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I wasn't originally going to do this topic but then I changed my mind! Strap yourself in as I go on a journey through my book life!
1) Teen Romance to No Romance
When I was way younger most of the girls were reading things like Sweet Valley High, Sweet Dreams, Cheerleaders and I loved them. The irony is that now I really have no interest in seeing romance in my reads. I prefer as little as possible and could do without it totally. A lot of the time it bogs down a story and overshadows the plot, especially love triangles and quads, and instaluv. It can ruin good plots when romance angst dominates. The exception for some reason is Tudor fiction. I don't seem to mind those scandal filled love trysts as much in this genre.
2) The No Crime Scene
I was right into kid crime like Enid Blyton's Famous Five, Secret Seven, Five Find-Outers etc when I was young and read other crime books with amateur detectives like Linda Craig, Trixie Belden, the Jackie and Phantom Horse books. The older I got, the less interested in crime I became and I discovered that I don't enjoy police procedure books with lots of witnesses interviewed and crime scene investigation. I also got bored with PI books as I found them all a bit samey. The exceptions were the early Alex Cross books, which I no longer read and Lincoln Rhyme as it just felt totally different. I need to catch up with Deaver!
3) YA To Avoidance
For a while I would read every YA paranormal and dystopian YA that I could from around 2012-2015 but then every book I picked up seemed like a rehash of Twilight. I got bored with the whiny girls, brooding obnoxious heroes with an issue, relationship angst, dreadful school bullies, the chosen one, instaluv and other tropes. It is now actually rare for me to read YA but there are some good ones out there. I now read the reviews of these books carefully before I dive in and I must be convinced that the plot is front and centre with limited or no angst!
4) The Joy Of Monsters
I was always a fan of vampires, zombies and werewolves (and was just getting back into reading thanks to Harry Potter) and a google search led me to discover Goodreads and urban fantasy. I also saw the range of monsters in the horror genre out there. Suddenly I was reading demons, witches, shifters, golems, mutated monsters, sharks, sea monsters, Sasquatches, wendigos, chupacabras, death worms, along with non fiction on various Cryptids and monster myths. Finding the whole creature feature genre of shorter fast paced monster gorefests made me very happy. I have found a particular love for books with sharks, Sasquatches and zombies and read as much of them as I can.
5) The Experimentation Phases
When I joined Bookcrossing and Goodreads, I figured it was a good time to expand my reading horizons and try new things. This led to phases like reading Asian/Middle East NF about real life people in war zones, under the reign of Mao, harsh regimes and family life. I dabbled in contemporary, fantasy, SF, thrillers and discovered a love for Tudor fiction and reading about mountain expeditions. That phase shaped my reading for a while. Now I know what my favourite genres are, what I'll dabble in and what no longer interests me so I no longer read a lot of things out of my comfort zone unless I love the sound of the plot.
6) Faster Faster Creature Feature
I used to read things like Stephen King with the slow burning tension, suspense or horror building but I admit that I now find this kind of book with slow plots or mild creepy vibes mixed up with coming of age stuff too dull for me. The moment I read ZA Recht's fast paced zombie trilogy, I was ruined for slow horror! Now I go straight to the no waffle, fast paced creature features that are churned out by Hunter Shea, Rick Chesler, and I can read some of these books in one night and get an adrenaline filled gory scarefest to get the heart pumping!
7) The Prepper Within
My family have always had a store of food and cleaning products so that whatever we needed was there ready to use and shopping trips were just to top up or buy something specific for dinner that we took a notion for. This was due to my mum growing up in times of frequent blackouts and strikes. I carried on that tradition. Then I discovered prepper fiction, unleashed my inner prepper and expanded what I have in the house for 'just in case' times! These books actually scared me a bit, seeing the effects of an EMP, solar flare, economic collapse, nuclear war-but they are very exciting apocalypse fiction to read!
8) The Library Hooverer
The first day of the school summer holidays, I was round at the library to get my allowance of three books. If my friends were not available I'd just read all day instead. Within days I was back at the library to hoover up a few more titles. By the end of summer I had read a ton. Sadly with budget cuts the library started making you pay for library tickets each year, paying to order and reserve books, but the sections I read like horror still had all the old books I'd read years ago and not many new ones being added. It stopped being worth it for me and I no longer use the library at all as all the books I want would never be available there.
9) Reading Through The Night
I used to be able to just sit up through the night to watch live sport events or finish off an enjoyable book at 5am and then catch a few hours sleep until lunchtime but I just can't do it at all these days! This older body needs a good sleeping pattern and I can't do anything to disrupt it so I can no longer do the all night read! The book has to be set aside and left until the next day to be finished in the daylight hours!
10) Queen DNFer
Many years back I'd finish every book I read, struggling for over a week to finish things I wasn't enjoying. I don't know when exactly this changed and I don't recall reading about DNFers before I sort of became one! All I know is that now I have so many books to read that I can't spend time on stuff that is dull and uninspiring. I'd rather quit the book and just move on to something better. I'm lucky that I can just stop and not care what else happens or what I might be missing as I no longer care. Not everyone finds it easy to DNF but I'm glad I do!
I remember being able to stay up reading most of the night! No chance anymore sadly, unless I then sleep most of the day which isn't really practical :-/
ReplyDeleteI always feel dreadful if I even try those all night reading sessions! I really suffer the next day! I used to like an all night read when I was really enjoying something!
DeleteYep, my body demands more sleep now too. I don't know how I did it sometimes. I know how lucky I am to have great library systems around me and when I read comments like yours about the ones you have, I get so sad. The library is such a great resource. I love my creature features too but still enjoy a slow burn from time to time. Great list!
ReplyDeleteI loved the library as a kid but to be honest Amazon is my only real reading resource now which is kind of sad. They just don't hold decent book sales any more!
DeleteDNFing made my list, too. I never used to do that. I went to the library often as a teen/preteen, but now I read a lot of obscure stuff that they don’t have. Also, the waitlists for library books are nuts.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I get that libraries have running costs and stuff but if they want people to use them in the UK they need to be free. If people have to pay to use every resource, they'll bypass the library and just buy the book rather than pay to temporarily rent the book!
DeleteI love your list! So clever and funny. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Lark! It was a fun topic!
DeleteI used to have issues DNFing too but I eventually got to the point of accepting that there are too many books (and not enough time to get to them all) to continue with something that makes me want to poke my eyeballs out.
ReplyDeleteYes I agree. If I didn't DNF books I'm not enjoying, my TBR would still me in the multiple thousands!
DeleteYour tastes really have changed a lot. I sort of came full circle and am reading books like the ones I loved as a teen. LOL. I never felt bad about DNFs though.
ReplyDeleteIt's weird how I never read crime and romance now! I always enjoyed SF and fantasy films and series yet never used to read anything in the genres which was weird! I can't say I ever felt bad about DNFs. It just became a practical choice when I started reading more.
DeleteIt's amazing how much your reading tastes can change over the years. I used to be able to stay up reading late but never do that anymore. I usually try to go to bed about 30 minutes before I want to go to sleep so that I can read for a bit before closing my eyes. I enjoyed seeing all of your changes!
ReplyDeleteI used to love late nights with a good book! Now my sleeping pattern is way too precious for me to mess with! I go up to my room around 6pm each night to read until about 11pm-midnight then go to sleep. I can pack plenty into those hours especially flying through a good book!
DeleteOh how I can relate to number 9! I miss staying up to the small hours of the night reading, but these days adulting saps the energy out of me - if I stay up all night reading, I'll pay for it by being a zombie the next day. Damn responsibilities! :P
ReplyDelete~Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum
It seems a lot of us used to enjoy number nine but the older bones can't deal with it! I only make an exception for general election nights to see some of the results but even then 3am is kind of my limit!
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