Keeping a book journal, where not only do I identify the book I read, but take notes on them if so moved, I’ve been able to see patterns. My 5 star books tend to be beautiful writing that inspires personal reflection. Ones that give insight on how others live their lives and the choices they make and why. This works for fiction as well as nonfiction.
I love that! I also love the idea of having a physical journal to track reads and take notes. I used to do this years ago but in the social media age, I’ve resorted to tracking on Goodreads and StoryGraph. But I’d love to bring back an analog aspect to my reading life too. Thanks for sharing!
One thing I learned last year was that one bad moment does not mean its a bad life, and I found that to be true for my reading as well. One of my reading projects had left me feeling disappointed and like I was losing my flow with the genre - but I have come to realise that I have indeed changed. Certain books, tropes or genres do not appeal to me anymore, as I am in a completely different part of my life, so they just don't resonate as much as they used to. That is probably the biggest change I have discovered when it comes to my reading identity.
And slow reading. Slow reading just changed the game completely for me as a reader :)
I love thinking about this and reading your thoughts about it! In 2015 when I got back into reading regularly, I never thought about the fact that my reading tastes would change as the years went on and it's fascinating to see how they do! I struggled to understand my taste in the back half of 2024 and now I'm excited to lean into it in 2025 and see where that brings me. Can't wait for us both to discover and chat and share (if we want!) about it! <3
Thanks Michelle! I hadn’t really thought about it changing either, before really having a consistent public engagement with fellow readers online. I’m excited too—it would be fun to do quarterly check-ins over the year to see how it goes!
In 2023 I started tracking my reading in my Hobonichi - I read 75 books…and hit a plateau! In 2024, I barely read 20 books (half of which were for book club so I felt obligated to read those). My work load (and stress!) has grown exponentially in the same time period. I’m mentally fatigued and don’t find reading relaxing these days. Does Tik Tok scrolling affect my reading? Probably! My goal for this year is to make reading fun again - even if that means reading more chick lit, etc that doesn’t meet ‘book club’ standards.
Ahhh thanks so much for sharing your thoughts! I feel so much of this deeply—in fact, my only real “goal” for last year was to bring fun back into my reading life…and I’m not entirely sure I succeeded to be honest. The last few months of the year were tough, and I admittedly got bogged down and overwhelmed by the social media-ness of the book world and really started to question my own taste. But there is absolutely a place for fun and joy and I’m trying to reclaim some of that, too!
Keeping a book journal, where not only do I identify the book I read, but take notes on them if so moved, I’ve been able to see patterns. My 5 star books tend to be beautiful writing that inspires personal reflection. Ones that give insight on how others live their lives and the choices they make and why. This works for fiction as well as nonfiction.
I love that! I also love the idea of having a physical journal to track reads and take notes. I used to do this years ago but in the social media age, I’ve resorted to tracking on Goodreads and StoryGraph. But I’d love to bring back an analog aspect to my reading life too. Thanks for sharing!
One thing I learned last year was that one bad moment does not mean its a bad life, and I found that to be true for my reading as well. One of my reading projects had left me feeling disappointed and like I was losing my flow with the genre - but I have come to realise that I have indeed changed. Certain books, tropes or genres do not appeal to me anymore, as I am in a completely different part of my life, so they just don't resonate as much as they used to. That is probably the biggest change I have discovered when it comes to my reading identity.
And slow reading. Slow reading just changed the game completely for me as a reader :)
This is all so true!! I’ve had phases like that as well. And I completely agree about slow reading 🥰
I love thinking about this and reading your thoughts about it! In 2015 when I got back into reading regularly, I never thought about the fact that my reading tastes would change as the years went on and it's fascinating to see how they do! I struggled to understand my taste in the back half of 2024 and now I'm excited to lean into it in 2025 and see where that brings me. Can't wait for us both to discover and chat and share (if we want!) about it! <3
Thanks Michelle! I hadn’t really thought about it changing either, before really having a consistent public engagement with fellow readers online. I’m excited too—it would be fun to do quarterly check-ins over the year to see how it goes!
In 2023 I started tracking my reading in my Hobonichi - I read 75 books…and hit a plateau! In 2024, I barely read 20 books (half of which were for book club so I felt obligated to read those). My work load (and stress!) has grown exponentially in the same time period. I’m mentally fatigued and don’t find reading relaxing these days. Does Tik Tok scrolling affect my reading? Probably! My goal for this year is to make reading fun again - even if that means reading more chick lit, etc that doesn’t meet ‘book club’ standards.
Ahhh thanks so much for sharing your thoughts! I feel so much of this deeply—in fact, my only real “goal” for last year was to bring fun back into my reading life…and I’m not entirely sure I succeeded to be honest. The last few months of the year were tough, and I admittedly got bogged down and overwhelmed by the social media-ness of the book world and really started to question my own taste. But there is absolutely a place for fun and joy and I’m trying to reclaim some of that, too!
I love this! My reading life changed so much in 2024- I’m so curious what 2025 holds! I’m learning to embrace the changes 💛