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TTT: Bookish Confessions

Lori

This week’s top ten was supposed to be Bookish Memories, but that’s also the topic of the Book Blogger Hop, and I didn’t fancy writing two of the same posts in a week, plus I wasn’t sure that I could come up with ten bookish memories.

Confessions, though? Those I have in abundance. So, here are ten, in the order I thought of them.

#10–I don’t like non-fiction

I’m not sure why, but I have DNF’d every non-fiction book I can think of. Every once in a while, I get a wild hair, and convince myself that THIS book will be different. I buy it, and I read twenty pages, and then…I never go back. I was going to read two or three non-fiction books this month…and I read zero.

I can listen to non-fiction audiobooks, though, while I can’t listen to fiction. My brain is a weird, weird place.

#9–I skim more than I would ever admit

Except I just did, didn’t I?

I don’t like descriptions. I’ve talked about that before. So, my reading is largely ‘action…dialogue…skim…skim…skim…action…skim…action…dialogue…skim…skim…’

Sometimes, I will need to go back because I’ve inadvertently skimmed over something important. I’m always chastened when that happens, and I promise that in the future, I will read all the words. But I just can’t.

#8–I judge my own reading pretty harshly

First, I am a genre girl in my bones. I love mysteries and thrillers and fantasy (of the Urban variety only, though. Orcs and Dragons need not apply). And I don’t judge myself for any of that. I like what I like.

And I promise that I don’t judge any of my book friends for what they read. I truly think that the fact that you read is all I need to claim you as my people.

However…I am a little judgy of my new love affair—heh—with Romance novels. Probably this harkens back to my teenage Harlequin Romance days. I like t think that I read *better* romance than that these days, but frankly I sometimes don’t…and that needs to be OK.

#7–I think James Patterson is a hack

I mean, cause he is. I’ll fight you on that. You can tell me that some of his earlier stuff was ‘pretty good’ and that may be…but I’ve read some of the dreck that he’s putting out these days, and the fact that he’s making untold millions writing stuff that any fifteen-year-old could spit out in a random nanowrimo is kind of galling. There are so many better authors out there, and none of them is making this kind of bank. It’s gross.

#6–I don’t read short stories, or, really, novellas

There are two reasons for this, one of which is valid and one of which is bat-shit crazy.

The first reason is that I love long-form fiction, because I’m all over character development, and I don’t think that you can really get the kinds of arcs that I’m looking for in 100 pages.

The second reason is that I can’t figure out how to count them in Goodreads. It feels like cheating to count short stories and novellas toward my yearly reading goal, but I’m enough of a completist that I want them in there somehow. Just easier to not stress over it.

#5–I hate the Stephanie Plum books

I’ve talked this one to death. Janet Evanovich isn’t quite making James Patterson money, but she’s making private jet money writing a book series full of horrible people. Again, gross.

#4–I think Stephen King needs an editor

I will not argue that the man can write. He certainly understands plot and narrative structure, and his stories are inventive and they always, on the surface, seem like things I should love.

And then I get 600 pages into a 900 page book and I just want to kill myself. Looking at you Under the Dome.

#3–I don’t miss physical books

I know all the arguments. Books feel great in your hands, and they smell fantastic, and they are works of art.

But I truly believe that my reader is better in every possible way.

I read once, and I wish I could find the quote, but it’s lost to the mists of time, that if you love books, there is no ereader that will make you happy…but if you love reading, you will never look back.

And I love reading.

#2–I do miss bookstores…but I go home and get the books elsewhere

So, when Barnes and Noble folds, it will be all my fault.

#1–I name my Kindles, and I spend as much time agonizing over it as I do with a pet.

This is in the front of my mind right now because my new Kindle Paperwhite Signature will be here tomorrow, and I have no idea what her name is. She’s blue-themed—blue case, blue mosaic-tile skin. So I’d like something that has a blue connotation…but I got nothing. I’ve been looking at girl name lists for days.

My other kindles are Friday, Bexley and Eärwen.

So that you will understand the depths I will go to for the perfect name, I’ll tell you about Eärwen. She is named after an elf in the Lord of the Rings books. This was my 11th Kindle. The German word for 11 is…elf.

I am not sure if I should be proud of that, or if I should admit myself to a mental health facility.

Do you have something to confess? I can pretend to be a priest in the comments.

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

45 thoughts on “TTT: Bookish Confessions”

  1. Aw, you name your Kindles. And I like to only read books I can count on Goodreads, too. And I would agree that JP and JE and SK and any other popular novelist you can name is a hack, and I think that’s okay.

    Now I really, really want to convert you to nonfiction…

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  4. This really made me laugh, and “So, when Barnes and Noble folds, it will be all my fault.” had me cackling! I am guilty of a few of these, so let a fellow bookish sinner console you: naming inanimate objects is a joy, non-fiction does nothing for me either, and the ‘guilty’ part of ‘guilty pleasure’ ought to be outlawed. Great post!

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  6. There needs to be more Orcs and Dragons in Urban Fantasy, IMO. The genre focuses on shifters a little too much.
    I’ve only read the first book in the Stephanie Plum series. I had a job in college at a candle store, and the owner had it under the front desk. It was in my hometown, which is a tourist town, I was the only employee and nobody ever came in the shop and I got bored and read it. It was entertaining, or maybe I was just that bored, but I never had the urge to read beyond that first book.

    Thanks for visiting my blog! Marie @ Pages to Explore

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    1. The first Plum book was wildly entertaining. I’d say that the first five were pretty entertaining, but the characters became less appealing the farther in we got. I think I stopped around book eight. That there are now TWENTY-EIGHT and the characters are still the same reinforces that decision.

      Have you read the Alex Craft series by Kalayna Price? It’s Urban Fantasy, but much more concerned with the Fae than with Shifters. I LOVED it. 🙂

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  10. Counterpoint – novellas can have character development when it’s a series of novellas 😉 (These days it seems nearly everything on Kindle Unlimited is a) serialized, and b) in installments short enough to be defined as a novella; because Amazon’s payment policies push authors in those directions)

    My confessions are:
    I generally can’t deal with audiobooks. (Radio dramatizations can be a different story). I don’t like how they sound if listened to at higher speed, but at normal speaking pace they’re too slow — so much slower than reading — and my attention wanders off and then I need to jump back to the last bit I remember. If my attention wanders from a book it doesn’t keep going without me 🙂

    In a similar vein to your B&N confession my biggest use of Amazon wishlists is to track library books. Stuff I have on hold, things I’m hoping will show in in their system once published, books in the system I want to read, books I’ve mostly given up on them ever getting, and books I’m willing to ask them to ILL for me. So hundreds of books spread across 5 different private wishlists, approximately zero of which I’ll ever buy.

    I don’t miss bookstores. I’d wander through them, but I didn’t find them that effective at finding totally new books I’d actually enjoy (kind of random chance within genres I already enjoyed) and while it was nice to discover a new book had come out by some author, or in some series, I enjoyed random browsing is a pretty suboptimal way to keep abreast of new releases. And even back in the pre-internet days I was rarely buying the books, so I’d discover it and have to remember to try to get it from the library. (As a kid I couldn’t afford to feed my reading habit with purchased books; and even now I’d prefer to borrow a book I might not care to read again. And if I really love it after getting it from the library I can always buy it later)

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  14. Fun post! I am on your side with several of these, though I’ve come around to enjoying a good novella.

    Have you considered Ceru or Cerulean for your new Kindle? The last time I named something blue that’s what I chose; also because Ceru means “to hope” or “I hope,” and I loved that.

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    1. Ceru is a good thought. My roomie thinks I should go with Saffyre, which was the heroine of The Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewel. I liked the book, and loved that character…plus it sounds just like Sapphire, which is my birthstone. I have to decide soon!

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  16. Wow. These are some pretty deep confessions. You don’t like book stores? Even if I don’t buy I always get ideas of what I want/need to read next. I am a big user of libraries (often I check out e-books from there) so I use the book store as the inspiration then go home and check out the books FREE.

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  18. Nice memories! I laughed at a few. Though I am more of a real book reader and would trade my kindle in a heartbeat for a lifetime supply of real books (of my choosing of course!)! Lol.

    Thanks for visiting my TTT!

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  19. This is an AWESOME list! I love it. What’s so funny is that I am TOTALLY with you on some of these (James Patterson, Stephen King, short stories, etc.) and so NOT on others (I love physical books and bookstores and I NEVER skim when I’m reading for pleasure, etc.). It’s so interesting to learn about other bookworms’ particular quirks and compare/contrast them to my own.

    Happy TTT!

    Susan
    http://www.blogginboutbooks.com

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  21. I’m not a huge fan of non-fiction either. I will read it and often enjoy it. But I never buy it unless it’s a biography for someone else. For me, my non-fiction itch is always scratched by borrowing them from the library.

    I’ve just started using an e-reader in the past few months, and I understand the appeal. I actually asked for one for Christmas. But I’m not sure it will replace my love of physical books.

    The same with audiobooks. This year I’ve listened to more books than I have in the past and found that it’s my preferred way to read fantasy (I also prefer urban over high).

    Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
    https://readbakecreate.com/unusual-books-i-read-in-high-school/

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  22. Ha ha, I love so many of these! I don’t read short stories either, except with a lot of arm-twisting and/or if it’s written by a favorite author. I do read novellas from time to time, but I find that even if I do, I don’t retain the details for very long. As for romances, I’m also newly more or less in love with the genre, and I’m trying not to judge myself. 🙂

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  24. I”m totally with you on most of these confessions! I especially agree with #3–I don’t miss physical books! I don’t at all. I don’t have the storage, but mostly, books are so much easier to read on a kindle IMO. Great Post!!

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  25. I like non fiction occasionally but oddly enough since starting my blog I hardly read ANY. It’s fiction all the time over here. And definitely a fan of mysteries and thrillers. I need the adrenaline rush of a good twist…

    Ha laughing out loud about Barnes & Noble. I admit to feeling some guilt- like when my local B&N folds is it MY fault? But *shrug*

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  27. Some of your things made me laugh! ha ha! I love how unapologetic you are about your bookish tastes. Everyone should be more like you. I cannot get into the ereader stuff. I’m an old fashioned physical copy kind of person.

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  28. Lori, I LOVE your post!!! I used to hate reading non-fiction, but have found some that I can get into and now read at least one book a month. I HATE all the details and will find myself skimming too. The book I am reading now is about to kill me with the details, just move on already. I love clean romance but have really been gravitating toward romantic comedies lately. If you have not read Emma St. Clair’s Love Cliches series, try it. They are clean but not Christian. There is some heat. They are hilarious and I want to own them all. I listened to them on audio and there is a male and female narrator for the parts which added to the fun. I also dislike novellas but do read them every once in a while…unless they are under 100 pages and then I don’t see the point.

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  30. 10- I’m not much fan of non-fiction either. I think it’s the way they are written – not quite fiction, not quite real, somewhere in the middle of the two.

    9- If a book is particularly boring, I would skim but yes, I also sometimes have to go back when I missed something with the skimming. I think it’s okay to skim, it’s still reading…

    8- We like what we like, I don’t think we need to judge ourselves on that.

    7- I’ve never read a Patterson book but I often think they aren’t worth reading. I read a few synopsis for them and they seem rather ordinary. The way he keeps releasing books like some random machine is a bit questionable, like, how can one person release so many books?

    6 – I don’t see that as an issue. Lots of people don’t like short stories/novellas.

    5 – I’ve never read a Stephanie Plum book and I have no desire to read them either.

    4 – I don’t read enough Stephen King to judge but I think some books really needs to be cut shorter. There are many authors who write long books who I often think their editor do not do anything because these authors sell plus, the longer the book, the more money they make.

    3 – I’m getting to the point where physical books doesn’t matter as much as before. I still own some of them but I think I prefer to read on an ereader. I think it’s great the more people are reading ebooks. Have you heard about the paper shortage? I don’t know the detail, it seems there is a shortage so not many books are being printed so I guess reading ebooks is kind of a bigger deal now.

    2 – Same here. I honestly have no reason to go to a book store anymore other than to browse and then go home and purchase/borrow an ebook instead. But I don’t think Barnes and Nobles isn’t going away any time soon.

    1- I see no problem with this. Lots of people name their gadgets, heck, people name their cars and body parts, why not a kindle? How about Blue for a name?

    Something to confess? I sometimes slam my kindle against a pillow whenever it freezes over or whenever it starts to update in the middle of reading – I think it’s dumb we do not have a choice to update our kindle because I really hate the new look with the separate home space and a separate library space.

    Thank you for visiting my blog. Have a lovely day.

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  31. I struggle with nonfic too. I’ve read a couple I found interesting, but I never end up loving them, even the good one, the way some people do. I don’t think I’ll ever read them cover-to-cover, purely for pleasure.

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  32. Fun bookish confessions! I skim in books more than I should, too. And I’m with you, if a person reads….whatever they choose to read….then they’re good people in my book! 🙂

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  34. I love your confessions. Some of them I would totally say the same, others I would say the opposite. But, as you say, the important thing is that we read and even if we read different genres. I love non-fiction, granted, they are hard to skim. I love my physical books (I feel I don’t concentrate as much on the screen) and I love bookshops. But – I love reading.

    Thanks for visiting my TTT.

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  35. I LOVE the idea of bookish confessions! So fun. I may have to borrow this idea at some point.

    And I skim much more than I should too. And I agree that James Patterson is a hack. There’s no way he writes all those books, and anything he wrote a while ago that was “decent” turned terrible the more he published in the series. (Looking at you, Maximum Ride.)

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  36. I’m with you on so many of these things! I struggle big time with NF, whether it’s in audiobook/ebook/physical format, but I’ve found a few that managed to become favourites! But it’s years-between rare 😂 I used to feel the same way about reading romances and well, more erotic romance, but this was the year that I really stopped caring and let myself enjoy the books I enjoy without making myself feel guilty about it and it feels so good! ALSO! Naming Kindles!! Never thought to do that but now… I kinda wanna name mine, too 👀 Haha

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  37. This is such a great list. I also feel like short stories/novellas must sacrifice character development, which makes it hard for someone like me who is so into character development. Though The Stand is one of my favorite books, I was also half way through before I got fully invested into that King novel, so I can’t argue with you on that one.

    The one thing I will about eReaders is that my Kindles have had issues I don’t have with my printed books. Uploading PDFs to my original Kindle didn’t allow me the same functionality as if I read it on my computer–hate doing that, too–and all my Kindles, except this current one, have died or I needed to replace the cords, which didn’t quite fit. What I love about my Kindles is they make it so that I don’t have to find a place to donate books I DNF or have no desire to hold onto.

    Thanks for sharing and for visiting my blog this week.

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  38. I may skim more than I’d realize too. I don’t intend to though. Non-fiction isn’t my jam either; I’ve read maybe… four? Or five? That’s off the top of my head though. I suppose it could be 1 or 2 more. Either way, it’s not my thing. 🙂 Thanks so much for visiting Finding Wonderland on this week! I appreciate it.

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