Posts Categorized: Discussion

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

I Think I Have Turned Reading Into A Chore

Posted by 5 Comments

Is it redundant to start this post off with the title of this post? Because yeah I think I turned reading into a chore and am not entirely sure how to read for fun anymore.

I am not even sure blogging is entirely to blame for this because I read a lot more than I review in an attempt to maintain a balance.

When I was a young baby, just starting to dip my toes into the online blogging community, I was driven by this fear of running out of books to read. I added everything I possibly could to my Goodreads shelves and I read like I was running out of time. In 2013, I read close to 400 books.

Ever since, in a desire to compete with myself and also to read every single book that comes out + backlist, I think I’ve backed myself into a corner I don’t know how to get out of. There are so many books out each year plus so many books I’ve wanted to read forever and I constantly feel overwhelmed.

Over this past year, I’ve done extensive spring cleaning of my shelves to remove things I know I will never read but my goodreads TBR still stands at a whopping 700+ books. This doesn’t include unpublished books I want to read and it also doesn’t include some books I want to read but keep forgetting to add to my TBR!!!

I am also working harder on being easier on myself when I am in a reading slump because forcing a book on myself isn’t really conducive and honestly makes me appreciate the book less.

I am still chasing that high I used to feel as a child when I read a book and got sucked into a new adventure and I feel like it’s been a while since I truly felt that way. Even though I’ve read many good books this past year, I haven’t picked them up because I was super excited to be picking them up, I picked them up because I felt like I had to in an attempt to tackle my giant and ever-growing tbr.

A decade plus of making a habit out of reading something daily seems to have turned something I truly loved into a chore rather than something I do because I truly truly want to and I am hoping I can find a balance this upcoming year. I miss that feeling of being extremely excited to pick something up again. Not the excitement you feel when you read a summary and a book sounds up your alley but that excitement when you open a chapter and are excited about the process of reading.

I have no idea if this even makes sense or if its a long ramble but I felt like articulating my feelings re: reading lately because I feel like it has impacted what I read or don’t read.

I gravitate more towards contemporary these days because contemporary is quick and easy to follow whereas fantasy is not. I was never the kind of reader who would shy away from a big book and now I am and that makes me incredibly sad.

I don’t want to pick up books because I just want something to read, I want to be able to pick up books because I am excited about picking them up and not out of a habit of reading. I want to translate my excitement about a book to excitement for actually picking it up and reading it.

In case this isn’t clear, this post isn’t a “I am gonna stop reading now” post, it’s just me angst-ing about how I’ve ruined a perfectly good thing. I still read a lot and have loved many books I’ve read. In fact, the last book I finished, I absolutely loved. I just wish I was more excited about picking up a book and it didn’t seem like a chore to actually pick up a book.

Has anyone ever experienced this?? What have you done to combat it??

Content Warnings: the What and the Why

Posted by on 03/13/2019 • 1 Comment

After getting into an argument on Twitter, I came to the realization that the purpose and definition of content warnings isn’t as widely known as I previously thought. I’ve always felt that content warnings are necessary and to have them be perceived as shameful was incredibly frustrating. I decided to channel my frustration into a (hopefully) helpful post that breaks down what they are, what they do and why they are so incredibly important. 

What Are Content Warnings

As the term implies, they are warnings that precede content. To be more specific, content that might be sensitive. These kind of warnings can be found on all sorts of media – tv shows, movies, games, books, etc. Keep in mind that a content warning isn’t necessarily the same as a…

Just Finished Watching: Manifest

Posted by on 02/21/2019 • 0 Comments

I haven’t done this in AGES but I just finished season 1 of Manifest which I reallly felt the need to talk about so here we areeeee. I am sure you were as fascinated by the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 as I was so when I found out this show was about a plane disappearing and the people returning 5 years later not having aged a day, I WAS CURIOUS. CURIOUS indeed. Also curious about how I could make that run on sentence not a run on sentence but thats for another day.

My friend Nick watched the pilot but was unimpressed so I decided to not dive in right away. I was bored one day late in October though and suddenly found myself in the…

Join Xpresso Readers Lounge!

Posted by on 02/08/2019 • 0 Comments

Hi lovely bookish people! We’d love to invite you to our new Xpresso Readers social lounge Facebook Group!

This group is for fans, readers, authors, and bloggers to socialize and discuss books. There will also be author takeovers, giveaways, freebie and sale notices, and more fun bookish stuff like hot teasers and sneak peeks! It’s mostly YA of all genres and adult Romance oriented, but there will be the occasional PNR/UF, too! Come in, get to know amazing bloggers, make new reader friends, and meet the best of the best authors! And don’t be shy – post questions, random bookish polls, discussions. We want to chat and get to know you!

Respect other members is our only rule! Book lovers unite!!…

Why Marie Kondo Doesn’t Actually Want You To Throw Out All Your Books

Posted by on 01/16/2019 • 2 Comments

Marie Kondo took the world by storm with her ‘revolutionary’ tidying up ideas with her bestselling books. On January 1st, Netflix decided to drop “The Art of Tidying Up With Marie Kondo,” bringing even more people on board the KonMari train but also causing many people to lose their minds when Marie Kondo ‘made’ people get rid of their books in an effort to clean up and take back their living spaces. 

Except she didn’t???

I haven’t finished watching the series nor have I had the privilege of reading any of her books but based on what I have seen and what I know about her books, nowhere does she explicitly state you should get rid of your books and everything else you love.

I am a lover of…

And That’s a Wrap: 2018 Edition

Posted by on 12/31/2018 • 2 Comments

Last year, I just did a general roundup trying to include best books and all that jazz but this year I wanted to do a more detailed book roundup. I wasn’t sure if I should do a personal roundup too but its such a good way for me to reflect on the year and figure out what I want from the next one SO HERE WE ARE!

– I survived???? I really haven’t accomplished much this year but with the amount of turmoil I’ve experienced, I feel like surviving is a huge feat. *gently pats self on back*

-I also baked a lot this year and I stepped outside of my comfort zone! I made pain au chocolat, made the perfect batch of cookies, a good scone, biscuits…

Myers-Briggs Book Tag

Posted by on 11/26/2018 • 3 Comments

I saw Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight do this and decided I needed to do it too since I am low-key obsessed with personality tests. Here is where this tag originated. Take the test here and join us in the fun shenanigans!!!

So I cannot remember what is the other thing I’ve gotten in the past but in the 3-4 times I’ve taken this test, I’ve gotten INTJ pretty consistently I THINK. It’s the type I remember getting so thats what we are going with. I am also a close ISTJ but I think INTJ is slightly more relevant to who I am as a person and I LIKE IT BETTER so there we have it. Its also kind of like the whole house thing where I’ve gotten both…

Join Our Xpresso Deals Community!

Posted by on 11/09/2018 • 0 Comments

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