2024 Reading: Ins and Outs

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful festive season and a positive start to 2024. I thought I'd kick of the new year with a fun wee post of what reading habits I think should be in and out for the year ahead. Hope you enjoy and let me know your thoughts and ins and outs for your own reading in the comments!

Ins:

DNFing books you don't like.

Let's just be honest with ourselves if we're not getting into a book. There is too little time and too many incredible books out there to waste your time on something you're not loving! If you're not fully invested in a book by the hundred page mark, let it go and pass it on to someone who will love it!

Admitting that some classics are boring.

I'm using the term classic here to indicate any book that is generally old by the way! I know this is a bit controversial so don't get me wrong I love some classic novels. I'm looking at you Jane Austen, Harper Lee, all the girlies really. All I'm really trying to say is that just because you think War and Peace sounds like a snooze fest that doesn't mean that you're not a "good" or "serious" reader. Read what you want to and don't feel pressure to be obsessed with every classic novel to prove you're a reader reader.

Respecting Romfic.

It just goes without saying that it's no surprise that Romfic; a genre mostly written by and for women is looked down upon. I'm actually working on a full blog post about this topic at the moment so I won't say too much here but I really want to highlight how much misogyny (internalised or overt) is behind the prejudice that Romfic faces. If you've never given it a try before, or you have seriously used the term "chicklit" in your life, PLEASE read my Romfic blog post coming soon and let me try and convert you!

Planning time to read.

It can be hard to find the time to read when you're really busy, with work and school etc. Equally it can be hard to find the motivation to read when you're mentally drained and the allure of mindless scrolling or rewatching your favourite comfort show on Netflix is becoming irresistable. That's why it's important to actually intentionally make time in your day to read. Not in a scary read right now or you're a failure way though! Think more of an oh yay what a surprise I didn't plan anything for the next hour so I can start my new book kind of way. Honestly it only takes a wee half an hour or an hour a few times a week and you'll be amazed how much you can read.

Judging a book by its cover.

I know this seems like an extremely weird thing to say but bear with me. I know not everyone will agree with me but hear me out. I'm going to be really honest now so don't judge me okay! Unless I'm going to the bookshop to look for something specific, I 100% stroll around going 'ooooh that's pretty' then picking books up based on that. I do still read the blurb you know, I'm not completely shallow! I know this goes against ye olde saying but it's 2024 so I really feel like it's not that crazy to want my books to also have beautiful designs. What can I say? I'm just a girl who wants her book case to be slaying🥰

Read your whole bookcase before buying any more books.

This is aimed a thousand percent at myself because I don't do this. Basically the idea is you should aim to finish reading everything on your bookcase before you buy new books! If there's anything on your bookcase you find that you don't want to read, give it to friends, family or charity to make space for books you're excited about. It's a good idea right? Well I'm trying my best but we're six days into January and I bought a book today and one last week. Oops! Oh well there's always tomorrow!

Outs:

Reading books just because they're viral.

Sometimes the more you see people talking about a book it makes you think you absolutely NEED to read it even if you know it's really not up your alley. Let's not do that. Use your own judgement to decide what you actually want to read. Try to use social media and book awards etc as inspiration not instruction.

Letting negative reviews affect your opinion.

Have you ever finished a book, merrily gone on to Goodreads to leave a glowing review, found that not everyone agrees with you and felt a bit embarrassed? I think about half of you will be agreeing right now and the other half thinking, what is wrong with this girl? I'll try and explain a bit. Sometimes I feel a bit silly if I thought a book was so amazing and then I read lots of reviews totally slating it. It makes me almost feel a bit shy to leave my positive review. Well anyway that's OUT! Let's be confident about things we loved. The fact that someone else doesn't like a book that you loved it tells us only one thing. We all have different tastes! It doesn't mean they're cleverer than you and saw things you missed. Okay? Okay.

Browsing independent bookshops then ordering online.

Do I have to explain this one? Surely this is a criminal offence. I'm not saying you can't order books online, you can get your books wherever you like! However, I really don't think it's fair to go into an independent bookshop, enjoy the beautiful displays, curation, the staff's personal recommendations, choose a book based on all those things then... leave and buy it online. Probably at one of the big companies that's putting independent bookshops out of business! Sorry but I think that's really bad book shop etiquette. If you love reading and bookshops please help to keep them alive if you can!

Trying to keep all your books pristine.

I've seen so many videos about how to open the spine of your books properly so they don't crease or people getting tracing paper to lay on pages and take notes and things like that. That's all fine but it's just not for me! I love when my books look like they were mine. They're a time capsule of what I was thinking and doing at the time. I love seeing a wee tea stain, a line I thought was so beautiful I had to mark it and turn the corner of the page. I love that one of my favourite childhood books is all wrinkly at the edges where I dropped it in the bath then dried it on the heater. I sign my name and write when I got it in every book that comes into my hands because I adore when I open a second hand book and I see the traces of the people who've read and loved it before me. What I'm really saying is that I'm okay with my books being mine and bearing the evidence of that.

So that's it! That's my 2024 reading ins and outs. Remember this is just a silly wee light hearted post and these are all just my opinions! So please don't feel bad if you don't agree with anything I've said. Anyway you read is fine by me<3

Wishing everyone a wonderful 2024!

Love, Grace xx