BTT: In Public

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I don’t know what’s up with me, but I’ve been on a blog-following, blog-commenting streak the past few days. I think cleaning my Google Reader helped, because I started following a bunch of new highly-recommended blogs. :) This is me de-lurking, yo! I hope it lasts.

Anyway, I thought I’d participate in this week’s Booking Through Thursday again because I liked the question. :)

Booking Through Thursday

Do you carry books with you when you’re out and about in the world?

And, do you ever try to hide the covers?

Oh yes of course. I always carry a book in my bag (sometimes two!). I usually have one print book in my bag, and I add another one if I know I’ll be finishing that book before I get back home. I don’t always bring my Kindle because I think I already have more than enough gadgets in my bag. When I do have my Kindle, I leave the print book because there are more than enough ebooks in my Kindle.

But wait, there’s more! I also carry my iPod Touch everywhere and I also have a copy of my ebooks in the Kindle app. I also have most of my e-galleys from Netgalley and Galley Grab there, so if ever I happen to forget to bring a print book or my Kindle, as long as my iPod has battery, I can still read. I just have to turn the WiFi off and don’t listen to music when the “20% battery remaining” warning shows up and it will tide me over, especially for long commutes.

Do I ever hide covers? I don’t think so. Like I said, I’m not much of a cover person, so I don’t care that much. Then again, maybe I’m lucky that most of the books I read and take outside has decent enough covers. I hardly read any romance novels anyway — not that that’s bad, but I know some people who hide the covers in public when reading that! Hee. When I read hardcover books anyway, I don’t bring the dust jacket outside. And ebook readers have done a lot for cover shame.

Except of course, if the cover is just ugly. Like, general, public opinion ugly. You know what I mean about that, right? If you don’t…well, here are some examples spotlighted by That Cover Girl, Capillya.

Get it now?

Then again, if you’re really and truly enjoying the book and you love reading with abandon, this shouldn’t matter right?

What do you think? :)

Posted in: Reading Quirks \ Tagged: , ,

BTT: Multitasking

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I apologize for the scarcity of posts here again! I’ve been a bit busy with real life and work, so blogging has kind of taken a back seat, but just a bit! Last night I went to a concert, and while I intended to read in the morning, I wasn’t able to because I slept the morning away after Ash Wednesday mass. Yesterday also marked the first day of my Lenten sacrifice, which is no bookstores. Ergo, no book buying, too, until Easter.

Anyway, I haven’t been posting much non-review posts in the blog, so I thought I’d participate in today’s Booking Through Thursday. :) This week’s question is:

Booking Through Thursday

Do you multi-task when you read? Do other things like stirring things on the stove, brushing your teeth, watching television, knitting, walking, et cetera?

Or is it just me, and you sit and do nothing but focus on what you’re reading?

(Or, if you do both, why, when, and which do you prefer?)

Oh, I definitely do. Okay, it really depends on what kind of book I’m reading and what I’m doing. Examples:

  • When I’m in the gym and I’m not attending class nor feeling like running, I’d hop on a bike, play some music and open a book. I end up finishing quite a lot of pages (and sometimes even books) when I’m doing that. It’s good to get lost in a book to forget about the physical pain of working out. ;)
  • Again, at the gym, or also when I’m at home. When I’m drying my hair, I tend to have a book open in front of me. Usually, this is an ebook, because it’s hard to keep paperbacks open while I hold a hair dryer and a brush. This is slow reading, but it keeps me from being impatient with my hair drying which really takes some time.
  • Sometimes, when I’m brushing my teeth, I read an ebook on my iPod. I only get as far as two or three screens before I finish brushing my teeth.
  • I tend to read while watching television, but that’s only when someone else is watching with me. Right now the TV is just ambient noise.
  • I read a lot in the car, too. In daylight, I read a book, and if it’s night, I read from my iPod. I used to get dizzy doing that, but now I’ve gotten so used to it that I never feel that anymore.
  • I’ve never tried listening to an audiobook so I don’t know how much work I’ll have done with that. I want to try, though.

Usually, I reserve reading on my Kindle or my iPod when I’m multitasking. Actual books, I focus on it because it’s hard to flip pages when your hands are doing something else. :) I hear hardcover books are easier to use for multitasking, because it’s stays flat on the table. I can’t remember if I ever tried that, though.

This just goes to show how much of a multitasker I am in real life. But they say you never really multitask — you just divide your attention over different actions and switch them around for a quick period of time. Agree?

So, do you multitask when reading?

Posted in: Reading Quirks \ Tagged: ,