reading habits & memories

I love to read when it's dark. It's hard for me to concentrate when I read on a sunny afternoon or in the morning.

Unless of course it's raining - whether just a few trickles or a full-on storm. The cloudier and more overcast, the better.

When I was a child, I could read anytime, anywhere: in the car, in the morning, in the afternoon, with the TV/stereo on, at a baseball game, in the food court at the mall. Actually, I can still read at the food court and in the car...but maybe kids are just better at concentrating? When they want to, that is!

I used to read about 200 pages a day...now sadly my average is around 75. The same sadly goes for writing - I could average about 40 pages a day when I was in 8th grade, now I can barely do 10. I can't really skim read anymore - all those literature classes in high school taught me how to "read for comprehension" and all that, which means that now I read really slowwwwly.

I used to read during school. Got in trouble a few times, too, but that never seemed to deter me. One time, in 4th grade, it was our 'reading' period and we were all supposed to be reading our assigned book, (Something Really Boring) by Beverly Cleary. I was reading my book. So the teacher came up behind me and said in a stiff, stern voice, "Amelia, I hope that's Beverly Cleary you're reading." I said, "No ma'am." She said, "What are you reading, that you think is more important than (Something Really Boring) by Beverly Cleary?" And I turned the book to the front cover and said, "Victor Hugo's Les Miserables." Did I mention that I was a snarky little brat, too? But I still believe that Victor Hugo's Les Miserables is better than Something Really Boring by Beverly Cleary.

For a few months, I got into the really cool habit of literally reading by candlelight. I'd put like 2 or 3 on each shelf and then one big one by my nightstand...until my dog knocked it over with his big bushy tail, and I started a wee small fire in my room. Now I read by lava-lamp. :)

For some reason, I get the munchies when I read for extended periods of time. Goldfish, Walker's shortbread, and double-stuffed Oreos make for great snacks, I've found. But the need to munch is so great, it overrides taste. I have resorted to eating a Dill pickle dipped in Duncan Hines chocolate frosting before. It still had a nice crunch.
Like Dr. Frasier Crane, I have a sound machine. I love my sound machine - currently it's set to "Amazon Rain" because, I like the sound of rain. Too much quiet weirds me out, so I like to have my sound machine on while I read.

Marathon reading sessions are epic. Sometimes, I'm able to just blot out everything else going on in the world - homework, assigned reading, phone calls, having to get up early for school/work - and enter a place where it's just me and the book. I think the fastest book I ever read was The Last Olympian and then Deathly Hallows. Last night I had a marathon session with Nevermore - 300 pages in just a few hours. For me, that's pretty good :)
Well those are some of my reading habits and memories. What are yours?