“Anytime someone tells me I ‘have’ to read something or expresses horror that I haven’t read something, I think the following: I am going to die.”

– Professor Barbara Lawhorn

From the time we’re taught to pick up a pencil or open a book, we’re given a list of things NOT to do when we read and write. Maybe your middle school librarian gasped when she saw you dog-ear and pencil sketch all over your borrowed copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. Perhaps your freshman-year English teacher shamed you for your run-on sentences, or told you never to start a sentence with the word “because.” Maybe you’re a freak like me, and you look at all the spoilers for a book before you start reading it.

Despite the decades of arbitrary rules and regulations, in this article, I have a selection of testimonials from English professors at Western Illinois University who were brave enough to share with me one thing that they do as a reader or writer that they’re “not supposed to.” Let’s dive in, shall we?

To begin this adventure into the deep dark lives of our professional readers and writers, I asked Dr. Rebekah Buchanan whether she indulges in naughty English behaviors, and she shared with me several of her most controversial reading and writing activities. Dr. Buchanan admitted, “I fold book pages over to mark my spot or pages I like, I rip apart books I like—or don’t like—for art and poetry, and I read the end of some books first, so I know what happens and go back to see how the writer gets to that point.” Ripping apart your books?! Way to stick it to your least favorite authors, Dr. Buchanan.

Next, I interviewed Dr. Alisha White, and she revealed that, despite knowing it is technically sacrilegious in the book community, she writes in her books. She explained, “I remember things so much better if I make notes, underline, circle, and star. I make predictions and connections, talk to characters, and ask questions.” You go, Dr. White! Who says defacing books can’t be beneficial to the reader sometimes?

Another one of our fantastic English faculty, Dr. Amy Patrick Mossman shares her interesting reading technique that might seem asinine to traditional readers. She explains, “I don’t always read texts in the expected order. I might skip ahead and read the ending of a novel. I may read the first line and the very last line of a book before I even start, or the first lines and last lines of each chapter.” She also admits to being no stranger to working with several texts at once, though she says they’re often different genres; perhaps mild literary misconduct, but still naughty nonetheless.

The beautiful and articulate Professor Barbara Lawhorn sprinkled some serious words of wisdom on me as I asked her the faithful question: What do you do that you’re not supposed to? I think we can all appreciate the depth and magnificence of her response. Here’s what she had to say:

In regard to reading: “Anytime someone tells me I ‘have’ to read something or expresses horror that I haven’t read something, I think the following: I am going to die. My time is limited and my free time is especially limited. Puffing up reading and knowing ego and attempting to make anyone feel small because of what they have not yet read is not something I am interested in. You know when I add books to my bedside table? When someone so clearly loves a book and they want to share that love, rather than looking down from a perch and judging their reading choices as better, rather than simply different. I guess at the ripe and wonderful age of 49, I feel no compunction to prove myself to anyone in regard to my reading life. I am much more invested in prioritizing and enjoying my reading. I follow my curiosity, interests, and sense of wonder and awe. It all feeds my teaching and writing and living. There have been books that have been instrumental to me, but I would never presume nor dictate that deems these books as BOOK THAT MUST BE READ!” Professor Lawhorn’s insightful argument as to our reading mortality really spoke volumes on the ways we might consider sharing our enjoyment of literature from now on.

Here’s what she has to say about writing no-nos: “As an undergraduate, many of my papers were written long hand or on a typewriter! I got lots of RO in the margins. I literally thought that was the universal ‘Right On!’ shorthand. I’d get my papers back and think, ‘Man, I was on fire!’ I’d imagine my teachers shaking their heads and muttering, ‘Right on! Right on!’ In graduate school, during the first fiction workshop (because I totally was the first to volunteer), we corrected, as a class, three of my ‘Right On’ sentences, which I learned were actually run-ons. That experience was so valuable, and also? Painful. I did not know what a run-on sentence was. The class assumed, as a whole, I should know. Paul, who actually introduced me at my thesis reading, asked why I was there if I didn’t know what a run-on was. How about a fragment? Or is that something you’ve never bothered with either? I learned two things: 1. What a run-on was (and you bet your bippie I was gonna be damned if I ever workshopped a manuscript with another run-on) and 2. How I never wanted to make another human being feel ashamed for not knowing. I also learned you can have extraordinarily long sentences that push the boundaries and leave your readers breathless and hoping, really hoping, for a comma, so they breathe before galloping headlong across the page. Language is alive, and I want my students to understand how and why we use grammar and mechanics, and how they can make it work within their vision for a piece, rather than feeling mystified by the rules or punished by them.”

Clearly, even the professionals are out in the world breaking reading rules and being improper in their written works. So dog-ear those pages, scribble in your favorite (or least favorite) books, and don’t let anyone shame you for breaking rules in the comfort of your own library!