Top Ten Tuesdays #262: Changes

Posted November 19, 2019 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 5 Comments

Changes in my Reading Life

Top Ten Tuesdays were started by The Broke and the Bookish and are now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where we make lists of our top ten books (or something else!) based on that week’s prompt. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. Book links bring you to Goodreads or my review.

I have noticed quite a few changes in my reading life over the years and have talked about them at various points in time on the blog. I won’t link any of them here because I don’t want to purposefully copy those answers! I want to go right off the top of my head.

1. I’m reading more adult fiction and less YA overall

I do still read mostly YA fiction, but I think that each year the amount of adult fiction grows and grows. At the time of writing this post, 58% of my books were still YA and 37% were adult. A decent amount! I add a lot more adult fiction to my TBR these days too. I think I’m getting to be pickier and sometimes I just feel too old for YA. It’s very clearly not the book’s fault; I’m recognizing I’m not the target audience and sometimes I just get overly frustrated when reading YA.

2. I’m finally reducing my number of contemporary reads

I’ve made it a goal for the past million years to get my percentage of contemporary fiction reads down below 50%. I’m currently sitting at 52% (!!!) which I feel like might be the closest I’ve ever gotten? I’m noticing a major difference and I’m picking up a lot more mysteries specifically, plus some fantasy/paranormal too.

3. Aggressively planning TBRs and reading schedules motivates me

I wrote a post the other day about how I’ve started to really schedule out my TBRs and reading plans. I treat certain books like I’m reading them for a readalong, where you have to read a certain number of pages or chapters each day to keep on track. I thought that initially it would be limiting or discouraging but I’ve found it to be sooo motivational! I’ve done multiple readalongs this year (Faerieathon and Diviners) and the chapter/page breakdowns were so helpful for me, so I just applied it in my everyday reading, especially when it’s a harder or longer book.

4. I buy way less books overall

I’ve talked about this a lot before but I don’t buy many books, specifically physical copies. I’ve gotten so picky about what I own that I always struggle to make secret santa wishlists each year! I tend to fill my lists with books I’ve already read, loved, and want to add to my collection. I don’t like buying books that are “unproven” (by a new author mostly) because I don’t have the shelf space to spare unless the book is a favorite. The library is my best friend, both digitally and physically!

5. I’m getting slightly better with non-contemporary reading/pacing

Tying a few of these together, I’ve been improving my reading speed when it comes to fantasy or paranormal books. I thought I would struggle with rereading The Folk of the Air series according the readalong chapter breakdowns, but I think it’s done nothing but help! I’m applying that concept elsewhere, like I said, to take some of the pressure off. I’m finding it a little easier lately to sink into fantasy worlds.

6. My ratings are a bit “harsher”

I don’t know if it’s because I’ve read so many things now and I’m just comparing everything all the time, but I’m a harsher rater a lot of the time! I don’t read nearly as many five-star books as I used to, but I’m still OVERALL reading so many great books. I still find that four stars is my most common rating year-to-year though.

5 responses to “Top Ten Tuesdays #262: Changes

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