The Perks Of Being A Book Addict discussion

I was just wondering if anyone had any bad reading habits? I know I have one which I am sure I am not the only person who does this...

So, I'm reading a book and I have just finished a chapter. I'm wondering how many pages are in the next chapter as I either need to do something for I don't have much time, so I flick through to count the amount of pages in the next chapter so i can gauge how long it should take me to read it. Then, horror strikes... An odd word or phrase catches my eye, which gives something away in the storyline.

That really annoys me when I do that!

Does that happen to anyone else? Or do you have your own bad habit?

My worst reading habit is taking books into the bathtub and destroying them :P

Absolute worst habit? Damaging my prostate. =P Honestly from the point I KNOW I have to pee badly, to the point I actually DO while reading something good... at least 3 hours elapses. ^_^

Yup Tino. I do that ALL the time!

I've kind of stopped doing it so much (especially now that most of my books are ebooks), but I've often had a huge problem with getting so curious, that I just had to flip to the back of the page and read that last sentence... then I ended up reading the paragraph.. and that sometimes lead to me reading the last two pages. :P

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!

Yes I do that too... except sometimes I do it on purpose.. *gasp*... if I don't like where a story is going sometimes I flip to the back and see what happens... Usually it's something like "Do they really break up?" or "Is he going to die"... There is enough mystery to keep me invested, but my heart is at ease knowing everything is going to be ok :)

Hahah! I actually tried reading a book in the bath the other day for the first time, and after about 20 seconds I decided it was too risky!

@RACHEL - Hahaha, that borders on sacrilegious to me. I doubt I could FORCE myself to do that.

Tino wrote: "I was just wondering if anyone had any bad reading habits? I know I have one which I am sure I am not the only person who does this...

So, I'm reading a book and I have just finished a chapter. I'..."
That's happened to me, too!

Actually, I used to be one of those people who actually read the last page first. I've long since stopped that, though.

Emily, that's exactly why I do it! Although, sometimes I'm just so confused as to the mystery or what to do about the conflict, that I kind of hope for a hint as to what will happen.

Aisling, I have about six books right now that are barely read at all! It especially happens to me with series, because I'll be a fan, and then I'll get engrossed in some other books, and the series will have been going on for so long or taken so long for the next book, that I have completely lost interest!

I also do the page counting but my bad habbit might be that I also want to finish everytime at the end of a chapter so if I'm in the bus and I finished my chapter I'm really looking at how much time the next chapter would take and how much time I've got left in the bus. If I'm not finished in time I have to read immediately when I'm back home.

My worst book habit is probably reading the ending when I check to see how many pages there are, and then reading the ending. My second worst is probably reading ahead. I do this more in books I'm unsure if I want to finish, to see if it gets better.

Kyle wrote: "Absolute worst habit? Damaging my prostate. =P Honestly from the point I KNOW I have to pee badly, to the point I actually DO while reading something good... at least 3 hours elapses. ^_^"

this may seem a little crude and personal, but do you have incontinence?? i mean three hrs is a very long time to stay in the bathroom

@THEBOMB - You misread what I said. Try again.

sorry :$ ..I got it.lol but seriously how can you wait that long??!!

@THEBOMB - Its cool. lol How? Sheer bloody mindedness and ruthless disregard for the needs or wants of my body. Its a talent. ^_^

I managed to drop a manga I was reading once into the bath and have not been able to replace it with the same edition since.

These days I try to take more care with the books I take into the bath with me.

I have lots.

My biggest one, is I think, that I start reading a really huge book, but of course I realize later that I'm gonna have no time to read it, as I have to travel a lot to run errands, and it would not fit into my bag (especially when I go to my boyfriend's place at the weekend, and there's no place for a bulky book in my travel bag) :D. Roman Blood I've started reading on 22th January, and I'm still on the 40th page... I always realize that dang, I have stuff to do AGAIN, and I can't bring it with me.

I also do this page counting till the end or till the next chapter kind of thing. Sometimes I unintentionally peek at the end and read the last sentence (I don't do it on purpose!). I read reviews beforehand and sometimes I run into spoilers. Oh, and the toilet problem, holding it in just because it's a good part in the book and I have to read it :D.
What else... oh, I have a habit of eating whilst reading, so some of my books I've touched with greasy fingers or they have met some orange juice (but I only eat when I read cheaper quality ones cover-wise).

@Dorottya I've done the food thing myself too! You see some of the words or letters a bit smudged... Whoops!

Tino wrote: "@Dorottya I've done the food thing myself too! You see some of the words or letters a bit smudged... Whoops!"

I haven't actually experienced smudged words, fortunately, just some darker edges of the pages. But now I'm better and better at avoiding eating while reading.

I check how many pages are left until I finish the chapter or book too. But I don't have that problem were I accidentally spoil myself the end of the story, since I always carefully cover the text with my hands and refuse absolutely to read the words.

My worst reading habit is start reading a series/saga/trilogy and getting bored in the 2nd-3rd book, for example, and read the last one, and if it's good enough I read the other ones then but I already know the end.

@SOFIA - Oh me too TOTALLY. Even in my favorite series. Its not so much that the book itself is boring its that Im bored with the authors STYLE, temporarily. I usually just read a quickie series in a week then go back to it.

my worst habit is staying up till 4 am reading ... knowing I have to get up at 7 am... and then I am tired, that being said... at lunch I am still reading.

Denisa wrote: "my worst habit is staying up till 4 am reading ... knowing I have to get up at 7 am... and then I am tired, that being said... at lunch I am still reading."

i do that sometimes..now for example,i should be sleeping :P

glad its not just me dong this...lol

I have some silly little habits.For example I always see how many chapters are in a book that I'm about to start reading and I always read in the bath :)

Amanda wrote: "I have some silly little habits.For example I always see how many chapters are in a book that I'm about to start reading and I always read in the bath :)"

you reminded me of reading how many questions are in the exam and then getting in shock..oh well :)

Im glad to hear that I am not the only one who risks reading in the bath. Ive even been known to get out of the bath still wet with my nose still in my book without having washed my hair or anything....that usually ends in a shower later, lol.

I also have a habit of being excessively late to everything....no, its not from getting ready in time...oh no, its because I had to finish that paragraph, chapter, or "Find a good stopping place".

and do you usually find that stopping place??

Hahaha, in reference to the "stopping place" comment... I seriously never can pick one. I just say to myself "Self... stop. Now." and go to bed. I cant PICK a spot I just have to go to the absolute limit of my endurance and then stop abruptly before I pass out or something.

before you pass out..you worry me kyle

I worry a lot of people. I take absurd delight in it. =P

hehehehehe sadist :P

I prefer to think of myself as a slightly unhinged hedonist actually. Thank you very much. Hmph.

hedonist...mm what kind of hedonism?

Another bad reading habit I've developed lately is spending more time on goodreads than I do reading.

Leora wrote: "Another bad reading habit I've developed lately is spending more time on goodreads than I do reading."

i'm doing this now..i call it multi-tasking :p

@THEBOMB - What kind? Thats for me to know and for you to randomnly guess at with ever more desperate and frequent attempts. Enjoy. ;)

Tino wrote: "I was just wondering if anyone had any bad reading habits? I know I have one which I am sure I am not the only person who does this...

So, I'm reading a book and I have just finished a chapter. I'..."

I do the same thing. I also have to see how many chapters is in the book and I sometimes see thing that I don't want to see.

I used to ALWAYS read the last sentence. I've stopped because my husband hounded me, saying I was cheating the experience of suspense.

i do that all the time!

I chatter my teeth as I read... I only noticed this recently, & wonder how long I've been doing it. Long enough for it to have become a habit apparently. Weird

@Leora definitely! Goodreads has done wonders for recommending books to me, helping me keep track of my reading, and meeting like-minded people, but not how productive I am when it comes to reading a book!

Leora wrote: "Another bad reading habit I've developed lately is spending more time on goodreads than I do reading."

YES

One bad habit I have is I always have to finish a chapter. I can never stop in the middle of a chapter and come back to it an hour later. I just can't, I have to finish the chapter.

I also have this habit of always bending and tugging at the corners (paperback) while I read.

It's not a necessarily bad habit and I've only started doing this recently but I mark my favourite quotes using post-it flags because I hate highlighting and writing on books. I also only mark quotes in the book the second time I read it because it gives me a greater understanding of the quote.

I also flick through the next chapter and count the number of pages it takes up and estimate if I have enough time to read it then I find a plot twist or spoiler and I just want to bang my head on the wall.
Another bad habit of mine is when I read, I sometimes zone out and I have to reread sentences or even a whole chapter again and again until I focus again.