Reading Habits

I am currently reading Jane Eyre after a friend recommended it. Actually she recommended another book but in doing so it required me to have read Jane Eyre first. I am really enjoying it and will review it in due course but it also made me realise several things about my reading habits.

People sometimes recommend me books, "You're a librarian - you should read this (insert current trashy bestseller)" but I only read recommendations from friends and most of my few, close and real friends are readers. I know who to turn to for noir fiction, fantasy fiction, comics/graphic novels and American fiction. If anyone on this small list recommends a book then the chances are that I will read it. I don't procrastinate either - if they hand a book to me then I feel it is only fair to honour them and read it as soon as possible.

Reading a book that a friend likes is also a great way to get to know them - hence my reading of Jane Eyre, a book that is a long way from my usual tastes in noir and American fiction. I am now using GoodReads and have become friends with another person who loves Steinbeck and as I also love Steinbeck, I ordered 'The Wayward Bus' on Amazon today. I have been meaning to read this book for a long time and becoming friends with this person has been the impetus to finally read it.

I can also be quite competitive and will often read a book once I have caught wind of a friend reading it as I never like the idea of them being one step ahead of me. For my work I have to stay one step ahead of the pupils and make sure I have read the latest teenage fiction. This is often a pleasurable experience, such as my recent reading of the six books shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. Marcus Sedgwick is still the best teenage author I know, based on his stunning novel 'White Crow'. Hopefully this will be his year to win the award.