How blogging changed my relationship to books

Book discussions, , 95 Comments

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening friends! How are you? I hope your week’s going good so far. I personally can’t wait to be on holidays haha. Today’s Wednesday and, after my blog post celebrating my two years of blogging, I kind of wanted to do another sort of throwback kind of post, but talk about, books, and my evolving relationship to these lovely creatures.

blogging ways

This post is part of my special feature called “Blogging Ways“, where I rant, rave and babble a lot about everything related to blogging. Since blogging changed obviously a LOT of things about my ways of reading, I thought that after two years, it was time for me to analyse all of this…in the form of A LIST.

I read differently

Okay, this assumption seems weird. Do I read the books upside down ? Sometimes, but not most of the time. Thing is, book blogging is making me read differently, because I often read and think about my feelings while I read A LOT MORE. When I close the book, even

book reviews feelings

if it takes me ages to write a review, I’m thinking about it. I think more about the characters, the plot, the story, my feelings. Overall, I’ve become a more critical reader.

I read MORE

Book blogging is a trap, guys (Just like growing up. Except I’m thrilled to be book blogging anyway. Not as much can be said for growing up). Don’t do it. You’ll end up reading way too much, ordering new books every two days and having panic attacks when you don’t have anything to read. I know reading is not a competition, and I am far from reading 200 books a year like some bloggers seems to do. And I am happy this way. I read at my rhythm, but blogging renewed my interest for books, made me want to read more.

reading-books

I have more love for books, as objects

That sounds weird as well, but I had no idea how to put that, so you’ll excuse me. I just am overall more careful with my books, even if I always was. Books are precious little creatures. Also, I think I appreciate more the feeling of a great book, the feeling of getting book mail and holding books in my hands, the feeling of HAVING A BOOKSHELF. I do not have a bookstagram, but I LOVE bookstagram pictures. Books are BEAUTIFUL.

loving-books

I read more diversely

I know I have a lot of work when it comes to reading diverse books, but without the community, I don’t think I’d be as aware as I am now of reading diverse books. It’s such a wonderful and inspiring movement, and I’m thrilled to be inspired by this.

In another way, I read more diversely with the genres I pick. I read alone-booksWAY more weird books than before. Weird because they’re taking me to fantasy worlds, parallel Londons, through time and space, taking me to worlds I never expected to read about, and worlds I fell in love with.

I read, share, love and I’m part of something bigger

I always dreamed of working in publishing, and as of now, it’s still a dream of mine. I had a couple classes, I imagined this world a certain way, but only now that I am as close to it as I can be right now, I really feel it. I really see it. We bloggers are such an important part of publishing. We read, recommend, we scream about the books we love and we are definitely part of making books what they are, if you ask me. Would hype really exist if book bloggers and people like us weren’t here to scream their love about books? I do not know. But I love how aware I feel of bookish news now. How aware I feel of new releases. How exciting it feels to be part of a bookish world.books-life

I give more importance to what I read. I know not every single book will change my life, and I also know I won’t like everything I read. But I also know that, sometimes, thanks to blogging, to bookish recommendations, thanks to other bloggers, the hype, the love, I discovered books that changed my perpective on things. On life, on love, on reading. Books really, that made me laugh, cry, scream and fall in love again with reading.

Did book blogging changed the way you read ? Do you feel differently about books ? Do you read more, less, do you feel pressure to read all the books out there ? 💬

Let’s chat in comments! 💬

 

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Book blogger, travel blogger, writer. 📚 |🌍 | 💞 Writing & Communications Graduate. French. Living on love, wanderlust and ya books.

95 thoughts on “How blogging changed my relationship to books”

  1. I have always read a lot but since I started blogging I feel the need to get those posts scheduled! If a book doesn’t look like it’s going to be good, I drop it a lot quicker unless I’m obligated to give a review on it. So, I guess I’m not as patient which is a shame! I do still love reading and am one of those bloggers that read around 200 books. Lol.

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    1. Oh I understand this so much! I feel less patient as well, but…I have discovered SO many books I want to read, so obviously if a book doesn’t grab my attention quickly, it’s kind of hard not to want to give it up to read something else.
      And wow! I think it’s pretty amazing you can read SO many books! 😀
      Thank you so much for stopping by!

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  4. Blogging about what I’m reading changed my views on how I’d discuss things like character development, author’s influences, plot twists, etc. Sharing this conversation with others means I’m much more interested in finding opinions that cover a range of topics, and that, like you, I’m much more inclined to try books that before I never would have. It’s a very powerful thing indeed – “Everyone else is loving this book, what am I missing?”

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  5. This is all so true! Book blogging has definitely changed the way I read. I read more often and I now pick up books that are out of my comfort zone, which is great! Sometimes I do feel pressured into reading all the books. But then I remember that I read because I love to, not because I have to.

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  6. I can completely relate to all of these things, especially about reading more critically (although I think studying English in college has also contributed to that a bit). I also feel as though book blogging has made me read books that I might never have read or even heard about before I started blogging.
    What a great post! 🙂

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  7. Congrats on two years of blogging, Marie! Thats an amazing achievement. 💙 I am so with you on this – I agree with every point you’ve made. Blogging has totally changed the way that I read and I’ve certainly become a much more critical reader, especially when it comes to aspects like diversity and representation, which I know I didnt necessarily pick up on before even though I knew it was an important construct in general. Being a blogger has definitely changed my reading habits, mostly in a good way but I definitely spend more money than I ever did before haha! 😂 great post. Xx

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  8. Great post! I definitely read a lot more now that I blog. I used to take my time with books and savour every moment. But now my eyes have been opened to so many books I wouldn’t have otherwise known about so I just speed through my reading, hoping to get through so many books.

    I definitely think I read more diversely too, probably because I’m aware so many more books now. I’m also branching into a lot of different genres that I definitely don’t think I would have picked up before my blog.

    Lauren @ My Expanding Bookshelf

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  9. Blogging definitely changed how I read, in some of the same ways you mentioned. I definitely pay more attention as I read books, and are aware of publishing houses like I wasn’t before. Like before, I would read random indie books (which are hit and miss) and random ‘big’ published books (which are also hit and miss) and not really know the difference…which isn’t that significant, I guess. I also understand SO MUCH MORE about how publishing works now. And I hear about amazing books… I don’t think that either way is *better* but I love blogging too much to stop.

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  10. Great post Marie. ❤️ I’ve definitely found my reading habits have changed a lot since I started blogging, and a lot are the same ways yours have as well. I definitely started to read more diversely, and there are even more diverse books I’ve added to my to-read list I’m hoping to get around to in 2017 as well, and while I don’t actually read more (it’s actually less given the time it takes to publish posts and comment and everything) I have been buying a lot more books since I started blogging, like a lot a lot more. But that can be attributed back to all the amazing reviews I see on WordPress! 😀

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      1. That’s all right! ❤ I think I blog more than I do anything else. Some days more than others but, well, it's just so much fun isn't it? I don't know what I did with my time before I started blogging either. 😀
        Well there are so many amazing books out there you kind of just want to own them all don't you? 🙂

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  12. This is a great post. 🙂

    I’m glad I’m not the only one who doesn’t read 200 + books a year, I have read 56 according to the mighty Goodreads, though I have a few I’m reading at the moment as I’m rather lapse at remembering to update the site.lol Though four of what I read were comics or as I’m an adult graphic novels! 🙂

    I totally agree about reading more diversely, I’m a fantasy fan and quite a slow reader and with the hefty tome size of fantasy books don’t get many read (56) but with blogging I have found authors and series within fantasy that i wouldn’t have but also on my occasional forays into different genres some real quality reads to that I wouldn’t have read without blogging, not just “oh, that doesn’t interest me” so I didn’t read it but I doubt very much that I would even have heard of some authors and books that I have read with out having a blog. 🙂

    I also agree about giving more importance to what you read to, I think for me it would be that I just used to finish a book and move onto the next one to read without really a second thought but with having a blog, after you’ve finished reading you have the review to write, etc and books just seem more important because of that, I actually think about what I’ve read now.

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    1. Thank you so, so much! ❤ I'm glad I'm not the only one ahah. I do read more books than ever now, but I'm still at like 60 books this year, I think. Which is SO much for me already. I can't believe some people actually read 200 books a year, that seems insane to me haha, but great for them if they can 😀
      Oh yes, I found so many books within the genres I love, and in other genres I wasn't too used to reading, thanks to book blogging, and I am so grateful to that! 🙂
      I think so much more about what I read as well, and I think because of that, books have more of an impact as well 🙂

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      1. I read more books than ever to, it was no where near 56 last year but I think with having a blog, reading is now my go to for escapism rather than gaming or watching TV/films which I still enjoy but if you’ve five minutes spare then you can easily pick up a book and read a few pages, etc.

        I think some people are just fast readers, I’d be interested to know how though as I’ve tried speed reading and couldn’t do it.lol I didn’t enjoy just skimming the pages, etc but some can read fast and that’s cool for them, it’s all reading which is a good thing.😀

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  13. What a brilliant post! Book blogging has taken my love for books to another level, that is for sure! I used to consider myself a bookworm when I was reading 30 books a year, but it was just reading. Just reading. Reading with a review in mind forces you to pay closer attention, to pick books you wouldn’t have chosen before, to FEEL more. Reading indie authors and less known books have expanded my world, reading lots of thrillers has made me paranoid, hahaha but so much more curious and thankful I don’t have creepy neighbors.

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  14. YES to all the points above! Book blogging has made me a more competitive reader, but also more critical. Unlike you, I think blogging has made me try more popular/new books, as opposed to whatever was at my local library, but that’s okay too 🙂 And I think I’m more aware of the need for diversity in books. I don’t have bookstagram yet, but I hope to get it, so I’m kind of interested in making books nice? On the other hand, they are meant to be used, and loving them sometimes requires not keeping them pristine… then again, I also read a lot of ebooks which are obviously in once condition. Great (and very relevant) post!

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  15. So freaking true!! I agree with all the points you have stated. My reading habits have vastly changed since I started blogging as well. Love this post!

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  16. Hi Marie! I definitely agree with you that blogging changes your reading ways and I relate to all your points! Since starting to blog I’ve also noticed that I read differently. It’s no longer enough to just read a book and say ‘oh, I liked it’. Now I’m thinking constantly while reading about the character development, and the writing style, the world building, the use of tropes, and so on, so I can write a review. But it’s definitely great because it helps to experience a story more deeply I think. Also, yes, my TBR has only grown exponentially since I started blogging and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to read them all. Which is also ok, because I’d rather have too many books to choose from than none at all 😉 And I agree that blogging and the blogging community has made me more aware about diversity in books and media in general, which is just such an important topic.

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    1. Hi Lindsey! Thankyou so,, so much for your lovely comment ❤ I agree with you so much, I experiment books so differently now. I think about them while I read, after I read, and I realize so much more things about the story than I did before.
      And YES, the too many books problem. Not really an issue, we can never run out of ideas now, can we? 😀

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  17. Blogging made me more excited to read and share my thoughts with others. I mean, wow. After I finish a book, I’m always ready to put all those feels and thoughts into words and find out who else might have felt/thought the same/different. Great list, Marie! 🙂

    – Lashaan

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  18. I 100% agree on everything that you put in this post. Book blogging really does inspire a deeper appreciation for books as well as the community that you get to surround yourself with. Plus the thing about books being beautiful objects is so true. I could spend so much time of my day looking around bookstagram and admiring all the gorgeous photos. I loved this post. Thank you for shedding light to so many of the thoughts I never put words to.

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  19. I love this post and I agree with everything that you said, Marie! Even though I have been blogging for only a few months (okay, it is almost a year, but I still feel like a newbie here), I can definitely see that I’ve changed my relationship with books.
    I am much more aware of diverse representation and I became more critical when reading books as well. Moreover, I think about which editions I’ll buy and how I’m going to take pictures of them, hahah. Overall, I think reading is much more fun to me now, because I know I’ll be able to share my thoughts with other people and fangirl together. It is an amazing feeling!

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    1. Oh thank you so much, Lais! Haha I can relate to the taking pictures thing. Even if I just take pictures of the books for my blog, it takes me SO much time to do a very simple picture hahaha. I think blogging makes me a bit crazy? 😂
      It really is the best, to be able to share our feelings together about books we love ❤

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  20. I relate with each and every one of these. Especially with become more careful hahaha I become HYSTERICAL if someone mistreats my books -even myself- and I am so careful with them, it’s ridiculous.
    Also,, this is the first year I read as much, I used to read 1 or 2 books a month, and look at me now :p . And this is also the first year I think about the books for more than whether I liked them or not.
    Great post, twinnie ❤

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  21. Although I am very, very new to this whole world, I would have to agree. I just finished two amazing books back to back (this almost never happens). As soon as I finished both of them I started thinking… How can I describe this to people, how can I get people to understand how awesome these books were. I also tend to alway have discussion ideas in the back of my mind, like hmm I wonder if other readers feel that way, maybe I should write about it see what they think?

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    1. Ohh well welcome, I hope you’ll have fun blogging 🙂
      And don’t be afraid to write how you feel and what you think about books, and write down your discussion ideas, I often found that ideas I thought were just me rambling on and on for way too long, were actually really appreciated by other bloggers 🙂 And it’s always great to be able to speak your mind and chat this way with other bloggers 🙂

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  22. All of these are so true!! Before I started blogging, I just read a book and slapped a pretty high rating on it. But now, I really consider if the book was ACTUALLY good, in terms of plot, pacing, characters, etc.
    Honestly, without blogging, I don’t know where I would be with diverse books. I barely read books that were divers before, and I’m so grateful for the blogging community for highlighting it and showing me all these amazing, diverse books I should be reading!
    Great post, so relatable! 💕📚

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  23. I love this post, Marie! All of these are true for me too, perhaps maybe except the reading more thing, because I already read a lot anyway even before (at least when I wasn’t in a slump) and number-wise it remains relatively the same. But everything else is true – I love that I read more diversely now and that I feel like a part of a community. ❤

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  24. I agree so much on all of those! I mean, I’ve always read a lot, but now I am out of control. Whenever people want to get me something for my birthday or Christmas or something like that, I want books. I don’t even have room for them anymore! They’re just piling up on every available surface and I am so nit-picky about which editions I want or don’t want. Well, I am not dying if it’s the wrong one, but it does tear at my little bookish heart if they don’t match hahaha
    Great post, Marie! ❤

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    1. Hahaha out of control definitely is the right word to describe me right now. I can’t STOP ordering books and I think I’m going crazy. I don’t have any room left for them either haha, my bookshelves are full, my desk will soon be covered in books and all that will be left is my bed to put all the books on hahhaa.
      Thank you so much Kat! ❤

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  25. Ahh I wrote a post like this a while ago and it’s pretty much the same! :’) like, I too become so much more critical and read way more books than before I started blogging. Also yes to reading more diversely, both genre and subject wise. Book blogging pushed me out of my comfort zone and makes me read books that I would’ve never picked up on my own! My TBR has also exploded since I started blogging hahaha and yes to being part of something bigger. I love being in the bookish community even if it’s not always sunshine and rainbow 😛 And to answer your question, I do feel pressured to read all the books! Well… more like I don’t want to be left out and when it comes to books with huge hype I’m curious of what the fuss is all about hahaha great post Marie! ❤

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    1. Ahhhh really? Well great minds think alike? I’m so glad you feel the same way about it all 🙂
      I understand the feeling, I kind of feel left out when everyone’s talking about a book I haven’t read haha, and I definitely feel like reading these books even if before they wouldn’t even have interested me.
      Thank you so much! ❤

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  26. I love this post! Blogging has definitely changed the way I read. Just being a part of the book community during my pre-blogging days began to change that. All the points you hit I can relate to. Especially being more critical. I used to just race from book to book without much thought now I’m always thinking a lot while I’m reading and although it has slowed down my reading pace I enjoy that I do that now. Also, I’m with you on reading more diversely. Both in genre and just diverse books in general. I would have never picked up a thriller but now it’s a genre that I’m beginning to love. As for diverse reads, that’s one of my biggest goals for next year. To branch out more and find some great diverse reads. I’ve come across a few gems this year but not nearly as many as I hope to read in the future. If I would have never decided to blog I know that I would be missing some books that have become really important to me. Although, I think I read less now but that might have to do being busy outside of blogging more than anything 😂. Great discussion, Marie! 💕

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  27. I love this post series idea! Thank you for sharing your thoughts– and I agree with all of them. I am certainly a more critical reader. I am also constantly questioning things I am reading too. This is good from an analytical point, but it can also mean that I am too critical on the book itself. My partner also is an author. With my blogging, the relationships I’ve developed, and the opinions I have read, I feel like I can be a stronger editor for him. It’s fun,but often taxing on our relationship. Oops.

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    1. Oh thank you so much Jackie, I’m so happy you liked this post 🙂 I get it, sometimes I’m scared of becoming too critical as well, but well sometimes I’m able to shut down that critical part and just enjoy these not so perfect books 🙂
      Oh wow, well…at least you both love the written words, that’s awesome, no? 😀

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  28. Blogging has definitely changed the way I read! I totally get you with the critical reading – with every book I read now, I think about how I might write the review, what are the key points, etc.
    I’m also a lot more picky with the books I read now, because there are just so many of them out there that I’m aware of now!
    Great post, lovely! ❤

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  29. Lovely post, Marie ♥ I got back into reading and started blogging at pretty much the same time and I definitely notice a difference to when I used to read in the past. I feel inspired to read on a whole new level. I’ve also challenged myself and read outside my comfort zone. I’ve found books I never would have. Sometimes I feel a pressure to read that I didn’t have before, but the positives definitely outweigh the negatives.

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  32. I LOVED this post! My reading habits also changed a lot since since I started blogging. I’ve started reading a lot more, started reading more diversely and started being a lot more critical. Looking back at it, a lot of books I rated 5 stars at the beginning of my “blogging carreer” (lol) would now probably be 2 star reads for me.

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  33. Pingback: Weekly Wrap-Up: 12/12 – 12/18/16 | Cover2CoverMom

  34. Yes, I think it has…I reflect on the book more, I think about what people might like it or who may not…I try to be a little more discerning with my five stars (I used to give them out like candy, but instead now I put my favorites on a special shelf on GR instead). I also try to read less like a speeding train and more like a reader enjoying the book, so then I can really relate the experience as much as possible.
    I think it’s made me a better reader AND writer, since I’m writing posts and commenting every day or so. I love blogging and I would never give it up now!
    I’m addicted to book blogging! Help me! 🙀

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    1. This makes me SO happy to read, and I feel like we have the same feelings about blogging overall 🙂 I really think about the books more now, and even if I read way more books than before, I feel like I pay attention to every single one a bit more 🙂
      Hahaha, NO help needed, it’s a GOOD addiction 😀

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  37. I have always loved reading books. Life gets in the way and time seems to be shorter each day, but my goal this year is to read 15 books. I am on my third book. I have had my blog for 3 years and had never done a book review. I began this year on WP by doing a book review for a book I read at the tail end of 2016 called Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. Since then I have done another book review. I am not certain if I will do a book review for all the books I read this year, but I hope to do a few more reviews. I love recommending books and getting recommendations. I’m on Goodreads also.

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    1. Oh wow, well you’re doing great already on your reading challenge! 😀 Also, you don’t have to review every book you read if you don’t feel like it, what’s more important is that you write reviews you love 🙂 As for recommendations…well, you can get plenty from the community and I hope you’ll find some on my blog as well 😀 Thank you for stopping by 🙂

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  38. Blogging, especially bookstagram has made me far more aware of the condition of the books then I would really like. I try so hard not to get them ruined (more then I used to) and sometimes I wish that I didn’t care as much. But in the end, it’s all worth it.

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