Tea and Biscuits Book Discussions is a feature here on Addicted To Romance where there is talk of books, blogging, and reading topics….so come on in and join in on the discussion
The past year or two I think we all have evolved in our reading habits and what does/doesn’t work for us. I have come to realize that with what has been happening in our country and really our world the last year or so, that reading has taken a different concept for each of us. I used to be such a TBR reader for example, but my reading habits have changed in which I tend to be more of a mood reader at times. Especially this past year I have definitely had certain “moods” in my reading which has proved to be interesting. I do think this is an interesting discussion to be had though. As readers, sometimes our reading habits will adapt and change and in certain circumstances not necessarily in the ways that we like always.
For example, over the years I have always been a TBR reader, in that I could pick up any book and read it and enjoy it and it wouldn’t have to be based on the current mood. I used to love being able to just grab a random book or I would set books aside for the week to read and just read them at random and that was how I used to read. But in the past couple of years, my reading habits have slowly changed in that I tend to be more of a mood reader. It’s why sometimes I really read a row of a certain theme or sub-genre, I do struggle at times reading books that aren’t part of my current mood. Personally, I hate this change in my reading habits haha I miss the days where I could just pick up books randomly. At least with more physically reading instead of like audiobooks. (most times I can still listen to audiobooks at random as long as the narrator is talented and draws me into the story)
I do know that mood reading is becoming much more common among readers in recent years, so I know that I am not in the minority. But it’s quite interesting how we adapt to large changes in our lives and our reading habits can reflect those changes. I think the results of COVID and the way politics and societal expectations have really altered what we look for in the books that we read and how for some of us, it’s dependent upon our mood at the time. I do think mood reading is going to become the norm. I am not sure if things are going to get better, but, I do think that reading for pleasure and reading to adapt to our current moods are going to be more common among the bookish community. Now I am just seeing these changes in the romance book community, I am not sure what the updates in reading habits for other sections of the book community are, but it would definitely prove interesting to see how it compares with the romance book community.
I like a TBR for some structure, but I know not every book will work for me depending on my mood. I construct a loose weekly TBR, but it’s best for me (and the book) if I respect my mood and postpone a book if I am not feeling it.
I’ve definitely spent more time mood reading this year, but I also did some major Kindle and Goodreads TBR cleansing. I took (a lot of) time and went through both reading blurbs and deciding what I could get rid of. I made a point not to request a tons of ARCs unless I already knew I wanted to read them. It made mood reading easier to do. And I mostly wanted to read happy books this year. It was probably my year of rom-coms.
I’ve always been a 100% mood reader and have never read from a TBR. I might have a vague idea of the books I might want to read soon, but it always, always depends on what I feel like reading in the moment. Most times I have no idea what I’m reading next until I turn the last page and ponder what I’m in the mood for.