It’s the second day of the week! It is a new day to do another bookish post, particularly the Top 5 Tuesdays post. Top 5 Tuesdays and their topics are brought to you by Shanah @ the Bionic Bookworm. Do check out her blog, she’s got an awesome one. For the list of topics in February, click on this page.

This week’s topic: Top 5 Bookish Habits

Bookish habits. Hmmm. I am not quite sure on this as I don’t have much bookish habits. Or perhaps I do have a lot but I don’t notice much of it because I don’t have much friends who enjoy or love reading as much as I do. But hey, I’ll still give this one a try as I might gain more insights on me as a reader. Haha.

1. I like smelling the musky scent of tomes, especially those that were stored for a long time.

I know this sounds a bit eccentric but I know a lot of readers can relate to this. I know some non-readers who are also allured by this bookish scent. The scent of secondhand books, or books that have been stored for so long is different from the scent of newly printed books. It is a musky scent that arouses my olfactory senses.

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2. I don’t annotate my books.

I always want to keep all of my books tidy and immaculate. Well, almost all as this doesn’t apply to accounting books LOL. Some readers like writing or taking notes on the fringes of the pages but I guess I am not that type. However, I do keep a separate notebook for jotting down details I want to research or read more on.

It has also become my habit to always check secondhand books I buy for any scribbles. Any marks or writings is enough reason for me not to buy a book even though it is one that I’ve been wanting to read for a long time.

3.  I always finish books that I started reading.

Ever since I started reading novels and works of fiction, I always see to it that I finish it. This is regardless if I enjoy the book or not. I am a firm believer of finishing what I started (at least in terms of reading books). My record is clean. Well, almost. There is one blemish on my record – James Joyce’s Ulysses. I started the book and was nearly halfway through it when I realized that the effort was futile. The book barely made any sense. I stopped reading the book but with the hopes of reading it again in the future and setting the record straight.

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4. I buy more books that I can read.

Haha. Do I even need to elaborate on this one? Whenever I pass by the mall, I simply cannot resist the urge to buy a book or two. It is very rare that I walk out of the mall without any new books in tow. Dang, I have to alter this habit as I currently have over 200 unread books. I must decongest first before buying more books. Or… maybe not.

Just recently, I visited the Big Bad Wolf Manila book fair and took home a whopping 25 books. During the book fair’s first Manila staging in 2018, I bought almost the same number of books. And surprise! I’ve, so far, read only five of these books. Haha.

5. I use all kinds of things as bookmarks.

As I have mentioned above, I want to keep my books as immaculate as I can. Apart from not writing on my books, I also dislike folding the pages of my books, or any books I read. As such, I use any items I have on hand as a bookmark. From torn papers to receipts to comb, I have used a variety of items as bookmarks. Ironically, I have never bought any formal bookmarks before.

And I guess that is where my Top 5 Tuesday list ends. How about you fellow reader? What are your top five bookish habits? I hope you could share it as well.

Happy reading week everyone!

~ Carl

 

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