Top Ten Tuesday - New Reading Habits

 

Welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday. Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl to bring book bloggers and readers together. I participated in my first TTT last week and it was a lot of fun, so I'm eager to do it again this week.

This week's topic is: How my reading habits have changed over time

1. I read a lot more now than I used to

Although I've always loved to read, I haven't always been able to give as much time to my hobby either because of school or university assignments or exams. I'm happy to say that I've finally begun reading the way I've always wanted to. I finish one book and then immediately think about which to pick up next, and honestly, it feels great.

2. I've become more open to trying audiobooks

I've never been that interested in audiobooks. I remember I tried listening to Sherlock Holmes while I was running on the treadmill, and my experience wasn't great. However, that may be because classics sound a little boring compared to more modern literature. I gave audiobooks another shot a year or so ago listening to The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani, and this time I actually enjoyed it. I'm definitely going to try out more audiobooks soon.

3. I read more new books now than I did before

Something about myself that I find strange when I allow some time for introspection is that I felt anxious about trying new things when I was younger. I used to only borrow books from one section of my school library even though I wanted to try books from other shelves, but actually doing so caused me anxiety. I'm happy to say that now that I am older I feel more confident in doing whatever I want and reading whatever I want. I've read more books in the last three years than I had for the ten years before that.

4. I make lists now

I never used to list or rank the books I read. I couldn't understand the appeal. However, now I like making lists for everything: my favorite K-dramas, favorite Ghibli movies, favorite food, and many different, sometimes peculiar, book lists. 

5. I look around for recommendations

For the longest time, I just read books that were familiar to me or books that my school friends were reading. That's actually how I started reading Percy Jackson. However, I discovered Booktube a few years ago, and I've been watching recommendation videos and adding to my never-ending TBR since.

6. I don't read that many e-books or Wattpad books anymore

There was a time when I was obsessed with Wattpad, I would spend every moment I could reading stories on the app, much to the detriment of my eyesight. However, now I don't feel any great urge to open the app at all. I actually tried writing stories on Wattpad myself yet they never got that much traction. Sometimes I get the urge to write again, but who knows whether I'll ever act on it.

7. I read and see book reviews now

Honestly, the only times I had ever heard of book reviews were in school, and writing about a book I didn't choose to read was a struggle. However, I've now grown used to looking up reviews for the books I hear about. Reading and watching what other people think about possible new reads is something I love to do now.

8. I write reviews now and rate books which I never used to do before

So I never used to think about what I liked or didn't like in the books I read. I loved just imagining different worlds and following along with what the author had written. I had even joined a book club in university, but having to discuss my thoughts with others was difficult for me. However, now that I can spend more time reading, I love being able to think more deeply about the stories I read. I love sharing my thoughts too so I thought starting a book blog would be the best way for me to join the reading community.

9. I'm looking into getting my first library card

The only time I remember borrowing books from the library was at school, and I prefer owning the books I read so I never looked into the public libraries near me. Now that I want to read a lot more and can't afford to buy every book on my TBR, getting a library card seems like a good idea. 

10. I read a lot more graphic novels, and webcomics too

I use Webtoon to binge a lot of webtoon/manhwa now. I love reading mangas, comics, and graphic novels too. I used to read maybe one comic in 2-3 months before, but now I feel like I always have a webtoon ready. I love webcomics so much that I've even planned to review many of them for my blog. Hopefully, I'll get to them soon.

Thank you for reading. If you haven't read my first recommendation list for 15 must-read middle-grade books you can do so here.

On Saturday I'll be posting my review of The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, if you haven't read my review for the first book, The Inheritance Games yet, you can do so here.

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