HOW DO YOU READ?

This was the question asked by one of my writing friends recently. Initially I wondered what she meant. But the more I thought about the question, the more I saw in it.

I don't tend to read fiction during the day. It feels like an extravagance. I know I could so easily lose the day by reading (and have done on so many occasions in the past) so I allow myself to dip into magazines and non-fiction. I save the fiction for reading at night. Most of the time I have a pile of books by the bed and admit to getting a bit tetchy when I'm down to my last two. What happens if one is a dud? What happens if they both are? I'd be reduced to re-reading one of the old faithfuls kept in one of the many bookcases. Which would be good but it's not the same as diving into the unknown of fresh words.

I also have a kindle (Christmas present) which I have used, and tend to take away when I'm travelling. It's light, portable, and can house so many stories. Which is great when you don't really know what you feel like reading this time. Do I want to re-immerse myself in the classics of Poe or Austen, or do I want something modern, contemporary?

For me the interesting part was adjusting to reading on the kindle. I'm afraid for me the book will never die, I love holding it, the weight in my hand. The texture of the page. I also like to know how many pages till the end of the chapter (when my eyes are losing the battle of staying open), and there are times when I like to check the date of publication or whether this was a stand alone novel or part of a series.

The next part of the question for me was - how do I choose what to read?

That's the easy part, working in a library means I'm surrounded every day by other people's choices. Often I find something interesting and take it home. Other times when I place a hold for someone, I place one for myself as well. I'm always being told of a new author, series, title. Library users are great at sharing what they have loved.

And then there are the Library magazines which offer up reviews of new books. I read with two minds, one which chooses books for future Youth programs, the other which notes down books to order in for my own enjoyment. I also enjoy Good Reading Magazine - although have learnt to take their reviews with a grain of salt. They are after all, other readers viewpoints, and as we all know, what one reader loves, another reader can cringe at and wonder what on earth they were thinking about.

I have lists of what to read. Lists of what I have read. Lists of authors to try. And the lists are growing longer.

There are so many books to read, so little time.

So very little time......