Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish where we get a new topic for a top 10 list.
This weeks topic is to list bookish habits, books, authors you want to quit. This is a tough topic for me because I am pretty stubborn when it comes to finishing books. It’s very rare that I don’t finish a book or a series. However, I do have some bad bookish habits that I feel like I need to drop.
1. Reading a book based on reviews I have read: Before I became an active user on goodreads, I use to constantly read and buy books solely because of the cover and synopsis. I had no idea what to expect and didn’t know if I’d even like the book but I always got a thrill from going into book completely to blind. However, I don’t do that as much and now I’m more likely to look at the ratings and reviews before deciding to buy the book. In some ways this is practical because it means I can save some money but I do miss venturing into the unknown and just taking a chance on a book.
2. Reviewing every book I read: I’ve said it time and time again that I am a mood reader. However, my mood also use to influence when I did/did not review a book. Recently I’ve taken to reviewing EVERY book I read. For some of the books I really did not want to or feel like I could review the book. In the back of my mind I know that I don’t need to review every book and instead of forcing myself to review it, I should just set it aside and enjoy the book for what it was instead of going all analytical on it. 
3. Random/spur of the moment purchases: I should not be allowed to venture into a book shop on my own. 95% of the time I go into a book shop and come out with at least one new book. More often enough the book I just bought was either a bargain buy or one I recognised from my goodreads to be read pile. However, just because this book is on my to be read list does not necessarily mean I am going to read it in the short term and so there are books on my shelf that are just waiting to be read and have no guarantee that they will be read any time soon.
4. Forcing myself to read: This again links in with the mood reading. If I’m in the middle of a book or a book series I make it my mission to finish the book before I even think about going to my next one. I can be quite stubborn so I rarely ever dnf a book. However, I think I could benefit from taking small breaks if I find that I’m not in the mood to read this genre and be able to place it to one side before returning to it. That way I won’t feel as if finishing the book is a duty and instead I can just enjoy reading for the sake of reading.
5. Speed/Binge Reading: Ever since I started blogging I’ve been very conscious of the fact that I don’t read as much as others. On average I’ll read between 30 to 40 books a year. Again this related to my mood reading but also because more often enough I like to indulge and take my time with the book I’ve just read and I usually find that I’m not quite ready to let go of the world and the characters so I don’t pick up another book until I’m ready to move on. I think more than anything I just need to remember that everyone has their own reading pace and not worry about how many books I’ve read.
There you have it. Those are the 5 bookish habits I want to quit. What are the habits you want to quit?
My Midnight Musing 
I know exactly what you mean by all of this! I always ruin books when I read reviews rather than just enjoying it for what it is and it’s synopsis (that’s what attracted me in the first place, right?). I’m glad I’m not the only one on this… or binge book buying.
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One of my main goals of the year is to try and get back into that feeling of just taking a chance and jumping head first into a book, no questions asked. I feel that going in blind always provides a more genuine emotional reaction and makes me appreciate the story a lot more. I think binge buying is a common habit among book readers haha.
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I, too, sometimes feel… subpar, for lack of a better word, b/c I am connected with ppl on Goodreads and fellow bloggers who easily read 100+ books a year. I just had to tell myself to get over it and quit comparing my reading experience to theirs. I understand how you feel on that one, so take comfort that you are not alone! 🙂
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Glad to know I’m not the only one. 😀 I definitely think the worst thing you can do is compare yourself to others. Everyone has their own pace when it comes to reading and I think that’s what we should be focusing on. Just because we don’t read as much doesn’t mean that we’re not as dedicated. We’re all have different reading experiences.
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You’re not alone on that last one. I am always beating myself up over the fact that I don’t read as much as I would like to. Reading should be fun not a chore.
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I know exactly what you mean about reading too many reviews of a book. I used to just pick up a book on a whim and read it without knowing anything about it first…now I have to check all of the reviews. And the spur of the moment book purchases are definitely a very big problem for me, too. Great list!
My TTT: http://www.intheleaves.com/home/2015/10/6/top-ten-tuesday-bad-bookish-habits
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Spur of the moment purchases seem to be a common habit among book readers haha. Now that I’ve realised how often I check the reviews before buying I think I’ll be able to avoid or at least cut down on how many reviews I do read.
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Prior to picking up a title, the only thing I look at is the star rating and not the actual reviews itself (among other things like cover/blurbs). I always fear for spoilers of some kind so I’m wary of the possibility of it happening.
Cheers,
Joey via. thoughts and afterthoughts.
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Oh yes, the spoiler fear is very real and prominent when I read reviews. I’m trying to cut down on the reviews I read before hand and hopefully I can get back to jumping into a book solely based on the cover, synopsis and my interest.
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Ooh these are very interesting! I used to do no. 1 as well. I just really liked to have an idea what to expect before reading a book so I’d always check GR before reading and I started to feel like the reviews were affected the way I read the book and I ended up just having the same/similar feelings as others which was not ideal so now I’ve just decided to break that habit.
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Exactly. I feel like going into a book with no expectation and no outside influence just makes the reading experience a lot more genuine because you know that you’re thoughts about the book is solely based on your own feelings. I’m definitely planning on cutting back the reviews I read before getting a book and hopefully in the long run quit the habit all together.
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I agree on most of these, especially the review one. I did two blog tours last month for the first time and I really disliked that I had to write a review on a certain day in order to post it on my tour stop. I’m a big mood reader as well, and I guess you can say I’m a big mood blogger. Often times I’m at a loss of words when it comes to review books. It all depends. Anyway, lovely post, Lois!
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I am terrible at keeping a schedule because I always feel the pressure to meet a deadline especially when I’m not in a reading/reviewing mood so I’d end up forcing myself which takes away my enjoyment. Again it all comes down to my mood haha. 😀
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