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Tuesday, October 22, 2024
Top Ten Tuesday: How My Reading Habits Have Changed Over Two Decades of Book Blogging
7:50 AM
Ever since I learned to read when I was five, I've been obsessed with books. Reading has always been my main and favorite hobby. My reading habits have definitely changed over time, though, especially since I started book blogging back in 2006. All these years later, they look different still. Today's TTT topic is all about our evolution as readers: Top Ten Ways My Reading Has Changed Over Time. I'm going to focus specifically on how mine have changed since I started Bloggin' 'bout Books 18 years ago. (Look at that, BBB is legally an adult! Don't worry—the content here will always remain family friendly.)
As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.
Top Ten Ways My Reading Habits Have Changed Over (Almost) 20 Years of Book Blogging
1. Choosy Suzy—When I was a baby book blogger, I was so thrilled to be getting books from publishers that I accepted every title I was offered, regardless of whether or not it was something I actually wanted to read. I ended up with stacks of volumes I wasn't really interested in but which I felt obligated to finish and review. Not an ideal situation. While I still accept more books to review than I can realistically handle, I'm much choosier about which ones I'll take.
Fun fact: I hate being called Suzy. After about kindergarten, my maternal grandmother was the only one who could get away with it!
2. DNF or Die—Not finishing a book, especially one I had been gifted for review, used to make me feel horribly guilty. I'd force myself to complete them, no matter what. Not anymore. If I'm not liking a book for any reason, I DNF that baby. Life's too short—and my TBR list is too long—to waste time on books I'm not enjoying.
3. My Blog, My Way—Because I wanted to keep all the newest and shiniest books coming to my mailbox, I used to accept too many of them for review, participate in multiple blog tours through a bunch of different companies, and maintain a rigorous calendar of scheduled reviews. That stressed me out as well as sucking all the enjoyment out of my reading and reviewing. I finally said enough and stopped doing any kind of scheduled reviewing. These days, I tell publishers, authors, and publicists that I'll read the books they send me only if and when I can. This way, I can do what I do without feeling anxious, guilty, or pressured.
4. Reviews? What Reviews?—The stress I describe above also came from my own unrealistic expectations for myself. I had vowed to write a thoughtful review of every book I read, whether it was a review book, a library pick, or a title plucked from my own shelf. Since I've always read way faster than I review, I was perpetually behind on the latter. Finally, I realized I was stressing myself out for no reason. Giving myself permission to review a book only if/when I wanted to has helped me breathe a lot easier. Not gonna lie, though—having no review schedule at all has made me lazy. I'm pretty sure I can count the reviews I've done this year on the blog on one hand. Yikes! I need to up my game so I have fresh content to share with you all on the regular. I'm never going to be one of those book influencers who posts three times a day and that's okay, but I do want to publish more reviews than I have been.
5. Me + Goodreads = BFFs—I'm a lover of lists, spreadsheets, habit trackers, and other organizational tools. Not surprisingly, then, I'm a tad obsessed with Goodreads. In recent years, I've been using it nearly every day to record my reading, add titles to various TBR lists, interact with book buddies, etc. When I finish a book, and while its content is fresh in my mind, I always rate it on Goodreads and write a quick initial review. This helps me record my first thoughts, which I can refer back to if/when I write a lengthier review later here on BBB. If you want to see reviews of everything I read, follow me on Goodreads. I'm much more active there than here these days.
By the way, yes, I have tried StoryGraph. There are elements of that site that appeal to me, but I just haven't found it to be as user friendly or as useful as Goodreads. While I'm not 100% satisfied with GR either (What do they have against half stars?), I mostly love it. It keeps me organized and on track.
6. Give It a Listen—It's only been in the past few years that I've really gotten into audiobooks. I'm not sure what my hang up was before because listening to books has been a game changer for me. I listen while I drive, do housework, and exercise. Audiobooks make these tedious tasks less unpleasant while helping me up my reading game. Nowadays, I have both an audiobook and a "real" one going at all times.
7. Paper People—I love "real" books with their irresistible combination of paper and ink. I'll never not revel in the feel of one in my hands and their tantalizing smell in my nostrils. Although I once swore I would never give in to the digital reading craze, I've since been converted. I still read mostly print books, but I also can't live without my Kindle Fire. I'd estimate about 60% of my reading is print books, 30% is e-books, and 10% is audiobooks.
8. Fictional Vs. Factual—Fiction books have always been and will always be my favorite, but I've discovered that non-fiction isn't so bad after all! In fact, I quite enjoy narrative non-fiction, biographies, memoirs, pop psychology, historical accounts, and more.
9. Noteworthy Reviews—Unless it was for a school assignment, I never took notes on what I read before I started book blogging. I didn't even do it as a beginning blogger. These days, though, I have to take copious notes while I read—even on short middle-grade novels—because my aging memory just can't keep up. Unless it's a reread that I'm not planning to review on Goodreads or BBB, I take notes. I do it the old-fashioned way, too, with a paper notebook and a pen. When it comes to longer quotes, though, I have taken the advice of another book blogger (wish I could remember which one) who takes a picture of them with her phone instead of writing them all down by hand. Brilliant!
10. Changing It Up—Because I wanted to stay relevant as a book blogger, I used to be all about the shiny, new releases. I still get excited about those, but these days, I pretty much read whatever strikes my fancy, whether it's the latest and greatest thriller, an old favorite, a childhood classic I missed out on, a family saga from the 80s, or a random grab from the library.
There you go, ten ways in which my reading habits have evolved over the course of my 18 years as a book blogger. How have yours changed over time? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog. I also reply to comments left here, although I'm a couple weeks behind at the moment.
Happy TTT!
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These all sound like such good changes.
ReplyDeleteI can’t imagine reviewing every book I read! Kudos to those can do it, but I need to be choosier. :)
It got really ridiculous because I always wanted to get everything I'd read in the year reviewed by December 31 so I could start fresh in the new year. Sometimes, I would publish five reviews a day on my blog just to catch up. I finally realized how ridiculous I was being and just let it go. It's been SO liberating!
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Lydia!
I've definitely also become a lot more choosy about which books to read and I don't force myself to review every single book I read anymore either. I do still need to work on DNF'ing more though :)
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty good at DNF'ng these days, but I could be better. My big problem is sticking with a stinker of a book just because it works for a prompt on a reading challenge I'm doing. I've persevered through some awful ones just for that silly reason!
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Lindsey!
Another Goodreads lover here! (and totally agree with you on Storygraph, that learning curve has proved very difficult for me...) And I hear you on the great freedom that a single DNF can bring :)
ReplyDelete~Lex (lexlingua.co)
StoryGraph is just too confusing and tedious for me. I enjoy using Goodreads, so I'm sticking with the known, in spite of its issues.
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Lex!
Great list! I have an app that I sometimes use for longer quotes. It takes the photo and transcribes it into text that you can copy into your quote library or review so you don't have to type it up. So smart. I'm a sucker for collecting quotes too. :-)
ReplyDeleteOh, wow, that's next level stuff! Very smart. I keep a paper journal of quotes about books and reading, but sometimes I'm just too lazy to write out a long quote. Keeping a digital one is a great idea.
DeleteThanks for popping in, Hanna!
OOh nice! I still take notes while I read as well, because I feel like I can be scatter brained at the best of times and I might not remember something simple, so I take notes constantly, pretty much up to the halfway point because after that anything else plot wise doesn't need to be in the review for spoiler reasons and I rarely use everything I write even prior to that point! I also take very detailed notes to keep for myself if it's an ongoing series.
ReplyDeleteI didn't use to like DNFing either but nowadays if I'm not hooked within a certain amount of pages, I'm done. There are some I am willing to try at a later date if I feel like it just wasn't the right time for that kind of book. But I feel like books I've DNF'd are still very low in number. I stopped writing mini dnf reviews because I just didn't feel like bothering especially if some were dnf so early on.
I am however someone who needs to write the review as soon as I finish the book. I want to get everything down while it's still fresh in my head. I've learned most of my other blogging friends are the complete opposite! Lol. I won't let myself start my next read until the review is written, so that's my incentive to get it done! Lol.
I do still read physical books primarily. Reading on my kindle feels like a chore most times. I guess because my screen isn't the "real" page and for whatever reason my brain treats it like that and I read super slow when reading on it and I don't like that. I read slow enough with real books so reading on a kindle makes me feel like it will take 2 weeks or more to finish a book I could get done within a week if it were real and in my hands!
Here's my Tuesday Post
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower :)
Your note taking methods are so interesting! I take detailed notes throughout the book, but I also use only a small fraction of them in my reviews. My memory is so bad, though, that I feel like if I don't write everything down, there's NO WAY I'll remember it! Also, I love the idea of keeping notes of key points in ongoing series. That's SO smart! I always forget what happened in the previous books and sometimes even have to go reread them, even though I hate rereading. I'm going to start doing that. Thanks for the suggestion!
DeleteSame here on DNFing. If it's a timing thing, I just DNF temporarily. If I don't like the characters or the writing style or whatever, I DNF permanently.
That's why I started writing at least a short review on Goodreads as soon as I can after finishing a book. I used to not use GR and just use my notes to write blog reviews, but sometimes I would be so behind that it would be months later and, even with my notes, I couldn't remember much. This method works much better for me.
Interesting. I think I read faster on my Kindle. I still prefer print books, but I use my Kindle a lot too.
Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Jessica!
Your list is excellent! Isn't funny how when we all first got into this reviewing game we felt called to say YES to every book we could get our hands on...then we got overwhelmed...and now we say YES a little less often? This is probably the most repeated item I've seen on almost everyone's lists today. We all meant well, but forgot about things like work and families and other life stuff. LOL!
ReplyDeleteI thought I had died and gone to heaven when the big publishers started sending me their catalogs and told me I could pick as many books as I wanted. I took them literally and went crazy! Before I realized it, I had so many books I literally didn't know what to do with them. Ha ha. I've learned a *little* more restraint over the years. I'm glad I'm not alone!
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Nicole!
I can really relate to a lot of these! Especially accepting too many review books early on, and slowly learning to say no and request fewer books. (Like you, I still request more than I can handle, though.) And I wish I were better about taking notes when I'm reading.
ReplyDeleteHere's my TTT post for this week.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who's had that experience! I frequently bite off more than I can chew, not just with books...Ha ha.
DeleteI've been taking notes for so long that it feels weird not to. Funny enough, I just reread a book that I have already reviewed on Goodreads and on my blog and I STILL took notes even though there was NO reason too! What can I say? I'm weird.
Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Lark!
So many of these changes resonate with me! I have found myself making a lot of these changes, too. And it seems that DNFing more is probably the most popular choice this week! I've seen it on a lot of lists.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I'm where you saw the "take picture of quotes" thing, but I do that too. It's just so much easier than trying to write down every quote—and then remembering where I put the paper I wrote it on, LOL!
My TTT this week: https://bookwyrmknits.com/2024/10/22/top-ten-tuesday-the-books-they-are-a-changin/
It probably was you, Nicole. You're full of great ideas! I'm so old school that I don't always think of the work-smarter-not-harder/techie solutions.
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Nicole!
There's very few books on my DNF shelf... on a scale of 5 to 1, 5 being the best, 1 being the worst, a DNF for me is -1. When I was a kid if I didn't like it I put it down. Now as an adult I tend to power through.
ReplyDeletehttps://getlostinlit.blogspot.com/2024/10/top-ten-changed-reading-habits.html
I don't think I started feeling guilty about DNFing books until I became a book blogger. I put so much pressure on myself to get review books read and to meet my reading goals that I powered through books I wasn't enjoying. Not anymore! Life is too short for that nonsense, at least for me :)
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Idea-ist!
My older blogging sister…….Our reading lives are similar in so many ways! Except in IRL I’m older! 😂😂😂 Choosy Suzie is adorbs though! I’m a firm believer in my blog-my way! I read and review in ways that make sense to me! Not providing written reviews for every book I read has been freeing! I record and give star ratings for every book on GR and I’m selective on what I feature on the blog. Taking notes saves my life! I always think I’ll remember but those impressions quickly fade. I’m always seeing something in my notes that I know I would have forgotten in relying on my memory alone. I grow pickier with every passing year and DNFing no longer bothers me! Great post! ~Carol @ ReadingLadies
ReplyDeleteAwww, I love the idea of being your older blogging sister. At least I'm younger IRL :)
DeleteI don't know why I didn't embrace reviewing everything on GR and only what I really want to review on my blog earlier. It really has been so liberating. Even with the GR reviews, I still rely on my notes when writing blog reviews. It's amazing how much I don't remember about the books I read!
Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Carol!
I also used to accept WAY too many review copies. They've really dropped off lately and it's given me so much more freedom in what I read and I'm really loving it. I used to feel way too obligated to read books that were sent to me, even those that were unsolicited.
ReplyDeleteSame! It stressed me out big time, so getting rid of the guilt has been really freeing. I still get a lot of review books, but I don't feel obligated to review them. If I get to them, I get to them. If not, oh well.
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Bree!
I couldn't get behind Storygraph ever, the emotions like adventurous and sad were hilarious, among other things 😂 thanks for dropping by my post! Athena @ OneReadingNurse
ReplyDeleteYeah, there were too many things on SG that irritated me. I didn't have the patience to stick with it beyond adding a few books here and there. GR just works better for me.
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Athena!
Related to a lot of these! Especially the first two - the excitement of being sent books definitely created some pressure to finish and review every book and that does make reading feel like a chore :/ Glad you've evolved past that! I'm still working on it. And a BIG YES to being paper people!!
ReplyDeleteShoto @ Magic & Maybes
Well, I've been in this game for a LOONNGGG time, so I've had a lot of time to evolve. Ha ha.
DeleteThanks for popping in, Shoto!
I'm not sure I EVER DNF'd a book when I read all the books from publishers or an author. Like you, I felt too guilt. I did write reviews sharing what I didn't like, but if I requested a book I always tried to read it. If I was sent a book I didn't request, I didn't tend to worry about it because while I was grateful for the book, I also was intentional about what I requested. :) Thanks for visiting my list!
ReplyDeleteSame...sort of. I felt a lot of pressure and guilt to read books I was sent by the publisher, whether I requested them or not (although less for the unsolicited ones) I was not very intentional about what I requested back in the day, though. I'm much more selective now.
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Rissi!
I am much more likely to DNF books now than in yesteryear, especially since COVID pandemic. I got quite impatient with bad books during that huge event.
ReplyDeleteInteresting! I actually got a little bit tired of reading during lockdown, which is weird, because that has NEVER happened before in my life. I picked an old hobby back up during that time just to change things up a little.
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Anne!
Since discovering your blog, I've noticed we have a lot in common. :) I'm a lover of lists, spreadsheets, habit trackers, and other organizational tools too. (I think it's the OCD in me). I need to start taking notes while reading because that would really come in handy with writing reviews. Followed you on Goodreads! Have a great day, Susan!
ReplyDeleteSame! We're definitely similar and not just in our choice of blog designers :) I've always loved organizing, even though I'm not always great at follow through or discipline.
DeleteI can't not take notes while I read now. It's just a habit. And, I have a really hard time writing in-depth reviews without them.
Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Stephanie!
I liked your post. Lots resonate with me.
ReplyDeleteI found lots of commonality too when reading through everyone's lists. It's always fun to compare/contrast my reading/reviewing habits with others'.
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Mystica!
I am in alignment with you on almost every one of these points. I do continue to review everything, but maybe that is starting to drop away, too.
ReplyDeleteI would love to be able to review everything I read, but I just can't. It's too much. Lately, I've hardly been reviewing on my blog at all, and that's want I want either. I need to find a healthy balance!
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Deb!
I really used to be on Team No-DNF too, but I've been working at getting better at in and more confident in my own tastes. Like you say, there's too many books in the sea!
ReplyDeleteBecoming more confident in our own tastes is definitely important. I definitely know what I like and I try to stick with that without being TOO close-minded about changing things up every once in awhile :)
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Louise!
I am giggling because I hated being called Sami, but my grandmother was the only one I would allow. I think I was a lot like you, reading any old book they offered. I am more picky these days, though, I do tend to borrow a lot of the offered titles from the library once released. I also like featuring a mix of old and new books. I find older books get more discussion since more people may have read them.
ReplyDeleteGrandmas can get away with just about anything! My siblings all knew if they wanted to get a rise out of me, all they had to do was call me "Suzy." Ha ha.
DeleteI'm glad you feature older books along with the new. There are so many books coming out all the time that it's easy for some of them to get overlooked. Also, I agree, more people can comment on older books that have been widely read.
Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Sam! (You do go by Sam, right?)
Great post! Your #1 reminds me of me. When I first started blogging, I accepted every review request. I'm not the fastest reader so this hasn't worked out well. To top it off, when I found NetGalley I requested way more books than I should have. Although in all fairness, I didn't think I would get approved...much to my surprise, I did. All these years later and I'm still trying to catch up. I love Goodreads too. I'm on my way over there right now to send you a friend request.
ReplyDeleteRight? It's all NetGalley's fault. If they don't want us to get behind then they shouldn't approve all our requests! Ha ha. My NG request-to-review ratio is abysmal.
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Yvonne!
DNF-ing books and not liking writing reviews is something I connect to on a deep level 😂😂 I don't know why, but I've always preferred writing basically anything else on my blog instead of reviews. They scare me and I feel like I'm always writing the same things so I don't want to sound repetitive
ReplyDeleteInteresting! I like writing blog reviews (I think), but I also have found myself not wanting to write them lately. Is that weird? I do review everything I read on Goodreads and I always feel repetitive, like I'm using the same words over and over and not saying anything really deep or important. Glad I'm not the only one!
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Jane!
All these sound so close to my own experience. Keep enjoying reading and blogging, your way!
ReplyDeleteThese kinds of prompts always make me feel so seen!
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Emma!
I didn't think I would ever listen to audiobooks, but I'm more open to them now although I'm not on your level yet. I haven't had to DNF a book for a long time now, maybe its because I only read what I know I'll like. It was great reading about your reading habits :)
ReplyDeleteIf you'd like to visit, here's my TTT: https://thebooklorefairy.blogspot.com/2024/10/top-ten-tuesday-new-reading-habits.html
Same! I was dead set against audiobooks, but when I started getting into them, I realized how great they were and now I'm hooked! They will never be my preferred format, but I'm glad I can enjoy them while I get other things done.
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Marwah!
I've only been Blogging since 2021 so I still do your early things! I love a Blog Tour. I try to cut down but so many books call to me! I do try and get Library books in as well though so I actually have no time left for my own books! I will find a balance one day...
ReplyDeleteDNF is something I haven't learnt to do yet. I DNF one book and that was a book of short stories so I finished the one I was on and just didn't continue 😶
Anyway here is to the fun of reading and many more years blogging!
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
What works for me isn't necessarily going to work for you. If you love blog tours, do all the blog tours. It just got to be too much for me. I do still have FOMO about not getting certain books that are on tour, but mostly it's been really liberating for me.
DeleteI have to DNF for my sanity, although I still probably don't do it enough!
Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Emily!
Great list and we have a lot of similarities. I've definitely done a lot more DNFing in the last few years as I used to be a finish regardless kind of reader. I've also gotten a lot choosier on review books. I read a lot of pretty terrible books early on!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, me too! I suffered through some real stinkers back in the day. Ha ha.
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Katherine!
I think we all had to learn how to DNF and actually to do so over time. I was so bad at it too!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree on reviewing without pressure. My problem however, is that I've been an official reviewer for an official Dutch bookish website, and now I can't leave that behind and losen up. Which really sucks, because I just can't review leissurely now as I have to keep a structure for myself. Which sucks the enjoyment out of it somehow. Anyway, does a little structure help you maybe in writing reviews? They don't have to go deep, but it might prevent you from struggling what to write. I do without structure LOL.
LOL I keep forgetting about GR, I rate but barely review on there. I often update the app when I'm travelling, so not the ideal time to write a review since reviewing on my phone feels like a hastle to me.
My TTT: https://laurieisreading.com/2024/10/22/top-ten-tuesday-how-my-reading-habits-have-changed-over-time/
I'm the same about books for review! Much pickier these days, and no promises about when. It's less stressful that way!
ReplyDeleteLove these. I don't worry about blogging about new releases any more; and I definitely DNF books I'm not enjoying. And I don't do many reading challenges any more because of the stress. I also write much shorter reviews these days. But I want to keep blogging feeling fun. Great post, Susan! And I hope you have a great weekend. :D
ReplyDeleteIt’s easy to get caught up in asking and accepting almost any book. I deleted my NetGalley twice because of that. Now I have a system that keeps me from doing that.
ReplyDeleteI took notes (pen and paper) for the first time this month. It helped the review process go so much smoother.
I can relate to the first four! I did that too, and it was thrilling to get the free review copies for a bit, but then there were so many I felt obligated to read that I didn't like. I am so glad that I don't do that anymore!
ReplyDeleteI still end up succumbing to ARCs every so often! but it has reduced from before (though my pending review list is miles long so admire those who do it and my goal is to get there...) While I still love paper books, I read more ebooks now on my phone (always with me) but not yet into audio books..
ReplyDeleteMy ttt post is here
I definitely understand that wanting to keep the books coming (although I never figured out how to get publishers to send me physical copies of books for review, that one has always been my blogging dream!) I hope you have a great week and thanks for visiting my blog earlier. - Katie
ReplyDeleteThis is a great list, and I see what you mean about how much we have in common! I used to struggle to finish a book I didn't like no matter what, hoping it would get better, but I gave up in the last few years. There's too many great books out there to be stuck reading one we're not enjoying.
ReplyDelete