I was taught to read in the traditional way at the traditional time. But, I didn't really take off as a "reader" until ~ the 7th grade. I started off reading exclusively scifi/fantasy, then spread out and finished most of Stephen King's works in the 8th grade and went into all sorts of fiction & non-fiction after that. I would carry a paperback to school to read for the times I had finished my work but was not allowed to talk. I would read everything, serially, until completion. No matter how droll. I could not NOT finish a book, even trash.
My habits were omnivorous, voracious, and voluminous and stayed that way for years through high school, college, the US Army, and civilian life, until I got married.
Nowadays, I usually have a half-dozen books, magazines, tech pubs, etc. in process at the same time. What I read seems, to a large extent, based on my location. At work, I keep tech pubs handy (O'Reilly's, .mil TMs, etc.). At home, I have different materials near the throne, in the living room, in the kitchen, and outside. I have other materials in the two vehicles I regularly drive.
Still omnivorous, but not quite as voluminous and much more skewed toward non-fiction would describe the content of my reading.
It also takes me ten times as long to finish a particular work, given the division of my attention and the less time devoted to a particular work. I tend to think about the books more while in the process of reading them.
I guess I wonder how others read and if it has changed with their circumstances. If I were to begin as a "reader" today, I despair to think how long it would take me to consume all the works I consider foundational.
