Reading Habits

          I like to read a few news articles, social media updates, and emails while I wake up with a cup or two of coffee every morning and relax with a chapter of a good book or a few entertaining articles from a magazine every evening. Primarily, I read non-fiction works in newspapers, magazines, and blogs and occasionally read poetry, memoirs, short stories, and novels.

            I read something either in print or online every day. I read through social media feeds and emails the most consistently, at least once per day. This includes my personal and academic emails as well as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. I also read news either in print or online an average of five or six days out of the week. This includes articles from New York Times, Le Monde (the French “Globe”,) Wall Street Journal, and The Economist. Sometimes I also read them on my phone throughout the day.

            Luxury events, especially weddings, and interior design, fashion, and equal rights for GLBT organizations are the primary topics of blogs that I visit regularly. I also follow some blogs about specific interests that I have, such as extreme cooking experiments and latex clothing. I probably spend 2-3 hours each week reading the newest articles on these blogs to stay up-to-date on them.

            Most of my daily reading is done at my house on my couch right after I wake up and make coffee. When I read blogs, I tend to do it somewhere in my house on a morning when I don’t have to go to school or work for a few more hours. When I have a book or a magazine that I want to read, I like to keep them in my bag and reach a chapter or an article when I’m out of the house and in between doing other things, such as waiting in a long line or when I get to a meeting fifteen minutes early.

            I like to have both a novel or memoir and a book of short stories, quotes, or poetry with me at all times. Since it only takes five to ten minutes to read a few poems or a four-page story, I like to have that option to read when I only have a little bit of free time. When I find myself with a longer length of time available, I take advantage of it by reading something that requires more time and thought.

            If there is a magazine or book that I am very excited to read, I like to schedule a block of time to be alone with it. That usually means that I get myself comfortable and set up a big pile of pillows and an extra fuzzy blanket on my bed and some things to sip and munch on at my side table. This allows me to sink into my own space and stay there for hours undisturbed.

            Although there are many great poets, my favorite is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. His “A Psalm of Life” is a constant source of motivation for me each time that I feel low or doubtful. The fluid words always inspire me. When he reflects on the opportunities that man has in life, I become optimistic about my personal circumstances. When I read the final call to “be up and doing, with a heart for any fate, still achieving, still pursuing, learn to labor and to wait,” it makes me want to do something important and do it now.

            Most of the novels in my collection are either historic fiction or suspense stories. The words of Dan Brown never fail to arouse excitement within me. His series about the character, Robert Langdon, is the best series that I've ever read, with “Da Vinci Code” as my favorite. I am currently in the process of reading this book again for the fourteenth time since I first bought it in 2002.

            Student life demands that I read things that I would probably not read otherwise, such as specific articles, reports, essays, and other texts that are relevant to each course. Of the approximate 12 hours of homework that I do outside of the classroom each week, 8 of them are probably spent reading and taking notes. I also read over my own work when I edit it prior to submitting my assignments to my professors.

            I have a job where I work as a data analyst for 25-30 hours every week. With the exception of a  meeting for 30 minutes every other week and short breaks during a shift, I spend the remainder of that time reading emails, policy updates, and files. After I label the file, I re-read and verify the information and compare it to the information on our server, and update it as necessary. I would say that 90% of my job is reading.

            With the exception of my work requirements, I take pleasure in the act of reading. I enjoy learning about local and global events when I read the news. I even prefer to read the news than to watch it because when I read it, I can chose not to read any of the articles if I don’t like the headline. This freedom that does not exist when consuming televised journalism is something that I embrace. Sometimes I even enjoy my homework. Any story that can catch and keep my interest, in whatever form it may take, is something that I enjoy taking in and may even read multiple times.