How I Read

I love books. I have been an avid reader since I was old enough to handle a book with the proper reverence it was due. My mother writes books and reads books. My older sisters loved reading so much, they'd read the backs of shampoo bottles. It was only natural that I follow in their footsteps.

When I read a book, I require several things. First, no audience. I cannot stand people watching me when I read. I would rather not read at all than be watched. Secondly, I have to be able to prop my feet up. There's no explaining that one so I won't try. I don't like dog-eared pages, funky fonts, or when people don't use quotation marks. There's a new and coming style of using dashes instead of quotation marks: {-I'd rather not.} versus {"I'd rather not."} It drives me up the wall.

It's preferable to have Oreos, an oatmeal creme pie, or some other form of pure calories on hand when I'm reading. I always feel like a lazy bum when I read and eat but it can't be helped. I've cut back on it a little since my mother banned reading at the table, but not much.

I like to curl up with my books under a blanket, under my bed, or outside on the trampoline. I usually listen to music twenty-four seven but when I'm reading I can do without it. If I am listening to music and I come across a song I think fits well with the book, I will put it on repeat and listen to it over and over again until I finish the book. I also like to come up with theme songs for the book characters.

After I read a good book, I will sometimes sit down and write a scene very similar to one of my favorites from it, only with my characters. It was a writing exercise I found in a book once and I find that it gives me a sense of satisfaction to reinvent what I've read.

When I'm finished with the book and my sister has read it as well, we discuss it while we're supposed to be sleeping. I'll generally talk about a good book anywhere between two days and two weeks after I've read it. By then everybody is sick of hearing about it but I'll keep analyzing and marveling and wondering until I've dissected it to death. When I reach that point, I'll have finished another book, and the process begins all over.