What I’m really reading #AmReading #BookAddict #BookLovers
I’ve got a confession. I try to be honest and open on my blog. Sure, I don’t hang my dirty laundry out for y’all to see, but I’m not a liar. It turns out I may have been a bit misleading, though. And I don’t mean the part where my life looks all rosy and happy – I assume everyone online keeps most of the boring, depressing bits of their lives private.
So, what in the heck am I talking about? I’m talking about books I’m reading or have read. Oh sure, I’m still working my way – super slowly – through the Pulitzer Prize winners in fiction. And I certainly do read non-fiction historical tomes that make it clear I’m a total geek. And I try to read other books for fellow authors. But the bulk of my reading is so-called guilty reads (which I understand we’re not supposed to call guilty reads anymore, but that’s a topic for another day – next week Friday to be exact).
But you wouldn’t know about this obsession of mine unless you somehow accessed my Amazon purchase list (please tell me you can’t do that!). On Goodreads, I only review the ‘intellectual’ reads (book club books and prize winners) unless an author has asked for a review. In fact, my Goodreads reading challenge is only 50 books, even though I probably read that many in January alone, as I was hiding my ‘fluff’ reading.
Why? You ask. Am I embarrassed by my reading? *hangs head in shame* Turns out I’m perfectly happy to read a bunch of fluff for relaxation (and research because a writer is always working), but I didn’t want anyone to know just how far my obsession went. Well, no more. I’ve started recording books I’ve read the previous day on Goodreads. I won’t review them all because even I don’t have enough time for that. I will review some, rate some, and some I’ll just mark as ‘read’.
So, now you know. I am truly a book addict. Recovery starts now. Recovery as in admitting what I’m writing not as in slowing down my reading ‘cuz that’s just crazy talk.
Happy Friday! What are you reading this weekend?
Good for you! I try to include all of my books on Goodreads, feeling a bit guilty about the “fun” reads, which is just not right, as you point out. Writing a “fun, page-turning” book is just as difficult as writing a slow, slogging, high-falutin’ one. Yes? I should know, since I’ve written two page-turners, and believe me, they took years. And sweat. And tears. And I shout out with joy every time someone reviews one of them on Amazon or Goodreads. Like you, I try to switch it up and read a literary book and then a more relaxing, fun one. Helps my sanity and keeps me reading late into the night.
Call it research and you’ll feel much better about the fluff.
Yes, thank you, I think many of us read the “fluff” pieces to chill out a bit especially following a heavy psychological thriller, etc. And I have to admit, I read a couple humorous books recently, definitely LOL that prepared me to tackle the next. I try to review them all.