Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic How do you read?

I know I asked this question before, when the boards were new. However, since that thread got lost in the famous crash and as I want to give the question a slightly different slant this time, I thought it was worth using the title again.

When I last asked the question, I was wondering how people read LnC fanfic -- in installments or in the archive. This time, I want to ask about people's book reading behaviour, compared to reading fic on these boards.

Okay, I confess, I was inspired to ask the question while reading that Harry Potter book. Why? Because I was gulping it down, and it crossed my mind that, because books come in neat packages, individually complete, even if the saga they belong to is not, the way we can read them is very different from reading fic on the boards.

If I have a fiction book I want to read, I do read without restraint. I can read voraciously; in fact, the more I enjoy the book, the more voracious I'll be. I guess I'm a binge reader!

So... What happens if there is an epic being posted to these boards? The author is almost drip-feeding the readers. This isn't how I would read normally, but it is how I end up reading at least some fan fiction. So my fan fiction reading behaviour can be very different from my normal reading behaviour.

Do other people binge read? Or are they more disciplined that I? I know of people who ration their reading into one or two chapters a night, before sleep. I don't think I have the restraint to do that.

What about others? And do your fan fic reading habits match your other reading habits?

Chris (who put this in the OT folder because it's not just about fan fiction)

I don't read many books (when I was a kid, I gobbled up books, but now I just don't have time for it), but when I do (like how I got hooked on Harry Potter), I tend to read one chapter a night until I'm done. I don't usually stick to that, though, because as the book gets more interesting, I tend to read into the wee hours of the morning (while reding HP4, I read the whole second half of the book in a week). Oh, yeah, and I also *have* to read the ending or the last 2 chapters before I read the book.

- Alicia

Depends. When it comes to fanfic, I'm an absolute binge reader. If I find a story on the Archive, I cannot rest until it's finished. But I also like reading the installments on the boards, so that's sort of like reading a chapter or two every few nights.

When it comes to actual books, I just read a chapter or two every few nights. Of course, when it comes to Harry Potter, I just become a junkie and can't get enough. I soared through all the Harry Potter books in like a couple of days.

Jen

I began learning to read when I was 2 years and a half, and was a perfect reader (of Greek, of course ) until the age of 3, 3 and a couple of months. Snice then I am a maniac reader. I read almost everything I find in my way - magazines, newspapers, books, fanfiction etc., and the fact that I am a really quick reader helps me a lot.

When I read something, for example a book, I can't stop until I finish it. Last Christmas, I read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I began it at 7 pm, and didn't stop reading until I finished it, the same night at 3.45 am!

I hate interrupting my reading, unless it's something I *know* I can't read just in one day(that happens usually when it is very big, or I have plenty of works to do). Still, many times I prefer to wait until I have the time to read it on the whole, rather than beginning it and hoping I'll finish it later.

As for fanfic, now, I mostly read the posted in the mbs fics, so, if it is a big story in parts, I read every part when it is posted. However, when it is an one-part story or a big story I find in the Archive, I read it on its whole (unless I don't have enough time - I share the PC with my two brothers!!)

AnnaBtG.(who have always loved conversations about reading and stuff like this)

Well, when I read, the first thing I do is turn to the back couple of pages and read them first. Guilty pleasure, I guess. I also read while listening to music, it helps me to concentrate. When I'm hooked on a book (HP 5 for instance) I won't rest until it's finished. With Harry Potter, I read the most recent all through the night until like 6 in the morning.

Caroline

Definitely a binge reader for just about anytype of fiction. If I really like something, I want to read it cover to cover. And if I don't, I don't want to read it at all because there are so many other books out there that I'm dying to read. Most recently, I stayed up until after six am three nights last week (including a night when I had to be at work at 8 and therefore didn't sleep at all) reading Pat Conroy's novel Beach Music, which is almost as long as HP5 and much more challenging. It's now my favorite book of all time, so it was worth the sleepless nights. I'm the same way with fanfic - I need to read it all at once, regardless of the length, which is why I don't read on the mbs unless the story is a vignette, or a very short story. Even then I wait until it's done being posted and then I go back and read it all at once. I just don't like reading in bits and pieces. When I read, I'm completely submerged in that world, and I don't like being jolted out.

Annie

Good question!

As for fanfic... That I tend to read in a more paced way. I generally only keep up with a fic or two at a time due to time constraints (can't be tied to a computer for long intervals.) And, when I am reading something, it is usually at a slower pace.

I tend to be a binge reader when it comes to books. I will tear through a book at break neck pace and then be disappointed when I finish it... Not because the book wasn't good, but usually because it was good and now I'm done with it. It depends on the book though. Give me any Nicholas Sparks book and I can tear through it. The same thing with a few other authors. Other books I read maybe a chapter or two at a time, but that is never me limiting my reading, that tends to be my lack of time limiting my reading.

Jana (who is impatiently waiting for the Wedding to come out so she can run to the store and buy it)

I read fanfic in installments because that's the way lots of writers post them, and I haven't got the patience to wait for the end.

I used to read a lot of books -- I'm a very fast reader. These days it's a more of a rare event. I hate being interrupted in the middle of a book -- when I get into a book, I'm totally immersed, and it's difficult for me to pull myself out far enough to do much of anything else. And with two small kids, I'm constantly being interrupted.

When I think I've got an opportunity, I'll make it a bit of an event. Somewhere along the way, I've gotten into the habit of eating while I read -- popcorn or crackers, something salty -- so I love to get my snack and drink, take my book to the living room, and lose myself for a few hours.

I also re-read favorite books, and while those can still enthrall me, it's a lot easier to read those in fits and spurts.

I guess that makes me a binge reader of books, and an installment reader of fanfic

PJ

I'm definitely a fanfic binge reader...I've been known to stay up till all hours reading a novel-length fic until its conclusion.

As for books, I usually only read a chapter or two a night, unless I'm totally into it. Then I'll read anywhere and any time until it's finished. I just can't put it down.

Hmmmmmmmmmm. Definitely a binge reader of novels - lately I've got into the habit of persuading Stuart to give me £15-20 every couple of months and spending it on secondhand books on Amazon. You can make that cash go a long way if you shop around.

It's like Christmas morning when they arrive. <G> The system is so simple these days - just pay online with your credit/debit card and the book arrives within a couple of days. On one glorious morning I got up to find four parcels on the doormat. <G>

I then tend to just open one, read till I'm through, open another and keep going till I've exhausted them. I do tend to do that to the exclusion of anything else - and often feel guilty that I haven't turned up in irc for three evenings in a row because I've been curled up on the sofa reading instead. :rolleyes: So if I vanish for days at a time, bet your bottom dollar it's because I've got a new consignment of reading material in.

I do try not to gallop through them in one go though, but savour them. I like to always have a book lying on the table next to my sofa that I can pick up and dip into on and off over a few days. But if I get deep into a story I can rarely avoid the temptation to just keep going for one more chapter, and usually have to force myself to put it down and go do something else instead.

I used to read fanfic in the same way, but I must admit that I don't like reading on the pc that much. It's just not that comfortable sitting at a desk. I miss the days when I'd print off dozens of stories at a time and curl up on the sofa with them and a mug of something hot or a cool drink. But I can't afford to print that much these days.

So I tend to read less fanfic than I used to.

LabRat

I used to be a voracious reader. I have hundreds of paperbacks in bookcases all over the house. I used to always have a book 'in progress'.

When I used to work in an office I always had a book with me, so I could read during breaks and lunch. But my main reading time was lying in bed before going to sleep.

That all changed when I got into Lois and Clark fanfiction. At first I was able to print off the myriad of archived stories and read them as I did my paperbacks. Once I changed jobs and no longer had access to high speed printers (for free!) my reading habits changed.

Since I'm pretty much forced to read L&C fics from the computer (while online) I prefer reading in instalments. Luckily most writers post there works on the mbs so I get a chance to sample and then read the ones that interest me. I don't read as much from the archives itself anymore unless it's a short that was never posted and looks promising. The longer stories present too intimidating a task to begin reading without the advantage of serialization.

The unfortunate by product is that I don't read many books anymore. I don't have the option at work anymore, and much of my 'free' time at home is either spent working on my own stories, or reading on the computer. As I've aged, I find that I can't read in bed much anymore. The combination of my steadily decreasing eyesight and the fact that reading puts my too sleep limits how much I can read there.

If I really want to get back into reading actual books like I used to I'd have to give up reading a lot of L&C fanfiction, and definitely would have to stop writing.... Hmmmmmmmmm.

Tank (who is at a total loss over grown adults indulging themselves in the sub-par junvenile writing of the Harry Potter books)

I also am a fairly voracious reader. I used to always have a book handy and never went a day without reading. Nowadays, I haven't picked up a book. Rather, I'm lugging around my laptop with wireless networking, reading fanfic.

As for fanfic reading habits, I like the long ones, so I read those if they show up on the archives. I also save on my hard drive the ones I like best so I can re-read them when I run out of other things to read. Lately, I started reading a lot of the WIPs on the message board, though I haven't read them all. Some of the longer ones, I try to stay away from until they're near done or completely done. Sometimes, I'll read the first section of a long story and get trapped, like Wendy's current WIP and Leela's WIP. I just thought I'd check to see what it's about and the next thing I know, I've spent the last three or four hours reading all the parts.

I never could get into Harry Potter. I picked up the first book, but after two tries couldn't get past Chapter 3. The writing style just couldn't keep my attention so I moved onto other books. There are other writers I have a lot of trouble with at the beginnings of their books, like Anne Rice and Barbara Hambly. After five or six tries, once I get past the first few chapters, I can fly through the rest of the book. With others, like Tom Clancy, I have a lot of trouble putting down the book after the first page.

Like others on this board, I read everyday. It is a great way to pass the time at airports and on airplanes and hotel rooms. Even at home, I've been reading in lieu of television, mostly since I've discovered Lois and Clark Fanfiction.

I've wasted one Brother Laser Printer on fanfiction and have one file cabinet full of "keepers". Since a recent thread, I've rediscovered my interest in Regency stories too, so have also discovered Amazon's used book store.

I, also, sometimes have a hard time getting past the first few pages. I'll usually allow for only 1 or 2 false starts - if I can't get interested by then, I put the book down. I never made it past page 1 of Harry Potter.

Once I'm into a book, I'll usually read until I finish. If I attempt to read it a few chapters at a time, I find I lose interest. (Same with TV. I have to sit and watch, straight through commercials and all. If I get up during a commercial break, no matter how interested I was in the movie I was watching, I find I get distracted and start doing something else.)

With fanfic, I prefer reading finished pieces, start to finish. Since my thirst for fanfic is never quenched, I end up reading WIP's, and I am grateful for each post, no matter how short. But if the story is completed, I truly would rather the author post the whole thing, rather than bit by bit. (Just my own personal preference.)

- Vicki

I can't remember a time in my life that I haven't been able to read. When I think of my mother I see her with a book in her hands. She was a voracious reader, she even read in the kitchen while preparing meals. And she had seven kids, mind you! <g> And no, she wasn't like Lois - she could really cook! I think my mother's the reason why reading to me is as normal as combing my hair or brushing my teeth.

I have A LOT of books at home. Let me loose in a bookstore and I walk out with at least one new book. No Harry Potter though, books or movies. I'm one of those people who don't find HP in the least interesting.

I have a few tips for those who read from the archive:

I don't read L&C fanfic directly from the archive while being on the internet. If a story looks interesting, be it long or short, I download it first, put it in Word and change the font into one I find comfortable to read on the PC screen.

I also insert page numbers. This is very handy when you download a longer story. Sometimes these can be over 200 pages! So if you don't have time to read it at once, at least you can make a note on what page you stopped reading!

And the stories I really, really love I also print out. Like Margaret Brignell's Alternate Clark series.

Ursie