Every reader and book collector is different, just as we are all different people. However, communities tend to be united in their ways or at least have a certain pattern to things. A lot of the stuff we do, we do without giving it a second thought, but sometimes if you really think about it, you realize you do certain things differently from the majority. Or so you think. That’s why I thought I’d confess to a few bookish things I do that I don’t think the majority of the book community does. But maybe I’m wrong, if I am, I’d love to hear it!
I hereby confess to the fact that…
- I buy books with my eyes on the price, everything else is secondary. When buying books I’m all about the cash and that’s just the way it is. I’m a student, I live at home and I can’t buy all the new hardcover books every month. So my tactic is to buy books during sales (Amazon kindle deals please and thank you) and to mostly buy paperback books, which I actually prefer. For international readers, such as myself, I have come to realize that when buying a physical book there are few stores with as good prices as The Book Depository. You looking for a book? That’s where you should go first. The way I usually go about buying books is that I look up the books I’m dying to read and those with reasonable prices (reasonable is different from person to person) I buy.
- I really like paperbacks better than hardbacks. This is partly because of price, which has been discussed above, but it’s also because I just prefer that format. I hate that with hardback books the cover isn’t attached to the book. It makes the book harder to read (do I take the dust jacket off or do I leave it on seriously) and I think it’s easier to accidentally hurt a dust jacket than it is to hurt a paperback.
- When reading I often prioritize shorter books over longer ones. This confession I’m almost ashamed of but I honestly don’t know how not to do it. I think it has something to do with me being stressed a lot but finishing a book during a short period of time just feels better which is why I tend to lean towards picking shorter books. Do I never read long books then? Of course, I do, I read after what the story is about but I love short books. Maybe it’s a bit weird, but that’s just how I am.
- The act of rating books is one I have not yet mastered. Rating books? How do you even do that? For the majority of my life I have rated almost all books five stars because if they made me fangirl a bit I loved them, and if I loved them they were getting five stars. I have evolved a bit from that, but I do think that rating a book is the hardest thing ever. Four stars (cake slices in my case) doesn’t necessarily mean the same for one book as it does for the other. However, I like to rate books, it gives me direction but in the end, my thoughts will tell you what you need to know about what I thought about a book.
- I act all cool around authors on social media but in reality, I’m fangirling. Why you may ask? Well because their beautiful and magical words have touched my heart and soul, and now they’re talking to me. I know they’re just human, and I’d never think or treat them as anything else but we all have people we look up to and admire. My favorite authors are just that, people who inspire me. So yes, I act cool but honestly, I’m probably smiling like a big goof behind my screen. Also, among my friends, I am known to just get very excited by things, and my favorite authors talking to me is a fabulous thing.
- I buy books secondhand. I know some people buy secondhand and others don’t but honestly, I love it. Unfortunately, I live in Sweden which means that people don’t read that many young adult (and new adult) books in English and even less actually end up in secondhand shops. However, that won’t stop me from searching. A book that has a little history outside of the story itself is pretty cool, at least in my opinion.
That was all of my six book related confessions, I bet a few of these are pretty common even if people don’t talk about them much, or am I wrong? I’d love to know what you guys think about my confessions.