Chapter #49: My Quirkiest Reading Habits

Plus, an update on my six-month book buying ban.

Feeling My Shelf is a bi-weekly newsletter about books, life, and, well, life with books. Grab your favorite caffeinated beverage and get comfy. First up, some recent reads.

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

Phoebe Stone enters a luxury hotel wearing an immaculate green dress and gold heels. She has no luggage or anything because she only intends to be there one night (if you catch my drift). Her arrival coincides with a six-day wedding, where she meets the (kind of annoying, very selfish) bride, Lila. The two soon form an unlikely friendship that’ll change both women’s lives forever. The main character is depressed, but the story is not depressing. It’s well-written and heartfelt, and Phoebe’s dry humor and sarcasm soothed me. It would have been a perfect five-star read for me, except I found that Phoebe’s conversations with various guests often ran a little long and featured too many unnecessary details/tangents. But still a must-read!

Honey by Isabel Banta

This novel centers on Amber Young, a 16-year-old who joins the girl group Cloud9 and navigates the treacherous waters of fame, dealing with exploitation, media scrutiny, and personal struggles. While the story captivates with its nostalgic look at the late '90s and early 2000s pop culture, it occasionally struggles with pacing, lingering too long on some events and rushing through others. However, Amber's character development is a highlight, showcasing her growth and resilience despite the industry's challenges.

Have you ever noticed how we all have our quirky habits and rituals when it comes to reading?

Whether it's choosing the perfect reading spot (comfy with moody lighting), using a cherished bookmark (one of my favorites is shaped like a hot sauce bottle!), or indulging in a favorite snack (Cheez-Its!), it's fascinating how these little habits can transform the simple act of opening a book into a unique, almost sacred experience.

Here are five in particular that have become an integral part of my reading journey:

1. I need a fun little drink or snack to get started. I will not turn a single page until something is within reach. In the daytime, it’s usually a matcha or chai latte. Before bed, it’s—you guessed it—Cheez-Its! A close second is Cheerios.

2. I also check the number of pages a book has before reading. I don’t know why I do this, but I do.

3. Whenever I slip into a reading funk, I re-read a few pages of another book. Getting into a new book is hard sometimes, especially if it’s been a week or two between reads. Comfort books, even if I just skimm a random paragraph or chapter, have a way of instantly renewing my reading spirit.

4. Stopping in the middle of a chapter vs. the end: I mostly read at night, and if I try to make it to the end of a chapter before stopping, there’s a 99% chance I’ll read another. Then another. And another. That’s how I’ve finished a book I *just* started at 11:30 pm at 3:30 am before.

5. Pausing mid-sentence to Google something: I can’t move on until I understand precisely what songs/movies/historical moments characters are referring to. This leads to me checking my email before scrolling Instagram or TikTok. I eventually return to the book, but I should probably stop doing this.

Your turn: What are some of your quirky reading habits?

In January, I wrote about how I was taking a break from buying physical books for the first half of 2024.

Chapter #36: I'm Going on a Book-Buying Ban

This decision was primarily made to cut back on clutter, as I’m constantly bringing home books I don’t really want or ever plan on reading. I love the feeling of a paperback in my hands (my paperbacks—not ones from libraries!), but my shelves are overflowing. I wasn’t confident I’d succeed at exclusively reading books via Kindle (I hate audiobooks, so this was my only other option). But somehow, I did it!

Per my parameters, I didn’t browse any bookstores to curb temptation. I used my “two-book pass” during the L.A. Times Festival of Books and bought nothing else. Shocking. And I “shopped” my shelves, reading two books from my TBR list! Are you considering a book-buying ban of your own anytime soon?

Three key takeaways from the experience:

1. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. After a while, when your brain knows that you won’t be taking advantage of any 50% off sale events, it stops thinking about it so much.

2. I wasn’t chasing trends. Because I couldn’t buy all the most talked-about new releases the second they hit shelves, I was forced to focus on what I wanted to read rather than what everyone else was talking about.

3. I didn’t experience buyer’s remorse. Everything I’ve read in the last six months (or more like seven) hasn’t been five stars. I would’ve been pissed if I had purchased these books and then hated them. Luckily, my disappointment from less-than-stellar reads quickly subsided once I hit the return button on Libby.

Humor Me by Cat Shook, which is billed as “a love letter to the New York City stand-up scene, as told by a charmingly jaded assistant at a late-night talk show.”

Where are they now? Catching up with your favorite children’s book protagonists. A new generation of authors is finally making book merch interesting. The book that helped actor Jay Ellis through a breakup. Is this beloved trope not fit for reality? The collapse of Romance Writers of America. Why would a busy professor take the time to reread a book? The short shelf-life of the White House tell-all. We need speculative fiction now more than ever.

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