Let’s talk about anything bookish!
Happy Monday readers and welcome to the #ShelfLove edition of my weekly bookish discussions. This weeks’ topic is about our reading pet peeves, and I honestly do not know how to craft my post!
I decided to approach this a different way. How about I talk about the things I hate about myself when it comes to reading. So basically, my Horrible Reading Habits.
I DNF books really quickly
I DNF books pretty often, and I HATE it! I think it boils down to impatience and just plain laziness on my part. I mean, if I’m not enjoying a book, I immediately DNF it. I think there isn’t anything wrong with that because, why finish reading it when you hate it, right? I think my issue is that I DNF books pretty early on, rather than wait until about halfway in. See, this is precisely why I have an ON HOLD shelf on Goodreads because of this issue. I think it has gotten better, in a sense that I actually go back and read books on the books that I added on that shelf. You know, I do ENVY other readers who actually finish a book even though they don’t really enjoy it. But that is just me!
I do not review books ASAP
I drag my reviews for as long as I can. Again, this is something that I absolutely HATE! I wish I review faster and more frequently than other book bloggers! I have also been thinking about doing quick reviews and not do a full review so I can keep up with all the books I read. Do you have any tips on how to review faster? I would love any that can help me!
I can’t remember character names and places
This is another #bloggerconfession right here! I almost always forget character names and places/locations in the books that I read! Most especially if these are my 3 heart reviews, but some are my favorite reads! THE HORROR, I know! But honestly, I think it is because of my love for audiobooks! I know it helps to read the names rather than just listen to it. But yeah, my memory sucks, big time.
I get distracted a lot when I read physical books
I’ve been reading more and more ebooks and listening to more and more audiobooks lately that reading a physical book is foreign to me. I have had times where I actually touched a word on the page and expected the dictionary to pop-up! I think I have mentioned this a few times, but I find it hilarious! But I do miss reading physical copies, which is why I challenged myself to read more physical books this year.
Reading multiple books at the same time
Although it is a good thing, sometimes it’s not. Because I read multiple books at the same time, I get some of the plots mixed up! I wish I can nip this habit ASAP because it does get too confusing. Right now, I have 5 books on my currently reading shelf and it’s driving me a bit nuts! HELP needed, please!
Keeping track of those quotes….scary!
I admit, I can’t keep track of any books quotes, no matter how hard I try. I ENVY the bloggers who can, actually. I, however, just suck at it! I try to write them down, but then, they don’t seem to sound profound, or even quotable! If you love to gather quotes, how do you do it? Any tips for me?
I royally screwed my goals for #ShelfLove Challenge because I purchased a few books this month: These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker & Kelly Zekas, The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman, and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. I haven’t read them yet but I am super excited to start reading them!
Books I Read for the #ShelfLove Challenge
Cold-Hearted Rake | The Highwayman | The Revolution of Ivy
Let’s Discuss
Do you have any bookish pet peeves or horrible reading habits? Share your thoughts in the comment section!
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Oh wow, we share a lot of terrible reading habits!
I have a habit of reading a few pages of a book, and the either putting it on hold until I feel like reading it again, but if I get to the halfway point, I’ll usually be like, “eh, got this far, might as well finish it.”
I’m really trying to keep track of quotes while reading to make it easier for me when I want to write the review, but I always end up getting so sucked into the story I forget to highlight/stick post-it notes!
darcy h. recently posted…Six Romance Tropes (That Make Me Swoon) Pt. 1
I know what you mean, Darcy! I have post it flags by my bedside for my physical copies AND I JUST CAN’T remember to jot them down! For ebooks, I have highlighted some….but when I read them again, they don’t look like legit quotes! Hahaha I need someone to teach me how to do this!
I am getting worse about the DNF quickly. But there are just so many books I want to read! And I used to be better about quotes, but these days I don’t always have a post it note or something with me to mark it if I see it. And sometimes I have problems remember details like character names, places, etc. So don’t feel bad! I used to be really good about reviews, did them as soon as I finished a book, but haven’t been that great lately, getting later and later with them. Great post!
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature) recently posted…Review: The Great Hunt by Wendy Higgins
Thanks, Lisa! I have been reading more so I guess catching up on reviews are not what I’ve been focusing on!
And I do DNF really, really fast…but I do try to read them again, after a few months have passed.
Thanks for stopping by!
Almost all of these apply to me too but quotes don’t interest me and I don’t feel bad about DNFing quickly. I don’t have time to read bad books.
I have an on hold shelf too (I think it’s called hiatus) but it’s mostly for books that I was reading but got lost in the shuffle because I was reading too many books at the time. Like, I started Emmy & Oliver last week but now Riders is due at the library on Thursday and I can’t renew it so I’m not actively reading Emmy & Oliver right now. I haven’t moved it to the hiatus shelf yet but if I have to return it to the library and wait for it to travel back to its home library before I can request it again, I will. Then I’ll pick it up where I left off instead of starting new.
I have at least two books to review that I read in November. November! They’re review copies, too, so I can’t really just skip them. Well, I could, but I liked both books so I do want to review them. I am currently reading 7 books. I have problems remembering character names and locations too. I think that’s why I have so much trouble with fantasy. The names are usually unusual/made-up, which doesn’t help.
Jenna @ Rather Be Reading YA recently posted…Free Printable Planner Stickers: St. Patrick’s Day
Hahaha I have a few books out from the library too! 🙂 I also don’t have time to read books that don’t interest me, but I’m amazed at those who can! I also forgot to add that I am a mid-slow reader and I get sooo jealous when people can speed read like crazy!
Ooh what a great way to spin this topic!! I think I don’t DNF fast enough, so that’s interesting that you DNF too fast. I also find if I don’t review right away, I can’t remember JACK about the book since I’ve moved on to the next read haha.
Julie S. recently posted…Defects Review
So true! Except for books that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE! I always remember those and pick up on the isms.. 🙂
I DNF alot more than I used to, but there are so many books I want to read, that if I am not enjoying a story I put it aside. When doing quotes….for me the problem is I got so into a story I forget to mark a spot that would be a good quote to use. So lately I have been keeping a notebook by my side when I read and I will write down quotes I like and certain qualities of the story that I want to mention in my review. Or if I am on the go I just put the page numbers for a quote in my phone. Just a thought that might help. I will admit I love to listen to movie scores while reading and eating food….bad I know but I love it. hehe
Some people do that and if it works, then it works! I color and do other stuff while listening to an audiobook, too!
I just wish that I can write down awesome quotes! Even if I have a notebook right next to me! 🙂
I’m an unapologetic DNF’er, and don’t consider that a bad habit 🙂 I have a 50 page rule, and if a book isn’t grabbing my attention by then I DNF it and move on. There’s just too many books out there and not enough time in one lifetime to get through them all!
You do have a point, Sara! I think it’s just because I have tried to read the books that I DNF’d before AND LOVED IT, the second time. Maybe my mood wasn’t in it? Which is why it still boggles my mind when other readers are able to finish books they don’t really like…. LOL
ohhh a kindred spirit! 🙂 I do pretty much everything in your list 🙂 I’m a consummated DNFer. the only thing different is that I concentrate better with real books.
Daniela Ark recently posted…What a Week [37]: Writing Tip – Characters Relationships
I know! I think it’s because I trained my brain to do things differently the last couple of years? I wish I could concentrate more on physical books… but my brain is wired in a way that I CAN think while I’m coloring…or something! 🙂
Ooh Cold-Hearted Rake and The Highwayman! I love Six of Crows! And I’m definitely enjoying The Dark Days Club so far.
I also read so many books at once, haha. But usually they’re pretty different genres so I don’t get them confused. Oh I’m super terrible at not reviewing books right away. Thankfully, a lot of my ARCs are ebooks, so yay for highlighting and notes lol. I actually love doing mini-reviews, they’re super helpful for this ones that I just don’t have time for.
Cyn recently posted…Blog Tour: A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab
I’ve been looking at doing mini reviews for a while now and maybe I just might! I have a ton that need to be reviewed but my thought is that if my review is really short, it’s not really a review… I know that’s wrong but that’s what I think!
YES! COLD-HEARTED RAKE!!! OMG!!! The Highwayman was OK, only because I read The Hunter first! Now that one was sooo good!
I can DEFINITELY relate! I almost always write book reviews at the last minute (which is a terrible, terrible thing ti do for me because 80% of the time I’ve already forgotten half of what I read by then), read multiple books all at once (but most of the time, I can only juggle two), am a sucker for remembering quotes (which is one of the reasons why I love Goodreads), and though I don’t have a problem with character names and places, I do suck at remembering a character’s physical descriptions! Sometimes I’ll be imagining the MC as a tall one with straight blond hair and later on I’ll find out the book describes him/her with flowing, black locks and I’m like “Oh. Well, then.”
Cool post, Ezrah!
Mara @ Mara Was Here recently posted…Having Incomplete Series Collections
YES! I know what you mean! I can read about 3 in reality.. 1 audiobook and 2 other books… but it is hard. I usually have to put books on hold if I don’t go back to reading them after a few days. Obvs because I would forget all the details! 🙂
I’m guilty of reading too many books at once and not writing reviews right away. I don’t get anything mixed up though because I always take notes while I read. That way, even if I wait two weeks to write the review, I know what I wanted to say about it and don’t forget any of the characters’ names.
I wish I can take down notes! I’m so horrible at that really! This might be something that I’ll have to work on seriously!
I’m horrible at writing reviews right away and keeping track of quotes. Horrible.
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction recently posted…How Much Do You Read? Let’s Discuss!
Same here, Nicole! Horrible is a great word to use for us! 🙂
I am with you on quite a few of these habits, others I am completely the opposite! I have so many books I need to review at the moment, every time I sit down to write a review I end up writing a different kind of blog post instead! Names and places are a nightmare, I blame that many of the books I read are fantasy so the places are made up (normally with unpronounceable names) and unusual character names.
I rarely DNF a book, I find it really hard to give up even though I am not enjoying it (I even wrote a post on this *was meant to be writing a review, woops*) I almost never read multiple books… just not for me! I find myself trying to turn the pages of my kindle e-books if I have been reading physical book for a while – so that can work both ways!
Deborah @ Hills of Books recently posted…Reasons we Read – when love is gone.
It’s so interesting how every reader is different! I also end up writing a discussion post instead of a review post! hahaha reviewing isn’t really my strongest forte, I must say! Which is why I started changing up my review style to make it interesting for me!
Haha I’m kind of the opposite of you in so many of these. I pretty much never DNF. I just can’t do it. But I’m happy doing things that way. And I’ve gotten a lot better at remembering character names, but I used to forget them literally as soon as I closed the book! And I generally stick to one book at a time because I’m not talented enough to keep track of more than that at once lol. The exception is that I sometimes get a review copy I need/want to read right away, so I’ll put the current book on hold while I read it.
But yes to the physical books thing! I’ve accidentally tried to swipe to the next page before, so you’re not alone. I’ve just gotten so used to ebooks that I too get distracted more easily with physical books!
Kristen @ Metaphors and Moonlight recently posted…Discussion: The Good Thing About Bad Books
I WISH I can’t DNF but I think a lot of readers have pointed out that if you don’t enjoy what you’re reading, then why finish it. But maybe it’s just me thinking that there are a few books that I DNF’d but when I try reading them again, they become favorites!
I also get distracted easily when it comes to reading physical books! LOL
I rarely DNF books, Zeee, but I think this is a fault of mine. I spend too much time reading a bad book! *ha* I do try to write my reviews immediately so that I can make sure not to forget important things BUT sometimes I just write some notes because my thoughts need to marinate. 😉 I do tend to read more than one book at a time lately but this is something new for me. Generally, it’s just one book (ebook or physical) and one audio. That’s about all my brain can handle! LOL Great post!
I know! I get so jealous when people can read books that they don’t really enjoy and this stems from my experience that for books that I initially DNF and try reading a second time, I end up loving them!
I’m trying not to read multiple books at once, though. At least 2 should be the max, I think. Unfortunately I’m a mood and fickle reader so … hahaha
I always think I should gather quotes, and then it just seems inconvenient. Like, I don’t have my “quote notebook” or whatever on hand, so I’m just going to lose it, and then what’s the point. And I agree finding good things to quote in this first place is a skill!
It is a skill! I really, really envy those that can do it!
I DNF quickly. I just don’t have time for bad books. I also read a few books at a time. I am terrible at grabbing quotes, too. Who is that organized? I review right away, but I still can’t remember names and places. That’s terrible. I think it is because I have so much make believe stuff on my brain. Ya, I’m blaming author for that.
Great post!
Karen Blue recently posted…My Addictions ~Beyond the Books
True! But there are a lot of super organized peeps! Some even tab their books while reading! And I’m like, who remembers to do that?!
Since I read fantasy, some of the names and places are super hard to remember, so I blame the author as well! hahaha