Sara 101: My Reading Habits

sara-101-my-reading-habits

Hello everyone!

I am back today with my personal feature, Sara 101, where I talk about me and myself and I and anything and everything that I could want to share about my personal life.

This particular Sara 101 topic was suggested by one of my blogger friends. Esther @ Chapter Adventures commented on one of my Top 5 Wednesdays where I talked about the books that took me the longest to read, wondering how I manage to read as much as I do. I thought I’d already done a post like that but I looked back and I did something similar about marathon reading, but not really about how I find the time to read and how I manage it. So I thought it might be something that more people are wondering and that it’d be a good idea to share with you guys.

SO let’s get started!

What I Read

So first of all, I think it’s really important for me to mention that I read primarily in ebook format. I have a 5th Generation iPod Touch which has the free Amazon Kindle app and that is where I read most of the time. Sometimes I also use the Kobo app or the Nook app, but the majority of the time, I read from my Kindle. This affects my reading a lot which you’ll see why in the last section of this post.

I have a very small and limited collection of physical books in my room. When I moved from the US to Venezuela, I left a lot of my book collection in boxes at a friend’s house and I only brought my favorite books or series I was currently reading. Most of those books have been read already and there are only one or two that are still unread. I’m saving those for when I read a theme where they fit because I now savor physical copies like no one’s business haha.

How I Read

I have a very specific and peculiar way of reading which is really hard to  describe written down but I’m going to do my best to explain it to you. I have kind of a short attention span when I’m reading on Kindle because there are other apps that call my name constantly and distract me from reading so I use this method so I can do both social media and reading and still get the amount of books I want read.

I read three books at a time most of the time. Unless I am doing a book club or buddy read book which can mean that I have up to six books that I’m currently reading at one time. But the ones that I read alone, I read three at a time. The way that I make sure to keep track of each story and how I know that can help me read them at a steady pace is this:

I start with one book. I will read that one until the 25% mark, more or less as long as I finish at a chapter. Then I’ll start the second book and reach 25% there. Then I go back to the first book and read until 50%. That’s when I start the third book and reach 25% there, then go to the second and reach 50%, then go to the first one that I started and read until 75%. When I’ve reached 75% in the first book I started, I start the fourth and read until 25%. Then the third that I started to 50%, the second I started to 75% and then I’ll finish the first book. The next step would be to start reading the fifth book until 25% but I have a rule that I can’t finish a book until I’ve handwritten in my review notebook the review for the one most recently finished. That way I don’t get overwhelmed by the amount of reviews to write.

I know that sounds really complicated so let me try to explain it using actual book titles:

The first book I stared reading this month was Cress. When I reached the 25% mark in Cress, I started reading Sea of Shadows. When I got to 25% in Sea of Shadows, I started reading Cress again until I reached 50%. Once I did that, I started Dead Girls Society and stopped when I reached 25%. Then I went and read until 50% in Sea of Shadows and after that I read Cress until I reached 75%. Then I began the fourth book The Bargaining and read that until 25%, then I read Dead Girls Society until 50%, then I continued Sea of Shadows until I read to 75% and finally, I finished Cress.

This cycle continues until I’ve read all the books that I can manage in one single month which is a minimum of ten most of the time.

I tend to divide the books I want to read into three categories: 1. series that I’m continuing in the hopes of finishing it, 2. books for review and 3. books that fit the theme of my TBR. That way I have a general idea of which book to start depending on the one I’m finishing. Which is the easiest way for me to read as much as I can and from everything that I’m interested in reading.

I’m so sorry if this is super confusing. If you have any questions or you want clarification on something, please don’t hesitate to ask in the comments. I explained the best I could but I know it’s really hard to understand if you don’t actually see it happening like I do haha.

When I Read

This is where things get a little tricky. I spend most of my time working. I work as a translator for a production company so even when I have set working hours, there are times when I have to work during the weekend if it’s something that needs to be done quickly or has a deadline that is coming very soon (like this weekend). But there are also a lot of times where I can work from home. Because of my iPod Touch, I use any free time I have to read. If I’m taking a ten minute break from translating, I read. After I finish lunch, I read. During the weekends, between scheduling posts, I read. Honestly, I just think it’s really important for me to read every day and I try to find even the smallest amount of time to get in those pages and to reach those quarters in each book. Sometimes I even read while getting dressed in the morning for work!

Reading and this blog are a huge priority for me, so I make sure that I take the time to do both when I have it.

So that’s it for this post! I would love to know what you think of my reading process and my habits. I’m actually a bit self-conscious to share this because I know it’s a little out there and weird. I would love to know how you guys manage your reading and what your reading habits are like, so comment down below and tell me! Thanks so much for reading and I’ll see you on my next post.

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25 thoughts on “Sara 101: My Reading Habits

  1. Oh wow Sara! I’m loving this post! I just recently started taking on a 2nd book in audiobook format to help me ease into the process of reading more than one book at a time. I find myself doing the same thing you are, toggling btwn the two when I’ve reached 25%, 50%, and 75%…your strategy is motivating me to pick up a 3rd book on Kindle just to see if I can handle it. It’s a great way to boost up your reading as well, thank you for explaining it so well 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  2. I love this! It’s so interesting that there’s a formula for it, and I love how dedicated you are to it. I multi-read, too, especially during busier months, but my “formula” has always been “I feel like stopping here, let’s stop here and move on to another book” rather than something I could actually articulate. 😛

    I mostly read at night, which is terrible because I never go to bed on time. I start reading at 11.30, fully intending to go to sleep at 12.30, but I usually end up awake until 1-3 AM. It’s so unhealthy and I’ve been trying to change, but I also can’t be bothered trying.

    When you write your reviews in your review notebook, do you write full reviews or just notes? I can’t imagine writing everything by hand and then typing them again later… I’m just too lazy for that. 😂

    Liked by 1 person

  3. You explained your reading strategy very clearly! And wow, it’s impressive. I prefer to read one book at a time, but maybe I should try a (significantly simplified) version of what you do, to see if I can produce reviews at a faster rate. Hmm.

    I definitely understand the shortened attention span when reading ebooks thing. Something about looking at a screen makes my fingers itch to do a thousand things online, which is awful for my reading experience. Honestly, I avoid ebooks at any cost. (And I don’t know what I’d do if I had to leave my entire library behind so I could move to another country. Cry, probably.)

    Thanks for sharing! You’ve inspired me to try to be more efficient in my own reading. =)

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you! I’m glad you managed to understand it well 🙂 Honestly, as long as I keep up with my review before finishing a new book rule, I manage to read a lot more than I usually would if I read one by one.
      Exactly! All those apps can be very distracting haha Is there a reason you avoid them? If I had had another choice, maybe I wouldn’t have picked them up but I’m honestly so grateful for them. I wouldn’t be reading otherwise.
      I hope you figure out a system that works for you 😀

      Liked by 1 person

      • I’m taking baby steps in your direction; I’m rereading two books simultaneously, and it’s actually a really nice way to pace myself, to make sure I don’t devour a book in one or two sittings. And I’m about to head out to the library, so maybe I’ll add a third, new book into the rotation. 😀

        I dunno what it is about ebooks, but it’s just harder for me to lose myself in the story. I’m lucky, though, and have physical access to some great libraries!

        Liked by 1 person

  4. It’s kind of confusing how you read so many books at once but also kind of impressive and it’s great you’ve found a way that works for you. And I’m glad I’m not the only who gets easily distracted by other apps when reading ebooks, I have such a short attention span lol.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. This is so interesting Sara! It sounds like you’ve got a whole system figured out, which is impressive. I tend to read a book at a time or I get confused or stressed out thinking about leaving a book unread and picking another one, but I think I’m looking at it all wrong! I like your categories, it makes a lot of sense. You are awesome 🙌 Thank you for sharing this!

    Liked by 1 person

  6. I’m so with you on reading multiple books at once and not being able to focus that well, haha. I’m glad you decide to share this because it’s always interesting to see people’s reading habits! I don’t think it’s that weird either, haha. If it is then we can be weird together 😀 I don’t really have a set time when I read because I’m the WORST at time management, but I do 90% of at it at night which is why I love ebooks because I can read in the dark and it’s so much more convenient.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Yay! I’m glad I’m not the only one, I just can’t focus on one for too long unless it’s really entertaining.
      You can thank Esther because I never would’ve thought to share this before haha
      Ebooks are the best thing that’s ever happened to me (besides blogging) I wouldn’t have found my passion for reading again without them

      Liked by 1 person

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