Reading habits

This afternoon I was finally able to catch my breath a bit. This meant that I had a chance to sit down and do some research for a co-op class I'm teaching as well as doing a bit of spinning. It makes for a calmer and happier day in general. I find, though, that when I do sit down to read in the afternoon, I gravitate towards non-fiction. It seems acceptable in my head to read non-fiction, especially if I also happen to be taking notes, during the day, but rarely do I read fiction. If it is a vacation or a free Sunday afternoon, I'll happily sit curled up on the couch and read fiction for several hours, but I just never do that during the week. The only exception is if I am extremely close to the end of a book and need, NEED, to know how it all ends. In that case, I usually find I'll be more productive if I can just get the book out of the way. In general, though, I think of fiction as for the end of the day after the things that need to be done are finished.

I wonder if I'm the only one who views reading fiction as slightly frivolous. I definitely see it as a reward at the end of the day, and something I look forward to. I can also make a good case for the benefits of reading fiction, so I don't think it is worthless, far from it, in fact. I also cannot quite put my finger on the moment when I switched from reading fiction at any and all moments of the day (which pretty much sums up most of my childhood), to relegating it to a sort of reward at the end.

So here's my question for you. When do you read? Do you change what you read based on time of day or do you just read? I'm wondering if I am unusual in this or is it just an adult-thing? Or is it a parent-thing? At some point will I feel comfortable reading fiction during the day again? I'm genuinely curious about other people's reading habits now that I start to think about it.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I read like I'm on a rollercoaster. If it's good, all.day.lomg. I have to finish. If it is meh...it may take me a while to ride it again. I am partial to fiction so it DOES seem like a taboo thing during the day, when we are to be most productive. Like a 3 hour coffee break. I have to admit, if it is non-fiction, I don't feel so much like a slacker.
Diana said…
I fall into the category of feeling like it is frivolous to read fiction during the day! I will read the Bible or blogs and the newspaper during meals, but otherwise, it feels like I'm not being productive or wasting my time. And I'm not a parent but work from home teaching piano lessons so I often have some free time during the morning or early afternoon.
Kelly said…
Same. I have a hard time trusting myself to be able to put fiction down so I am more likely to read nonfiction during the day when I'm on a tight schedule. Fiction is for curling up with at night or on vacation.

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