Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Bookish Bad Habits

So, since I've been "professionally" reviewing books now for over a year and a half, I've come to notice quite a few bookish habits that aren't necessarily good ones. Haha! As I spent more and more time compiling this list, the more things I noticed! Perhaps in 2012 I can turn some of these habits around. Consider this post a list of my 2012 Bookish New Year's Resolutions.

- I'm a cover snob.
- All the books in a series must be in the same format. I do not have room for the hardback of Crossed by Ally Condie, but since Matched is hardback I can't buy the Kindle version of Crossed. This is a curse.
- I spend too much time looking at how far along I am in a book, and how much I have left to read. I should just enjoy the ride and quit worrying about whether or not the book is too long or too short.
- I can't take a break from a book until I'm at a chapter break. That sucks if I'm exhausted and in the middle of a REALLY long chapter. I end up not even remembering some things because of this.
- I don't give myself enough time to reflect on a book before I start a new one.
- Sometimes I wait months to write a review, which makes it REALLY hard. I need to start writing it the next day.
- I accept too many books to review at a time, and spend weeks reading books that are planned out. Sometimes I like to be spontaneous in my reading choices and grab a book off the shelf because it's what I want at that very moment.
- Sometimes I judge a book too quickly, and it taints my opinion of the book before I've given it a chance.
- If I don't like a book, I still make myself finish it. I need to learn that it's ok to abandon a book for good. Reading is not a job, and I can quit anytime I want to without penalty.
- Sometimes I read too fast and don't take the time to savor a book. This happens with books I have been anticipating for a LONG time.
- I buy more books, even though I have stacks of unread ones. I need to read what I have first!
- I stay up way too late, and end up reading the ending of a book when I'm so tired that I barely remember it.
- I have a hard time being objective if a book discusses or is centered around something I totally disagree with.
- If I get tired of a book, I set it aside and start something new. I always plan to return to the other one, but I rarely do. I've got 3-4 books I'm partway through that are just waiting to be finished, but now I can't remember them!
- If I don't read a book pretty soon after buying it, it gets mixed in with my other unreads and gets forgotten. I really should make up a list and read in that order. But again, that takes my spontaneity away from me.
- OH. If I really want to read a book, but don't know what, I'll go to my shelves and look for something. As I try to decide, sometimes I get so overwhelmed by the MANY choices I have, that I give up and watch a movie instead.

So what about you? Do you share some of these bad habits with me? If so, do you consider them bad ones, or should I be grateful I "suffer" with them? What are some of your bookish bad habits, and goals for 2012? Please leave a link to your blog post, and I'll come visit you! Or comment here and join the discussion!

15 comments:

  1. Great post Jana! Love it! I'll post mine later on in the week, but I have to say, we share a lot of bookish bad habits. Hope you're feeling better, btw!

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  2. Haha. I bet a lot of readers share some of the same habits! I'll be excited to see what yours are! And I am feeling a little better, thank you. :)

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  3. A very big YES to almost all those bookish bad habits you listed! Seriously! Especially the cover thing and the book buying while you have a stack of unread ones thing... I mark all mine on Goodreads and at the moment I own 138 books I haven't read. Which is scary. And there are 4 on the way. And it's almost Christmas...
    And saying all this only makes me want to buy more ;)

    This year I've learned to just DNF a book I don't like, because pushing through sometimes 500 pages is just not my idea of fun. You'll feel guilty, but so much better when you start another book you end up loving!

    And another YES to the checking how far along you are! I constantly do that as well!

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  4. Oh, Jana! This entire posts resonates with me. I have the same problem with books.
    -I'm a cover snob.
    -I have too many to read.
    -I have a hard time when I disagree with things.
    -I read too quickly.
    -I spend a lot of time thinking about what percent of the book I've read (this started when I got my kindle and I could SEE that I was about to hit the climax since a lot of them sort of happen around the same point in a book).
    -I write my reviews right after I finish a book, and sometimes think I should let things simmer before writing. I think writing them too soon and waiting too long are both curses.
    -I made a vow in high school to never quit reading a book. I still feel that way, but sometimes I just need to put it aside and say NO.
    -You give up picking a book to read and watch a movie... I go buy a new book that spikes my interest on the kindle. TECHNOLOGY IS A CURSE!

    I don't know what to do in 2012 that would make some of these things better. I guess it's just important for us to remember that we started this BECAUSE of our love to read - so we should just continue to enjoy it. :) Easy to say - hard to do.

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  5. Daisy, I probably have more unread books on my shelves than you do, not to mention my Kindle books. They take up no space, so there's no reason not to buy them, right? Haha. Glad I'm not the only one who does that!

    Magan, we're like sisters! Good point about letting a book simmer before writing a review. It gives you more time to think about what to say. And YES, the percentage on Kindle is what caused me to start paying so much attention to where I am! I also like your thoughts on the fact that we need to just keep loving to read! I don't need to change any of my habits as long as I continue to enjoy the process. :) Thanks for visiting!

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  6. I usually buy a lot of books even though I have ones I haven't read. I like buying lots of books because I love visiting the bookstores. Since Barnes & Noble is only ten minutes from work, I go there almost everyday! I don't read too quick, but sometimes I have to because there are a few books got me lose interest (pretty rare though). I have tons of reviews to write, therefore, I try not to read many books. Lol. I usually reread books I LOVE so much, and that's one reason I'm so behind on all my reviews. Thank you for sharing such a lovely post!! ^_^

    Hope everything goes well!!

    Sam
    Books For All Seasons

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  7. amen sistr /lol
    same here
    I'm a cover snob.
    -I have too many to read
    i need tofinish a chaptr break
    long all nightirs

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  8. Sam, thanks for visiting! I love Barnes and Noble SO much. Luckily, it's not on my normal route to anywhere, so I don't go too often. I don't usually re-read. There's been one or two books worth reading again, but mostly I just stick to new books. :)

    Roro, thanks for coming! I think we all share many of the same bookish habits, good and bad. :)

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  9. Oh God, I could hug you for writing this. I'm as guilty as you are for most of these.

    I 100% definitely have to have all books in the series matching and I'm not above rebuying them if I have to. And don't think I won't avoid buying the last if it won't match either!

    I'm a bugger for continuously checking how far through a book I am too. I'm not trying to be snobby exactly, but I just want to get it finished so I can start another!

    Also, I have 97 unread books and yet my other Firefox tab is buying books from my wishlist. I just can't stop!

    The only time I disagree with this post is the 3-4 books at a time thing. I hate doing that! If I leave my current book at home, I'll suffer through a long train ride NOT READING even if I have other books with me!

    I don't think they're bad habits really. I know that a lot of non-readers wouldn't understand them exactly, but so what? :)

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  10. Haha. Hanna, thanks for visiting my blog! I really love the discussion that this post has generated. I also love that I'm not alone in my habits. :P I do agree with you that non-readers would not understand. We're kind of a silly bookish community. Thanks for your input!

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  11. http://pageturner24.blogspot.com/
    wow I love your list. I post only the books I have read word for word. I have a hard time reading all the books I request and I don't do PDF usually. When I do take a PDF it takes me too long to read it. I love to read books in my space.

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  12. I definitely do a lot of these, particularly reading too fast and thinking about how much more of the book I have left!

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  13. Oh god! It felt like i was reading about myself for a minute!
    Gr8 post and love your reviews!

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  14. Jana! I finally wrote the post for my own bookish bad habits ;)

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  15. Love this post! I do the same things and was just thinking the same recently! 2012 is the year for change, maybe we can all work on it!

    Mandee @ compelledbywords.blogspot.com

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You're stinkin' cute. Thanks for writing to me! ♥ - Jana