We all have them. Well maybe not all of us, but some of us have them. Weird rituals or habits involving books. We never dog-ear our books and always use a book mark. We take off the dust jackets of our hardcovers before we read the book. I've even heard where some people read the ending of the book first. I can't imagine doing that, but hey that's their quirk. I just read a blog where someone said that they smell books. (I do that before I buy a used book)
My quirk is that I don't read the most recent published book by an author until I know when their next book is going to be published. Sometimes I don't even read the book until I have the newest book in my possesion. Strange, yes, but true. It's like I want to be able to savor the book for as long as possible. I've known that this is a pattern of mine, but I really didn't think about it too much until I started compiling my Top Ten Books I Just Had to Have but Still Haven't Read Yet.
I've noticed this mainly with books by Sarah Dessen and Ellen Hopkins. I had to buy Fallout by Ellen Hopkins because when it first came out. I still have not read it for two reasons: her next novel Perfect will not be published until September 2011 and Fallout is the final of the series (Crank and Glass are the previous titles).
And I have Dessen's Along for the Ride which came out last year, and her newest title, What Happened to Good-bye will be out in just a couple of months!
I know that I do this, but I don't know the exact reason why. Am I the only one? What are your book quirks?
What a good topic! I read the author bio before reading each of my books and I try to avoid reading any book summaries before starting the book. I much prefer people to recommend a book to me without telling me what it's about, or following up with a favorite author. But with following book blogs, I do usually get an idea of what a good portion of my books are about.
ReplyDeleteMy book quirks. Never dog-ear a page, always use a bookmark. I usually read with the jacket on but when I'm in bed I have to take it off and put it beside me. I don't know why. Um.. I have to put on hand sanitizer before I touch a book. Yes, I am OCD. =D
ReplyDeleteI don't open the book completely open. I sort of open it like an L so the spine won't break. It's really to do with my OCD. Like it has to be perfect or else I can't. But reading books I don't have a problem with which I read next. I just go with the flow and read the ones I feel like reading.
LOL ~ this is hilarious. I love hearing other peoples quirks.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I have any? Just the usual: no dog-earring, etc.
I think most people who are big readers treasure their books so they want to keep them pristine ~ but my non-reader friends really don't mind when a book gets bettered around.
I read in the bathtub. A lot of people think that's weird. And to answer your question, no I've never dropped a book yet! I have, however, dropped a bookmark in the water. LOL!
ReplyDeleteBeth, that's pretty brave of you for reading in the tub. I would be so nervous about dropping a book, getting the pages wet.
ReplyDeleteMichael, I don't open some of my books all the way either, anymore (especially paperbacks) I've broken the spine a few times and the pages fell out. One time, I loaned out a paperback, the spine was broken, pages had fallen out and my friend didn't even mention it. It's not like I was expecting a new copy, but it was just confirmed why its not such a bad idea to have duplicate copies of your favorite book to loan out (another quirk of mine).
Short Story Slore, I try to avoid reviews before I read a book. Even the smallest non-spoilery detail can lead me to try to unravel the story from the beginning. So I save those until after I've read the book.
Nomes, It blows my mind what some people will do to their books. I don't even like to carry mine in a bag with uncapped pens or too much stuff in it where the pages can bend or get marked up. Another quirk of mine, I guess I had more than I thought!
Thanks for all you comments!