can I ask about reading tips? I love your reading wrap ups every month and would love to know how you go about establishing a reading pace, whether you do note taking, audiobooks, etc
ha, I really do not have any kind of strategy or plan; I've always been an inveterate reader just because it is fun for me and also there are so many books I want to read, and I don't really set myself a specific cadence/goal. I read when I want at the pace that I want, and if that is sometimes slower than I wish purely because if I read fast then I can read more (I do not recommend this thought process, it is a great thing to savor a book and take your time with it), I really don't want to set, like, must read this many books in a month goals. I feel like it would take some of the joy from me.
this is also true of what I read, incidentally; while I'm trying now to alternate fiction and nonfiction at least purely so that I remember to pick up books that I've been meaning to read for ages (the same reason I set up a draw jar for my fiction books, so I can nudge myself into reading books that have been there for longer that I just never seem to get around to), but I'm not religious about it, particularly because I keep checking out too many library books at the same time and have to focus on reading those first.
I also don't really take notes; sometimes (if I have really strong feelings) I'll write a few scraps of thoughts after I finish (or while I'm reading) but it's relatively rare. I use storygraph to track titles that I have read (or want to read) and sometimes I'll tack a rating on there to give myself mostly a reminder or vague sense of how I felt about it, but I've started to be less consistent about that than I used to be.
I'm not much of an audiobook listener mostly because I tend to get impatient with them (they're talking so much slower than I could read!!!) and when I'm in situations where I would listen (I don't have a commute, so that's mostly when cooking, or would be maybe while crafting) I tend to be watching Critical Role instead, since I'm perennially behind on that. I am sometimes envious of people who do audiobooks. it seems like a fun way to experience a book.
have started periodically listening to them when I am going on long drives with @ameliarating, though (hiking, road trips, etc.). but right now the listening is to lord of the rings so we'll be occupied with that one for a while.
I will say that by virtue of religious practice (I don't go on the internet, write, or do other creative activities on Saturdays or certain holidays) I end up spending a fair amount of time on a regular basis just devoted to reading. I finish a lot of books on Saturdays. I will finish probably a lot of books in the next month or so because of High Holidays. sometimes I'm also just In A Reading Mood where it's what I want to do, but as far as a "reading practice" I guess maybe that counts.
what I'm getting from writing all this is that I'm as haphazard a reader as I am a writer, and this probably is not very helpful to you.
(re: your other ask about horror nonfiction recs - I will get back to you! going to have to go through my backlog.)
