Jessie: in New Hampshire watching the leaves put on an autumnal show!
All writers are dedicated readers and with that sort of dedication, I’ve noticed that rituals and routines tend to develop. So Wickeds, do you have any routines or rituals to your own reading practice? Do you ever feel the need to shake it up?
Sherry: It is a rare night I don’t read before I go to sleep, even if it’s only a couple of pages. It’s one of my favorite parts of the day, when the house is quiet and I get to escape reality. I usually read crime fiction, but like to shake it up with books like The Jane Austen Society. One of my favorite parts of reading is that delicious moment when it’s time to decide what book to read next.
Edith/Maddie: Like Sherry, I read in the evenings. I rarely watch television, and I love reading on the couch with kitty Ganesh asleep on my lap (the TV is in Hugh’s den). During the long days of summer I sometimes read an ebook while sitting on my deck into the evening, because it doesn’t matter how dark it gets.
Julie: Generally, I read fiction at night, non-fiction during the day. I have different rituals for each. Non-fiction requires a notepad nearby, sitting up and staying hydrated. Fiction is read at night, or during a weekend afternoon, relaxed and enjoying the experience.
Barb: I read fiction in bed at night, usually on my Kindle so I don’t wake up my husband. I love narrative non-fiction and short stories, but I always feel a little at sea if I don’t have a good novel going. That’s my easiest transport to another world. I love having a printed book for vacation or a long weekend and will hoard new releases by my favorite authors for those occasions.
Jessie: Like Julie, I read non-fiction in the mornings and fiction later in the day and on weekends. And like Barb I feel off if I don’t have a novel on the go at all times. I have a refillable notebook/folio where I keep my kindle, blank paper and favorite pen for my morning reading routine where I take notes on the non-fiction I am reading. In the evenings I like to read froma physical copy of a novel if possible to feel as though I am switching into a slower pace.
Liz: It really depends on my mood. If I’m in a fiction mood and really into what I’m reading, I’ll read whenever and wherever I can. If it’s non-fiction, I usually read in the morning for a few minutes before I start work. If I’m in any sort of routine, I do like to read fiction at night and also weekend mornings if time allows. I’ve also been doing a lot of audio books lately. I like to listen while walking the dogs as well as driving, and especially if I’m super into the book I’ll steal time whenever I can.
Readers, what is your reading habit like? Is there any predictable routine to it?
My reading routine is constantly varied. I read anywhere I can. I bring a book to work, I carry it in the car if I’m traveling anywhere. When I read at home, I could read at any point in the day.
I will say that during the warmer months, I don’t read that much once it gets darker so the light doesn’t draw any bugs.
But basically my routine is not having much of a routine. I just READ.
That sounds simply delightful, Jay!
I read when I’m need to de-stress, to take my mind off aches and pains, time for a break during a chore or just can’t wait to see what happens next in the book I’m reading. In other words, every chance I get to sit down I usually pick up the current book and read a bit be it a few pages, a chapter or to get completely immersed in it. I usually head to the porch when it’s daytime and the weather is nice. Otherwise I sit the chair at my desk for quick breaks and the recliner if it’s going to be longer.
2clowns at arkansas dot net
Stress relief is such a gift that reading can provide, isn’t it? I love being completely transported to another time and place too, especially if the world is clamorous or my corporeal being is a source of distress!
I read as much as possible. I read both physical books and on my Kindle. I take a book to work and read at lunch. I take a book in the car in case I need to kill time or to read before an appointment. I also read after dinner and before bed.
I love that you take books in the car and to appointments! I do the same thing! For years I had small versions of paperback classics tucked into the driver’s side door pocket of my vehicle. Dorothy Parker helped me to wait for a lot of after school pick ups!
I usually have one fiction book going- either kindle or paperback- and one non-fiction book on Audible. I love hearing the authors read their own non-fiction works! I do have a question for the Wickeds wealth of experience: as an aspiring cozy writer, I’ve been reading and re-reading a lot of cozies as part of the “work” of writing. If you, as as established writer, are reading fiction as part of the writing process, do you do it during your writing hours or during your leisure reading time? Thanks!
Thanks so much for the question, Shanna! I cannot speak for any other writers but for me, writing time is for creating my own work whether that is research, early drafts or revisions. I do not read fiction during any time I set aside for writing. When I first started out I did read a lot of books I admired with the goal of understanding why I felt they were well done. I think studying the work of others is an excellent way to improve your own writing but I would encourage you to safeguard your writing time like you are a dragon on a golden hoard!
I have taken to the following:
1. Spiritual/religious reading in the morning
2. New fiction read in the late afternoon/evening (after the work day)
3. Comfort read before bed
And somehow I manage to keep them all separate!
That sounds ideal!
I am retired so I have the time to read when I want. I usually do errands/chores/cleaning in the morning and after lunch I read, and I always read in bed before going to sleep. I read a kindle at night so my husband can sleep, and like Barb, I hoard real books from my favorite authors to read on vacation! I don’t read much non-fiction except history, and mysteries are my favorites.
Book hoarding for special times is such a pleasure!
I read hard or paperback books after my work day is done and usually get an hour or so in while supper is cooking. Like Barb and Kitty, my Kindle is my bedside companion and I generally get an hour or so in either before sleep or when if I wake in the middle of the night and know sleep has deserted me!
My paper or hard bound reading is either fiction or non-fiction. Depends on what caught my eye in a bookstore or on a sale table. My Kindle is predominately fiction. Most delicious reading of all? Those gifts I give myself of reading all day. They are rare and usually rewards for having typed The End to one of my own books or as a special treat for a snowy or rainy day.
I love the image of you typing “the end” on your own book and then, with glee on your face, reaching for one written by another!
I can read any time of day, but lately I’ve been reading mostly at night. There’s just something about closing out your day with a good book!
I couldn’t agree more!
I read anytime I can. I don’t watch any TV so I have more reading time. I take a book anytime I go to an appointment to fill the wait time.
There is something so satisfying about having a book available at an appointment instead of being at the mercy of the available magazines!
I’m apt to be reading at any time of day and usually have more than one book going, but I find my eyes are too tired to read by the evening so I usually watch something on my iPad for a couple of hours before I go to bed—a favorite movie or a couple of episodes of a series or an episode of Midsomer Murders. I haven’t read in bed since I was a kid and almost started a fire reading by a bare lightbulb under the pillow.
I always have more than one book on the go at a time too! Your childhood reading habit sounds like a dangerous one! Glad you made it out to tell the tale!
I’m pretty much an anywhere and everywhere type of reader. I know I’ve talked about reading on my breaks and lunch at work. When in the office, I head to my car and sit in the passenger seat (so I don’t have to deal with the pedals). Most days I doze off for a few minutes and then wake back up and go back to reading.
I also read before I got to bed at night. Usually at least a chapter.
When else and where else I read depends on what else is going on. I’ve been known to make sure I have a book when I go shopping right now so I can get a few pages in while waiting in line for a store since sometimes I’ve had to wait 15 minutes to get into a store right now.
What a comment on the times, Mark, that a book is needed to await a turn at the grocer! It has never been a better time to be a reader!
We don’t even have TV service. We used to pay for it “just in case” we wanted to watch something. When we realized it had been more than 2 years since we watched anything (other than our own video collection), we canceled all service. We are both readers. I read a lot of fiction (and some non-fiction) during the day, but I go to bed with non-fiction. That way if I start to fall asleep and things stop making much sense, I haven’t lost the thread of a story.
We canceled cable a couple of years ago too since we didn’t really watch it. We do watch streaming services regularly but nothing really replaces reading, does it?
No matter how hectic our lives get, I always try to follow the schedule of reading devotions/spiritual books in the early morning and non-fiction in bed at night. In between whenever I can, I read my current fiction book. We do not have cable TV and both my husband and I read instead for fun. 😉
It sounds like a wonderful reading schedule!
I just try to decide WHICH of the overdue ARCs is most urgent (and I really AM trying to get to Jane Darrowfield). Back to the (currently) 12,976 unread emails…