Animezing Life

I was tagged by the lovely @animezinglife!

Do you mostly read fiction or non-fiction? If we’re talking about what I prefer to read, it would be fiction. However, I read a lot more non-fiction between homeschooling and faith-related growth.

Is reading for pleasure part of your daily routine? If so, how much time a day do you spend on reading? Depends on the day/week/month. I do try to make it a part of my daily routine, but it doesn’t always happen. If I am able to fit it in, I try to read a chapter in the morning and a chapter at night (depending on the size of said chapters).

Do you often binge books? There have been books and series that I’ve binged in the past, but it rarely happens now because I just can’t spare that kind of time.

Describe your average reading session 😁(Do you have a special spot where you get comfortable/is it a hard copy or an e-book/is it day or night etc.) I can read just about anywhere, honestly. In a waiting room, in the passenger seat, in bed, outside, etc. (Learned skill to read despite distractions from several years of being “the new kid” at school.) I’d say my favorite places to read, however, are outside when the weather is nice, my comfy rocking chair, and leather recliner. Outside in the afternoon, it can help set the ambience for certain worlds or scenes as well as just helping me to calm even more between the sun, the fresh air, and the birdsong. Sometimes it’s beside freshly washed laundry drying on a line. Sometimes it’s while listening to my kiddos play in the yard. Add a hot or iced cup of tea or coffee (depending on the temperature) and I’m set. Inside, I like to sit in my rocking chair in the morning before my kiddos get up. I read my Bible first and then try to squeeze in a chapter. Still in my pjs and sipping on a hot cup of coffee while wrapped in a sweater or under a blanket with a floor lamp for light if it’s still dark. In the afternoon, I sit in the recliner beside our big window while the kids nap to let the sunshine warm me as I read—oftentimes I fall asleep, lol. Also, I exclusively read hard copies as the physicality of a hard copy helps ground me and lessen distractions.

Do you have a schedule, or do you read when you feel like reading? More when I feel like it, but really it comes down to if I have the time. It’s probably easier for me to read in the fall and winter months as there’s just more time to do so.

Have you ever struggled with reading (e.g. issues with concentration/retaining information, learning disabilities etc.) and how did you manage to overcome it? Not really, no. I’ve had a high reading and comprehension skill level since early grade school. Although, I did struggle with Austen-era (Regency) English when first reading Pride and Prejudice, but now I can read it without issue.

Can you read multiple books at once? Yes. I don’t recommend it, but I can do it. I’ve probably had up to five works going at once. Often times it’s a mix of rereads and new reads, though.

If you're multilingual, do you intentionally choose to regularly read books in your target language(s) to maintain language proficiency? Is it a habit too, or is it a matter of the book's original language? Unfortunately, the little Spanish and French I have retained are too rudimentary to be able to read either.

How do you usually choose books for your to-read list? Right now, it’s based on what does or may bring inspiration for my original manuscript I’m working on. Beyond that, based on homeschool curricula, church events, and a blend of recommendations and research into titles.

Do you keep track of the books you've read/plan to read? A mental list.

Do you consider reading manga/comics "reading"? Recreational reading, yes, but not educative. It won’t improve literacy to the degree or rate as other forms of literature. It's like...junk food. You enjoy it, but it doesn't do for your being the same thing a nutrient-dense meal does.

Do you often find yourself in a reading slump? How long did your ultimate slump take? Not a slump necessarily, just not having the time. I’m a stay-at-home-mom. I homeschool and have a child with a disability. I’ve only got so much time. And oftentimes that means no time for pleasure reading as I have to be very selective with what I do in my little free time which, right now, is usually focused toward writing before anything else.

Sees Aragorn, son of Arathorn, AKA the Literal Hottest Human Man Alive, and is like oh DAMN. DAMN OKAY. YEAH I WOULD LIKE ME A PIECE OF THAT THANKS.

Finds out he's already taken, gets sad about it, slays the Witch King of Angmar, and then sees Faramir, AKA the Second Hottest Human Man Alive, and goes 'WELL THEN'.

“Joy to see you; but pain, because now the fear and doubt of this evil time are grown dark indeed. Éowyn, I would not have this world end now, or lose so soon what I have found.” “Lose what you have found, lord?” she answered; but she looked at him gravely and her eyes were kind. “I know not what in these days you have found that you could lose.”

ONE HUNDRED AND ONE DALMATIANS (1961)

Do you mostly read fiction or non-fiction? Fiction. Non-fiction tends to lose me, unfortunately. My brain doesn't want to focus on it for long.

Is reading for pleasure part of your daily routine? If so, how much time a day do you spend on reading? Not really a daily routine thing. I read when I feel like it, and when I have something pulling my attention in that direction. It tends to be an "as I want to" thing, like a lot of the stuff I do that isn't household maintenance.

Do you often binge books? When I've got something I'm enjoying a lot? Yes! Early in a book, it's easy enough to go, "Oh, just a chapter" and then set it down again, but once I pass a certain point, I tend to sit with it every moment I can until I finish it.

Describe your average reading session 😁(Do you have a special spot where you get comfortable/is it a hard copy or an e-book/is it day or night etc.) Usually physical books (e-books are fanfic only for me), and usually curled up in a comfy seat somewhere. Most often my desk chair, but sometimes one end of the couch. If my husband's out of town, then sprawled across our bed. Time of day doesn't matter so long as I have a spot of free time, but I've learned to be careful not to start the last third of a book (especially a Brandon Sanderson book) past a certain hour of the evening or I will literally be up all night plowing through what my husband and I dubbed the "Brandon Avalanche."

Do you have a schedule or do you read when you feel like reading? When I feel like it. Schedules feel counter-intuitive to me getting into a book.

Have you ever struggled with reading (e.g. issues with concentration/retaining information, learning disabilities etc.) and how did you manage to overcome it? The struggle is focusing on other things when a book has my attention. I might not hear someone calling for me unless they're right next to me, and I will get so into a book I will lose track of time.

Can you read multiple books at once? Outside of ongoing fanfics, it's one narrative at a time for me, thanks. (And with the fics, I still need to backtrack and remind myself what a given narrative was when a new chapter drops.)

If you're multilingual, do you intentionally choose to regularly read books in your target language(s) to maintain language proficiency? Is it a habit too, or is it a matter of the book's original language? Not applicable. While I did study three languages other than English between high school and college, none of them are to a level of proficiency that I could read a short story comfortably, nevermind a whole book.

How do you usually choose books for your to-read list? Vibes. If I'm at a bookstore looking for something new, I'll find covers that look interesting and then read the blurbs. Online, I might check out reviews. I also get recommendations from friends and my book-loving kids.

Do you keep track of the books you've read/plan to read? Only the ones I'm planning to read, but it's a fairly short list, and most of the tracking is "yep, the books I'm going to read are sitting right there."

Do you consider reading manga/comics "reading"? Yes, on a technicality, but it's like...the popcorn or candy of reading, to me. Valid, yes, especially as entertainment, but it's not the same thing as reading a novel.

Do you often find yourself in a reading slump? How long did your ultimate slump take? It comes and goes in waves. I have a lot of other things that draw on my attention as well, both responsibilities but also other creative/entertainment pursuits, and reading doesn't always win against those, and then I'm in a reading slump. I don't know how long the longest took, but sometimes I can go a few months before I realize "oh, I haven't actually read any fiction in a while, I should remedy that."

Tags for other people to share their answers: