darkemeralds. (Reply)

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Do you read books? In what formats?

Yes, in regular wedge-of-processed-tree format. I don't have an e-reader partly because I can't afford it and partly because although I love my laptop, I don't want to spend more time than I already do in front of a screen for eco reasons, so despite the advantages of e-readers, I can't be bothered to save up for one.

How would you describe your relationship to reading?

Intense, devoted, and of long standing. I started reading when I was two. Like a lot of people who had challenging childhoods, sometimes reading is an escape. So the intense concentration I was capable of when I was a kid and a teenager was partially self-defense, I think. When I was seven, I'd read everything in the children's section of the library, so my mother made arrangements for me to check books out of the adult section, providing a librarian vetted my choices. (God be with the days when 'adult section' just meant 'books for adults' and not 'porn.'!) Obviously I read all through college, although usually not the course texts. :) I love books so much, I used to own a bookstore, basically so I could read all the time.

How much do you read--hours per week, books per month, however you measure it?

An hour per day, minimum. It used to be three hours a day when I worked in an office and had an hour commute on the train each way. I miss that! The opportunity, not the commuting.

When? Under what circumstances?

I used to literally sit and read for hours on end. But not anymore, I don't have the time. Now I have a cup of tea after I eat, and I read then if I'm not chatting with people. I carry my book with me in my bag so I can read in queues or waiting rooms. If I have time, I read in the evenings. And I read a bit before I go to sleep. I usually have two books on the go. The book I read at bedtime is much lighter than the one I read during the day. And I read fanfiction off and on during the day, as well. In fact, I think to some degree, fanfiction has replaced the fiction books I used to read. Now my daytime books tend to be non-fiction which usen't to be the case.

Is there something you specifically don't do to make time for reading?

Yes, I deliberately don't watch much TV, and that which I watch, I watch online so I can fast forward through the credits and skip the ads.

Have you noticed a decline in attention--in the ability to sit and read? And if so, how do you deal with it?

Yes. Some of it is simply that I'm busier now than I used to be. Some of it is due to too much caffeine, too much stress, and to reading in little chunks rather than in swathes. I switched to herb tea but I can't do much about the other stuff at the moment, unfortunately. And some of it is down to my current circumstances, where I live. I would never rent a DVD to watch either, because I know I'd be interrupted, so I go to the cinema - I hate that feeling when my concentration gets broken, it's sort of painful. In the same way, when I want to read, I go out to the garden or into the den and close (and sometimes, actually lock) the door. I'm a big fan of doing only one thing at a time as an anti-stress measure, and if I have to lock a door to do it, I will!