Books
15 Weird Things You Do While Reading (That Are Actually Totally Normal)
I've been told that I have some weird reading quirks. I don't sit still. When a book starts getting good, I burrow myself in my bed and block out the outside world. I tell myself, "one more chapter" and then suddenly it's five in the morning and I have to wake up in three hours. I use anything as a bookmark — a bottle of nail polish, a dollar bill, a wand (yes, I have wands). Anything that works. I yell at the pages. I cry on the subway.
There was one time when I was so upset over a book's ending that I wanted to hurl it away like Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook. I was at a resort, and I had acquired a sunburn because I couldn't get off the beach until I'd finished the romance novel I was reading. But when I reached the end, I was so furious with the author's decision that I threw the book away from me. Unfortunately, I was in the pool at the time and so the book got soaked. I regret nothing. The next book I read caused me to inhale deeply and press it to my chest. I hugged it, and I didn't care that people were staring or that it was now covered in sand and sunscreen. I needed to hug that book.
Silver Linings Playbook, $10, Amazon
But book people tend to have weird habits or loving quirks. That's just what makes us the best. In our world, what might be strange to others its completely normal to those on the same page.
1Sitting in the weirdest possible position.
Prop your legs up, spread out on the floor, curl up in the fetal position... Whatever works to get into the reading groove.
2Crying in public.
Crying in private and in public is totally normal. Sometimes the feels are too hard to contain on public transportation or at the coffee shop or at the doctor's office waiting room or... basically anywhere.
3Texting your friends when you get to *that* chapter.
It's always nice to be able to phone a friend when [redacted] dumps [redacted] in chapter 13.
4Flipping through the pages before you start reading.
You're just breathing in that new book smell, nbd.
5Using anything as a bookmark.
Spoons, cellphones, markers, wands, or in this case, flowers. Really, as long as it won't leak on the pages, it works.
6Letting your pet cuddle with you and the book.
Best of both worlds, right?
7Forgetting to eat because the book is so, so good.
What time is it? What day is it? What is food?
9Sleeping with the book beside you.
Who needs a cuddle buddy when you have books?
10Drinking in the bathtub with a book.
Now that's what I call "self-care."
11Sitting and reflecting silently on a book after you've finished reading.
Sometimes reading just defeats you. It's okay. We've all been there.
12Shipping characters the moment they glance at each other.
Write "I will go down with this ship" on my tombstone.
13Posing over and over and over again for the perfect Bookstagram photos.
It's not easy getting the perfect #shelfie.
14Anticipating "mail-day" even though you're already reading three books at once.
My mailman just calls me "the girl with all the books."
15Getting one hour of sleep because you were up all night reading.
Then doing it again the next night.
