keep track of things. Before the Wheel of Time Companion I had 7 books worth of chapter notes and character lists spanning over my kindle notebook app, four handwritten notebooks full, and a few on my Office Pro. And one book entirely on northwards. Doing the same for Game of Thrones now.
I must bring my books everywhere at least one or my kindle. Even hiking or to a concert seriously everywhere. And Dont you dare even think of taking my books from me I have (and will again) tackle you to the ground to get it back.

Also if I'm really into a book I will be so zoned in that I will have a conversation with you and simply not actually notice. like have no idea I am talking let alone forming conhesive sentences. It's like my brain divides itself but the book is more worth remembering. ask me about what I said when you have my full attention Ill have no clue what you are talking about. annoys the daylights outta my boyfriend lol.

I wrote a blog entry about this whole topic because some reading habits I have are pretty bad. https://betamagnificusbooks.wordpress...

I also stay up too late reading and eating while reading. Here lately I have been looking up people or places I am reading about on pinterest

1. Reading too many books at a time. I'm usually pretty good about mentally juggling multiple plotlines but sometimes I drop the ball and then I have to sigh and move a book back to the want to read list. This is especially bad for non-fiction, because I read it in smaller chunks and they tend to get lost in the stream of all the fiction I read.

2. Reading is how I do procrastination, ending up with me reading even when I don't really want to just because I'm scared of messing up my work.

3. Sneaking peeks to the end when I get impatient or stressed out about the characters. Then I have to go back and read it for real and I keep yelling at myself for having lessened my own enjoyment.

If I have a bad habit, it is that I keep buying books faster than I can possibly read them. If I do not die until I finish the ones I own now, I should live to about a 135.

1. I stick my finger into the crease of the book every time I flip a page, which is not bad, it's just kinda weird.
2. I have to be eating or drinking something or else I don't focus as much.
3. I will reread books instead of starting new ones.
4. Bookmarking my page with EVERYTHING but a bookmark, which ends up damaging the pages.

I get distracted really easily...and if i find a book that sounds interesting but has 3 stars it makes me not want to read it.

For me is definitely starting to many books at once but also if I sit down to read I get easily distracted after 5-10 pages. If I can make it past the tenth page I can read 100 or more depending on what it is I’m reading. Ex Throne of Glass, Harry Potter I can read all the way through.

Papaphilly wrote: "If I have a bad habit, it is that I keep buying books faster than I can possibly read them. If I do not die until I finish the ones I own now, I should live to about a 135."

Same here! I have about 3,000+ on my kindle unread as I have a bad book buying habit! I think I might have to live to be 150 give or take before I finish them all! :)

My worst habit is that I'm always buying new books, and I haven't finished the ones I currently own yet. Drives my husband crazy. I'm working on finishing them one at a time, but my other bad habit is that I read multiple books at a time.

Pamela wrote: "My worst habit is that I'm always buying new books, and I haven't finished the ones I currently own yet. Drives my husband crazy. I'm working on finishing them one at a time, but my other bad habit..."

I hear you.

I hate it when I read a really amazing scene and i know something big is about to happen, my eyes involuntarily skips the lines and i spoil myself

My worst habit would be reading books with either my kindle or phone while lying down in bed with the lamps turned off - really, really bad for your eyes. It's just that I have developed some sort of ritual to read just before sleeping, and it has become a habit and without it I just couldn't sleep.

My worst habit seems to be a common one. Reading too many books at once. I've made it a new years resolution of sorts to only read two books at a time at once this year.
I also have a bad habit of checking like 10 books out from the library at once and then not finding time to read them before they're due. Then I feel guilty. like other people could have been reading these but I had to hog them all, lol

It’s not really a reading habit but sometimes I look something up about the book/character and it comes up with spoilers and I absolutely lose it

I'm a terrible stockpiler of books - I've got years worth around the house waiting to be read and I often avoid the ones I particularly want to read as I'm saving them for "the right time" - which never comes! I'm also awful for falling asleep on books which I why I tend to read paperback non-fiction in bed - it's easier to pick up the strand if you drop off and hurts less if you drop it on your face!

I havecsoates whereby I'll buy loads of books even tho I have a pile (which has been moved into a box in order to start another pile) then get books out the library and read them leaving the pile untouched as "I'm saving them for a rainy day" guess the pile might shrink in the next few weeks.
not my bad habit but I think anyone who folds pages over to mark their place should be put before a firing squad!! just use a bookmark folks (rant over)

The not doing anything else syndrome
Once I start an interesting book the world literally fades out...some could be calling me, prodding me..there could be some really important work that I HAVE to do then but all that stops mattering..I finish the book in a day literally then spend another contemplating about it ..then the real world hits me with full force

Blue wrote: "The not doing anything else syndrome
Once I start an interesting book the world literally fades out...some could be calling me, prodding me..there could be some really important work that I HAVE to..."

I totally get that! Once I get really into a book, I'll drop my responsibilities so I can get fully immersed in the story. I just get sucked in! When I come up for air, I feel like I'm in a sort of haze, and it takes a bit for me to readjust to reality.

I have so many of these bad reading habits you all mention. I start too many at one time, I skip ahead to the end for a sneak peak if it is too climatic, I zone out and ignore everyone around me if I really enjoy a story and I have stayed up all night because I couldn't put a book down. Sometimes after I have skipped ahead, I have to go back several chapters because I realize I have missed something important.

I go to trade shows and I see many authors selling their books and I leave with a stack of them that I won't be able to read for years (COVID has changed that... I might actually be able to read them all soon).

I read at night on my phone with the lights off (bad I know) and I don't have an e-reader so I read everything off my phone or paper copy.

I get annoyed when there is too much description in a book because with just the basics I am able to visualize the scene in my mind and it helps me to get into the story so I tend to skip those parts.

I am a terrible reader lol!

I'm not sure if this is a "bad" reading habit, but when I read a book I MUST do ASL signs along with the words on the page, or else I cannot concentrate at all. This leads to a shortage of possible reading positions because I have to have my hands adequately free in order to sign. Again, this isn't exactly a "bad" reading habit, but it has caused problems for me in the past.

An actually bad reading habit I have is staying up way past midnight to read. It could be 2 A.M. and I just can't put the book down. Then I get in trouble with my parents sometimes for staying up so late; that's why I avoid telling people about it *wink, wink*.

Aisling wrote: "Taking on too many books at once is definitely my worst habit. I end up leaving so many books half finished and don't come back to them for ages!"

I have absolutely the same thing!! Right now I have 6 unfinished and I want to start another 3!!

I will put off doing household task like the dishes or sweeping up the doghair from my hardwood floors. I usually read at night so sometimes I try to read through a chapter when I am so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open. Then I have to reread the last paragraph or two to catch up with the action of the story.

I hoard books and never get around to reading them. I am now making a conscious effort to read books I've had for years before I buy any more ebooks.

When I get very into the story, I sometimes tend to instinctively skip over descriptive prose just to see what happens next. I can't help it sometimes. I have to force myself to pry my eyes away and go back to the place I was reading. I've sometimes even used spare paper to block the rest of the page to avoid doing this.

I also sometimes get bored or need a break of what I'm reading, stop reading for far too long, then when I want to come back to it I convince myself that I have to start from scratch to "properly" enjoy the story. So I start over, get fatigued again, stop reading and start the cycle all over again.

I also hoard books.

Bad book habits ..

- Buying books when I have piles of unread books at home already (and buying multiple copies of certain books because I like them so much and find it with a different cover)

- Hoarding books because I've enjoyed them (even though I know I won't read it again) or because I know someone who might like it (but won't ever see if because I don't let books go)

- Judging books by the cover (I am a sucker for design so can't help myself looking at all the covers and being swayed by them

- Reading too late, reading when I should be getting up .. hiding to read when I'm at work ..

- Always carrying books with me, just in case, even when it weighs me down
..
I swear that is all my bad book habits! :)

I got a nook color to alleviate the books weighing a lot issue