Thursday, March 17, 2016

What I Know About Myself as a Reader

Last year my friend, Franki Sibberson, wrote a post for the Scholastic On Our Minds blog about knowing yourself as a reader. (http://oomscholasticblog.com/post/franki-sibberson-knowing-yourself-reader)

Franki started her own list of 100 things she knew about herself as a reader and encouraged her students to do the same. I thought I would give it a try for today's Slice. So here's my first 25 things I know about myself as a reader. I hope to keep adding to the list. You should give it a try. I am still learning about myself as a reader.

1. I have never been able to quit a book - even if I am miserable reading it.
2. I am a fairly slow reader. I can't skip whole paragraphs even if they are tedious. I am just not a skimmer.
3. I am recently learned that I like reading stories in verse.
4. I rarely read a nonfiction book - but I do read a lot of nonfiction articles especially online.
5. I am fascinated by new words I find when I read and look them up in the dictionary.
6. I read the jacket flap and back cover to set myself up for reading and go back to them when I am confused.
7. I am not fond of reading e-books. I would much rather have the book in my hand.
8. I keep track of what I read on Good Reads.
9. I rely on the recommendations from friends.
10. I go back and read a page when I get lost and can't figure out what's going on in the story.
11. I want to read more poetry but have trouble choosing what to read.
12. I skip over technical words I don't know. Not a good idea!
13. I like books with short chapters.
14. I enjoy talking with other people about books.
15. I belong to a Brunch and Books group that meets once a month to talk about books.
16. I used to read the last few pages of the book before I would commit to reading it. I don't do that anymore!
17. I love going to the library and book store.
18. I don't like writing about the books I read - I like talking about them better.
19. I take notes to keep track of characters.
20. I always check the Best Seller Book List posted in the local newspaper.
21. I like to check out the staff recommendations at book stores.
22. I need to get better about checking books from the library instead of buying them. Much better!
23. I like to go back and reread my journals and notebooks.
24. I have favorite authors.
25. I read some books more than once (Love in the Time of Cholera, Crossing to Safety, Gone With the Wind).


I am participating in the 
March Slice of Life Challenge.
Each day we post our thoughts.
Thank you, Two Writing Teachers!

Day 17 - What I Know About Myself as a Reader 

5 comments:

  1. This exercise in reflection provides so much information! I am going to try this myself. I'm passionate about reading; and I, too, would rather have a book in my hand than read a e-book.

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  2. Thank you for this! It would be a wonderful thing to share with my kids at this time of the year.

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  3. Love this - great for kids to do. I have noticed that I have not been able to read much since my mom passed. It has made me think about kids who might not be able to focus on reading. Writing has been easier for me - I hope we give kids this same choice. You might have just inspired a future post. Thanks
    Clare

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  4. I like this a lot! I am especially glad you shared your favorites--I'm always curious. And funny, I like short chapters too. Even in one of my favorite books there are only three chapters in something like 350 pages. Too few! But I still love it (big of me to overlook that, right?)...

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  5. What a great reflection! Maybe I'll try it over spring break next week. I share many of the things you mentioned. Best, I also loved Crossing to Safety. It's in my top 10 for sure!

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