Top Ten Bookish Confessions

1. I prefer paperbacks to hardcovers. I know, I know. Book lovers everywhere are gasping. I mean, it’s not like I hate all hardcovers. But I love the portability and smaller size of a paperback. I have to read in a reclining or semi-reclining state and having a huge hardcover doesn’t work for that. And have you ever fallen asleep with a hardcover in your hands and bonked yourself with a hard corner? Ouch. 

2. If I really love a book and I see it in a used bookstore, I will “rescue” it by buying it. I will give it to a friend or donate to my local library if they don’t have a copy. I try not to do this too often only because I don’t have space in the apt, but it’s hard to resist the urge.

3. Sometimes when I read romance books that I am not that into, I’ll just skim to the smutty bits. Hey, if I am not into it, I may as well read the good parts, right?

4. I buy books based on their covers. Yes, marketing people, covers work. I will totally buy something if it has an awesome looking cover. Now what’s awesome to me and what’s awesome to someone else might be totally different but I will buy a book knowing nothing about it if I love the cover. It’s also true that I will avoid a book if it has a heinous cover. If I like an author though and they have a bad cover, I will get it on my Kindle.

5. I am embarrassed to read my smutty romances in public. Yes, I love romances but I don’t like people knowing that I am reading them. Is it the stigma and judgement that comes with reading romances? Maybe. But a lot of it I think has to do with the cheesy covers. Some of them are so bad, especially the older ones. Thank God for my Kindle. It allows me to read smutty books wherever I go.

6. I rarely do not finish a book. Once I start a book, I generally finish. It may take me a while and I may have to come back to it, but I will usually finish it. Even though I don’t want to waste time with books I don’t like, I feel like I need to read a book all the way through if I start it. 

7. I read multiple books at a time. Most of my friends only read one book at a time but I am usually reading 2-3 at once. They have to be different genres or else I might get them mixed up but I do like having different options. Sometimes I will stop in the middle of a more serious book to read an UF or romance novel just for a change of pace. I don’t find it hard to go between books. This usually means I end up finishing books slower than some but then I’ll finish several at once.

8. I go to the library once or twice a week. I basically drive by the library every single day so I stop by at least once a week, if not more, to drop off and pick up books. I also go to the library that is further away (different system) once every couple of weeks. I get books even though I have way too many at home to read. I just love going and seeing what’s there and I inevitably come home with something.

9. I will not read excerpts of books I really want to read that have not been released yet. Why torture myself? I’d rather wait until the book is out to read the whole thing rather than just get a chapter or two and then have to wait. 

10. I LOVE my e-reader. There – I said it.  I still love physical books and bookstores but I love having something that can carry around hundreds of books. It’s great for traveling and reading romances incognito (see #5). They are also great sales and I am much more likely to give a book a chance for a cheap price on my e-reader than to just buy it full price. Hey – times are tough and I can’t always buy books from my local shop. I think having an e-reader has definitely increased how much I read just because I can bring it everywhere.  I think there is room in the world for both physical books and e-books. 

11. (Oops – had one more) I hate book snobbery. I really hate when people judge what other people because they read something that the other person doesn’t approve of or deems “low” literature. I don’t care if you read Shakespeare, comics, sci-fi, non-fiction or poetry. I love that there are is so much variety in literature and that there is something for everyone. I want people to read, period. And I definitely think it’s good to go outside your comfort zone once in a while and branch out into a new genre. 

Thanks if you managed to go through this whole list. What are your bookish confessions? I’d love to know.