I was talking to a friend of mine recently about our reading habits: what novels we're into at the moment, whether we prefer hard copies of books to e-readers, and how many titles we think we go through in any given year. Then he asked me a really great question: "So, what's your reading pattern?" I asked for an example. "I love reading nonfiction," he said. "I like feeling like I've learned something while reading. But at the end I usually decide it was a little boring and that I want to be absorbed in a good novel, so I start a piece of fiction. And then the cycle continues—I keep alternating." Interesting, right?
Prior to that, I hadn't really given it much thought, but our conversation got me thinking about my own reading pattern. As I examined the books on my shelf and the titles on my Kindle, a pretty obvious pattern emerged: When I find an author I like, I binge-read his or her work, making my way through many—if not most—of the titles he or she has written. Recent phases? Ken Follett. John Steinbeck. Gillian Flynn. Kate Morton. Jojo Moyes. Jodi Picoult. Meg Wolitzer. John Green. Stieg Larsson. Liane Moriarty. And so the list goes on.
I asked my fellow OOMers to share their reading patterns; the answers were fascinating! We'd love to hear your thoughts! What are your reading patterns?
Megan: One pattern I have that I noticed is I'll read a string of books recommended by friends/family, then a book I sort of just find out of the blue or it catches my eye at a bookshop…then back to recs by others.
Kristen: I absolutely get in to the habit of reading about one subject area—typically I alternate between food and travel, which tend to be the subjects that interest me the most!
Morgan: I tend to binge-read based on genre—all contemporary YA for six months, then literary fiction, for example. So far this year I've found myself in the middle of three books at any given time—one YA, one nonfiction, and one literary fiction, which is working out nicely!
Brittany: I don’t have a specific reading pattern because I love to see where my reading takes me! I go from one author to another, one genre to another based largely on recommendations from friends. Right now, I’m on a science fiction kick and I’m curious to see where I go from here.
Mike: I pick a "theme month." February will be dark fantasy - aka "The Book of Lost Things." March will be "green," so something about the environment. April will be "April showers," so water theme—probably Life of Pi.
Nadia: I try to alternate a YA book with a more traditional “adult book.” When reading YA, I try to alternate between these (totally unofficial and slightly arbitrary) YA categories: 1) ghost/vamire/zombie/spirits, etc., 2) dystopian 3) teen angst 4) magic 5) other.
Image via Jamiesrabbits on Flickr
