Creatures of Habit

This week we read about reading lives and habits. The first phrase that came to mind is that people are creatures of habit. I noticed that most of my days are made up of several habits which are sometimes interrupted by other events or happenings. My reading life is what most could call very interrupted, or rather, placed on pause. This semester has helped me carve out more time for reading and thinking about my habits. For me, there are two main modes of reading. Reading to study and reading for pleasure. Each reading mode looks completely different.

When I am reading to study, if it be textbooks or academic articles, I have a particular chair I sit in. Over the years, I have lived in about five different places and in each house I have unintentionally picked one seat for studying purposes. When I read to study, I have to sit upright, and my seat is usually at a dining table. My book will be on one side with my notes on the other. Just within reach are all my colors. Yes, my colors. If I am studying with seriousness, I have all my colored pens and markers laying in neat rows ready to be used in my notes. Also, I typically have a glass of water beside my book. And this is how I read to study. I never noticed these habits before but after thinking about this topic, I realize I am truly a creature of habit.

When I am reading for pleasure, there is not much structure. I could be sitting on the couch, in bed, at a table, in the car, wherever! It can be anytime of the day or night as long as I have some light. I recently bought a reading light because my husband tends to sleep early and sleeps best when I am there beside him. I take these opportunities to read for leisure or catch up on reading assignments. What DO I read for leisure? Well, some books but mostly articles online or posts on Pinterest.

Some people walk and read--that is not me. Some commonalities between reading to study or reading for pleasure is that I need to be sitting down and the environment should have minimal noise (honestly, any noise is fine except the TV).

All in all, I want to read more. I want to be that person who read the book and "thought it was so much better than the movie" because from what I've heard, it's ALWAYS better than the movie.