And Then I Read... By Merry at Annie's Book Stop/Sharon, MA

Found something new to discuss! Hurray! I recently read a very interesting blog about reading habits, rules for reading, and it made me think about my own "Rules of Engagement" with books.

1. Paper forever! I don't read ebooks. Ever. Period.

2. It's okay to have more than one book going at once - I usually have one in
the bathroom, one in the kitchen, one in the car, one at work, and the book(s)
I'm currently reading straight through which will be in the living room, in my
hand (or purse). Sometimes a satellite book becomes so interesting that it
graduates to book-of-the-moment, so I can finish it right away.

3. When I can't fit any more books in my to-be-read bag by the couch, time to
break out another bag! Once in a while, go through the tote(s) and weed the
collection a bit, to keep the husband happy.

4. No, absolutely NO dog-earing or spine-breaking. If the book can come out of
a session looking unread, that's perfect. Corollary - no thick bookmarks! If I
don't have a bookmark handy, any bit of paper will do. I only wish I could be
like my mother and remember what page I'm on at all times, in each book.

5. I have to like at least one character, and care what happens to him/her.

6. When I finish a book, it goes on my list - author, title, series, number of
pages, opinion... all entered in a spreadsheet. That way, I can keep track
better! At the end of the year, the year's totals are interfiled with previous
years' lists in one gigantic compendium.

7. If a book hasn't "grabbed" me by page 50, I'll probably switch to
something else. There are too many good books stacked up awaiting my attention. Sometimes, I give it another 50, if I think something's finally going to
develop. Very occasionally, I don't make it past page 25...

8. No disparagement allowed of others' choices in reading materials. Just
because I don't care for horror novels or true crime or Oprah's picks doesn't
mean they are not "good" books, nor does it mean that readers of those
genres are less-intelligent or mistaken in their choices. I read genres that
others often deride - romance, paranormal romance, urban fantasy, science
fiction and fantasy, mystery, and I shan't judge others any more than I wish
them to judge me.

What do you think? Do you have reading "rules"? Care to share?

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