Let’s share our bad bookish habits…
I was kindly tagged by the lovely Marina @ Books of Magic to share some of my bookish bad habits. Let’s just jump right in, shall we?
Putting off longer reads
For some reason, it takes real willpower for me to pick up anything long, especially it it’s 500+ pages. Even if it’s a book I think sounds amazing; even if I’ve seen nothing but rave reviews for it; even if it’s written by an author I already adore; if it’s a hefty tome, chances are it will sit unread for considerably longer than its slimmer shelf-mates. I suspect this bad habit stems from my ever-growing TBR. The logical side of my brains says: ‘I could read 2-3 short/regular sized books in the time it would take me to read that big one’. And so, my desire to get to as many exciting reads as possible wins out more often than not, and I put off the longer books. It’s silly, given that there are some long reads I’ve been excited to try for ages (I’m looking at you, The Heart’s Invisible Furies and Jane Eyre), and I get through an objectively large number of books either way, yet I can’t seem to shake the habit.
Counting pages
When I put a book down of an evening, I always check how many pages I’ve read that day, with an inner monologue along the lines of: ‘Okay, I read 90 pages today. The book is about 360 pages long. If I read the same amount each day, I should finish the book in another 3 days.’ Why does it matter? I can’t know how much reading I will or won’t get done in the days that follow anyway, so it’s arbitrary. I know I should just read the damn thing, and I’ll finish it when I finish it. Alas, I can’t stop counting…
Not using the library
I’m a big believer in the wonder and importance of libraries, but I’m a hypocrite, because I never use them myself. Living in the countryside, the library closest to me is tiny. Especially given my eclectic reading tastes, and the sheer volume of books I get through (compared to the average person, that is), it just can’t cater to my personal reading needs. Not to mention the fact that I treasure books as physical objects, and so I love owning a vast collection of my own. Still, long live libraries!
Chasing pretty editions
When I’m particularly excited about a book, I can fall down an internet rabbit hole, spending a wholly disproportionate amount of time trying to hunt out different editions, all in search of the prettiest cover. And yes, I’ve been known to pay more, and wait longer for delivery, just to get the copy I think is nicest.
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There we have it; a few of my bad reading habits. Thanks again to Marina for tagging me: You should definitely check out her excellent blog if you haven’t already. I’d be interested to know the bad reading habits of Rachel, Alex, and Ally (no pressure to take part though, of course), but if anyone else would also like to get involved, please feel free!
Haha, besides the one I mentioned too, I do the same things as you. 😀 I didn’t use a library in more than a year I think, I count pages like a control freak, and I definitely put off longer reads, especially as of late. My next long read is supposed to be the next one in Outlander series, which will be the longest book I’ve ever read, with 1500+ pages. :S Every time I want to pick it up, I can’t contain myself from counting how many shorter books I can read in that time frame, so I end up reading the shorter ones.
It’s a relief that I’m not alone! 😋 The mere thought of 1500+ pages is daunting, so I’ll be wishing you all the luck and willpower to get to that one!
Haha thanks! 😀
Ok, yours are almost the same as mine! Good to know! Also what a cool tag, I might also do that.
I’ll keep an eye out in case you decide to give it a go!
Thank you so much for the tag! I’m so similar on so many of these, especially counting pages. I’m like “so it’s nine pages to the next chapter or 28 pages until the chapter after that, and then I’ll have read 10% of the book today”
My pleasure! YES, so glad it’s not just me. In the time I spend counting pages and working out how many days a book will take me, I could have read another chapter!
Ooh fun I’ll definitely do this! I don’t use the library half as much as I should, but since getting an Overdrive account where I can check out ebooks and audiobooks I’ve started to use it a lot more (thankfully, I was destined for bankruptcy at the rate I was going). And you know I am right there with you in putting off long books for absolutely no good reason.
My bank balance very much wishes I was more partial to audio and ebooks 😂 I’m just such a sucker for a physical book…
I look forward to seeing your post!
I always count my pages as well! It results in late-night math equations trying to figure out how many pages of each book I should read by when. Why do I do this to myself?
I’m so glad I’m not the only one who does this!
Me too!
How interesting! Loved reading your answers!
I think my worst book habits are buying more books than I can read in a lifetime and telling friends I’m having an early night and cant make it out for fun and games because I’m rushing to get back to a book!
Very relatable choices! 😊
Avoiding big books? Check! Counting pages? Check! Some of my bad habits too!
It’s always reassuring to know you’re not alone!
I am definitely guilty of the counting pages one (why do we do it?) and the chasing pretty editions one. This was a really fun post!
It’s so weird, isn’t it? This post has ended up being weirdly therapeutic, given how many fellow readers are agreeing with these, haha.
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I think I’ll do this tag; it gets me thinking. Also, did you see that I’m now reviewing play scripts? I’m doing it as part of a play selection committee I’m on!
I did. Sounds like a very interesting job!
It’s a lot of fun so far! My favorite part is when the show goes on the first night and no one is crazy-stressed.
Ours are very similar! I’m definitely guilty of putting off the longer books and chasing the pretty editions! And sadly, my local library is tiny too 😦
I actually did this tag not too long ago so I’ll not do it again if you don’t mind 😉 but I appreciate the tag and you can read my answers if you want!
https://thepaperbackpiano.wordpress.com/2018/06/11/my-bad-reading-habits-tag/
At least I’m not alone, haha.
Of course, that’s totally fine! Sorry for the repeat tag; I’m hopeless at keeping track of who’s done what 😋
Not to worry, I have the same problem! 😀
Great tag. My biggest habit is not knowing when to quit (just put the book down already, it will be there tomorrow!)
Oh, I can absolutely relate to that one! 😋
I am SO bad about the counting thing, so I totally feel you on that. Sometimes I wish page numbers weren’t there so I wouldn’t get so distracted by them. I just love numbers and statistics, I can’t help it!
Ugh, same!
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