Hosted by: The Broke and the Bookish
Now at: That Artsy Reader Girl
Okay, let's get right into it:
Let's start with my changes in reading first
01. I love reading romance more than ever.
Yes, you read that right. I've always been fond of romance but I wasn't all that into it until like last year? If I remember correctly. It wasn't something I spent my time reading and enjoying but I gave it another go and well, it has become my top favorite genre now. I'm always looking for some romance even when I'm reading like fantasy or paranormal. I also made a post here why I love reading romance. It's all in there WHY.
02. I can hardly stand more than three books in the series.
There's always a high possibility that the series would go downhill. I've witnessed it happen to some of my used-to-be favorite series. It's also because most of the time, I get the feeling that the story just gets dragged on for a lot longer the more the books in the series.
03. I prefer standalones more than series now.
The reason's kind of like in #2. Also, standalone (especially when they're fantasy and paranormal) are quite convenient for me since I'm busy and would really prefer to read something in one sitting (if possible).
04. I would read a contemporary romance book after reading a fantasy book/series.
Reason for this is because fantasy books - most of them - tend to take us into a whirlwind of a ride where there's either action, magic, drama, or all of the above. Fantasy books tend to take up so much of my time reading because I had to always give it my undivided attention as to not miss any details. This is why every time I'm done with this specific genre, I would always pick a contemporary romance book to ease up my mind a bit.
05. I read not because of the hype, but because I want to.
THIS is the biggest change for me. I have to admit that back then, whatever book is hyped/talked about/just recently released and has so much attention around it, I would immediately read it while dropping the other books I've been reading so that I wouldn't "get behind". It's honestly ridiculous now that I think about it because I've noticed now that those certain books weren't really as memorable for me as I thought they would. I felt like I only liked them because I got carried away and when I think about the fact that if I read them now, I wouldn't be giving them such high ratings.
On to the book blogging/reviewing
06. I get straight to the point when reviewing.
What I mean by this is when I start reviewing nowadays, I'd get straight to my thoughts/opinions instead of writing the summary of what the book is about. Nothing's wrong with that though if you do it but in my case, I used to write MORE of the summary THAN the actual review. I also tend to find it difficult to sum it all up without spoiling things. It's why now, I immediately get to the point and keep it short.
07. I've learn to balance blogging, reading and personal life.
A thing I'm proud of and something I'm gonna do for the long run. In my previous blog, I was a jumbled mess and along the way, I've lost interest in blogging because I felt like I wasn't doing enough (blogging-wise). Now, I post when I want to post. I queue stuff. I post a review when I feel like posting one. I read when I got the time (this is like #5 where I read because I want to) and balance everything out and sorting what my priorities are in my personal life.
08. I don't tend to review (almost) everything I read.
Funny how back then, when I finish a book, the first thing I always do is post a review on the blog. It's different when it's on Goodreads because I could just sum up my feelings in 1-2 sentences or list down my likes/dislikes through a bullet-type list. So now I just review when the book is something I've been excited/meaning to read and I can share so much of my thoughts on it through a blog post.
09. I don't go around leaving good reviews just because they're one of my favorite authors.
If their book's not it for me, then no. I won't be sugarcoating anything. I used to do this and I kind of feel meh about it now. It's also because back then, authors follow me (and I follow them back) on Twitter and some of them were (past tense!) my favorites so I also tend to give good feedback on whatever they release because apparently in my mindset back then, I trust their writing. How lame that was lol. NOT ANYMORE!
10. I remind myself that I blog for fun and for my love of books and reading.
This is like #7 and I'm also proud of this because I've moved on from the "I GOTTA POST EVERYDAY EVEN THOUGH I'M BUSY" phase. Like nah, I'm here blogging AGAIN and I have a new goal which is to have fun with not pressure to meet a non-existent deadline and share/talk about books with all of you.
Didn't expect I'd actually have 10 things to write about for this Tuesday's topic.
Anyway that was fun and I just realized how much my reading and even book blogging changed.
Let's start with my changes in reading first
01. I love reading romance more than ever.
Yes, you read that right. I've always been fond of romance but I wasn't all that into it until like last year? If I remember correctly. It wasn't something I spent my time reading and enjoying but I gave it another go and well, it has become my top favorite genre now. I'm always looking for some romance even when I'm reading like fantasy or paranormal. I also made a post here why I love reading romance. It's all in there WHY.
02. I can hardly stand more than three books in the series.
There's always a high possibility that the series would go downhill. I've witnessed it happen to some of my used-to-be favorite series. It's also because most of the time, I get the feeling that the story just gets dragged on for a lot longer the more the books in the series.
03. I prefer standalones more than series now.
The reason's kind of like in #2. Also, standalone (especially when they're fantasy and paranormal) are quite convenient for me since I'm busy and would really prefer to read something in one sitting (if possible).
04. I would read a contemporary romance book after reading a fantasy book/series.
Reason for this is because fantasy books - most of them - tend to take us into a whirlwind of a ride where there's either action, magic, drama, or all of the above. Fantasy books tend to take up so much of my time reading because I had to always give it my undivided attention as to not miss any details. This is why every time I'm done with this specific genre, I would always pick a contemporary romance book to ease up my mind a bit.
05. I read not because of the hype, but because I want to.
THIS is the biggest change for me. I have to admit that back then, whatever book is hyped/talked about/just recently released and has so much attention around it, I would immediately read it while dropping the other books I've been reading so that I wouldn't "get behind". It's honestly ridiculous now that I think about it because I've noticed now that those certain books weren't really as memorable for me as I thought they would. I felt like I only liked them because I got carried away and when I think about the fact that if I read them now, I wouldn't be giving them such high ratings.
On to the book blogging/reviewing
06. I get straight to the point when reviewing.
What I mean by this is when I start reviewing nowadays, I'd get straight to my thoughts/opinions instead of writing the summary of what the book is about. Nothing's wrong with that though if you do it but in my case, I used to write MORE of the summary THAN the actual review. I also tend to find it difficult to sum it all up without spoiling things. It's why now, I immediately get to the point and keep it short.
07. I've learn to balance blogging, reading and personal life.
A thing I'm proud of and something I'm gonna do for the long run. In my previous blog, I was a jumbled mess and along the way, I've lost interest in blogging because I felt like I wasn't doing enough (blogging-wise). Now, I post when I want to post. I queue stuff. I post a review when I feel like posting one. I read when I got the time (this is like #5 where I read because I want to) and balance everything out and sorting what my priorities are in my personal life.
08. I don't tend to review (almost) everything I read.
Funny how back then, when I finish a book, the first thing I always do is post a review on the blog. It's different when it's on Goodreads because I could just sum up my feelings in 1-2 sentences or list down my likes/dislikes through a bullet-type list. So now I just review when the book is something I've been excited/meaning to read and I can share so much of my thoughts on it through a blog post.
09. I don't go around leaving good reviews just because they're one of my favorite authors.
If their book's not it for me, then no. I won't be sugarcoating anything. I used to do this and I kind of feel meh about it now. It's also because back then, authors follow me (and I follow them back) on Twitter and some of them were (past tense!) my favorites so I also tend to give good feedback on whatever they release because apparently in my mindset back then, I trust their writing. How lame that was lol. NOT ANYMORE!
10. I remind myself that I blog for fun and for my love of books and reading.
This is like #7 and I'm also proud of this because I've moved on from the "I GOTTA POST EVERYDAY EVEN THOUGH I'M BUSY" phase. Like nah, I'm here blogging AGAIN and I have a new goal which is to have fun with not pressure to meet a non-existent deadline and share/talk about books with all of you.
Didn't expect I'd actually have 10 things to write about for this Tuesday's topic.
Anyway that was fun and I just realized how much my reading and even book blogging changed.
How about you? What changes are there in your reading life?
I have always wondered about those pre-release star ratings on GR, and upon closer inspection, you see that the person had not read the book. I don't get that. I only rate books I read, not because I like/hate someone. I have found that I am reading less and less series as well, though I think that has more to do with me reading more and more contemporaries, which tend to be standalones.
ReplyDeleteOooh, agree on preferring standalones to series nowadays. And I like your straight to the point reviews :) They're much easier to read
ReplyDeleteMy TTT
I prefer standalones to series, too.
ReplyDeleteMy TTT.
Unless we're talking epic fantasy with a complicated plot and world building, I totally agree with #2. I'm currently reading Twisted Twenty-Six by Janet Evanovich and, although I still love these books, there was a serious dip in quality for a few books. It's picked up again, but when you've written 26 books (plus a few novellas) with the same characters, you do tend to repeat yourself!
ReplyDeleteHere is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!
I identify with a lot of the things you've mentioned! Mainly reading standalones over series and reading books more because they seem like something I'll actually like, rather than just reading it because I've heard people talk about it.
ReplyDeleteI agree so much with #5. I'm sorta slowing down on the whole hype train thing and reading more what I WANT to read. Especially as a mood reader that keeps me from burning out I think. also- getting to the point when reviewing. I'm trying to do that more too, I think I like writing reviews more when I do that.
ReplyDeleteYay for loving to read romance even more! That's totally me, too! :)
ReplyDeleteI do #4 too. I pick up a contemporary read, preferably a romcom, after a series of fantasy reads. Gotta keep sane!
ReplyDeleteHooray for all the romance! :) And also for reading what you want... and not because of the hype. (I'm totally on board with that.) And finding that balance between blogging and life is a good one. I refuse to force myself to blog/post when I don't feel like it. This is supposed to be FUN... not a job.
ReplyDeleteTanya @ Girl Plus Books
I love romance... But I love a series. A nice long series works just fine for me. I enjoy standalones too but they have to be contemporary. Standalone fantasy makes me sad.
ReplyDelete