15 Day Book Blogger Challenge (Day 2)

 

 

Don't know what the 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge is? Check it out at Good Books and Good Wine, and hop in on the fun if you want also. Click on the 'fifteen day' tag at the bottom of the post, or go to my Events tab to follow along with all of the posts for this challenge. :)

Day Two:

What's Your Bedtime Reading Ritual?

You mean I’m not the only one that has a reading ritual? This makes me feel a little better actually. There’s a process I have to go through before I get to my bedtime/night-time reading, though. I have to make sure I’m comfortable (of course). This means pajamas, barefoot, blankets…whatever sets the mood according to the season or where I’m at in the house. Usually I read on the couch in the living room because it’s the most comfortable place to be with the most light. I even have a “special corner” of the couch, closest to my bookshelf and table lamp by the armrest that I find myself cozying up in often. I’m not one to sit up and read in bed, to be honest, because I have insomnia issues and everyone goes to bed hours before I do. Even the hubs. The little bedside lamp in there just isn’t enough for me to read a book, I don’t have any currently on my Kindle Fire, and dragging my laptop and power cords would be a hassle when we keep it set up in the living room already as it is.

Okay, so back to what I was saying. I get sidetracked sometimes. Apologies. I grab the books I’m currently reading. Sometimes they’re e-galleys in the Adobe Digital Editions on the laptop, physical copies, or both. My process in the reading of multiple books is to try and read somewhere between 20-30 pages out of each book. Sometimes more, sometimes less. And sometimes I might get so into one particular read at one point that I find myself reading many pages before I set it down and only read a few short pages of another before I finally make my way to bed. I get most of my reading done at night, too. It’s the best time. The kids are in bed. The TV is off so there’s no noise to distract me. I’m by myself in the living room. And another bonus: Hardly any activity online so another distraction down. My time to relax and wind down for the day. Though it may take me awhile to even consider the possibility of sleep, I have the books to keep me company.

Another thing that might happen during my night-time reading is snacking. I like to have a little snack while I’m reading. I know many who would be all “You eat while you’re holding a book in your hand?! That’s a disgrace!” But really? I’ve never had a problem. Ha. And I use napkins to wipe my hands.

When it comes to thoughts on books as I read, I have a word doc on the computer where I take short notes. There are some nights where I might pull up this doc and put in some notes before going to bed. I don’t take notes on every book I read, but it usually consists of ones I really love (later to be high 4 star or 5 star rated) or ones I really dislike (including some DNF reads). It includes snippets of thoughts on why I loved/hated, characters, some quotes. That sort of thing and this process does help in review process later, though I’ve still been stumped a few times because like I said, I don’t take notes on everything. I should probably start taking more. o_o

There you have it. That’s pretty much all there is to it when it comes to my bedtime/nightly reading ritual. It’s not really all that special. What’s yours?