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It’s no surprise to those who regularly read my blog that I love to read. And I will easily consume around a hundred books a year. However, I’m also a mood reader. What does that mean you might be wondering? Basically, you have to be in a certain mindset or mood in order to read. A book that sounds right up your alley one day and get added to your TBR (to be read) list, might end up staying there for a long time. Because choosing what to read next is not as simple as what is currently waiting to be read or sitting on your book shelf. And no matter how much you would like to read that book, if you’re not feeling it then it’s staying where it’s at.
So, I thought I’d go over the pros and cons of being a mood reader. Especially considering lately I’ve been experiencing many of the cons.
The Pros
- You read what you want when you want, so everything that you read ends up being something you geniunely enjoy. And if it’s not working out, you have no problem setting that book aside.
- Reading never feels like a chore. As you don’t read for the sake of getting through a list or achieving some goal. So, reading is never boring.
- You read a great variety of books and genres. As it depends on what your mood is at the time you pick up a book. Even if you gravitate towards a particular genre, you can still find a variety of tropes, subgenres, etc. I generally read Fantasy with offshoots of Romance and Sci-Fi.
The Cons
- You have a lot of unread books that one day you want to read but just have never gotten around to reading.
- Book clubs or reading challenges generally don’t end up working. If the book picked by others isn’t something you’re in the mood for, it’s not getting read. I run a book club and many of these books have added up joining my TBR, but never end up being read by me. Though I have read a few great ones because of it, but I’ve read them months after they were technically due.
- Finding the right book to read can be a chore as while they might sound interesting, they might not strike the mood at the time. And sometimes that’s experiencely difficult to tell.
- Reading goals are nearly impossible to make. You might end up reading dozens of books in a month to going through weeks of a blood slump as nothing sparks that desire to pick up a book.
When I was little my mom used to make me list out all of the books I read, so I would reach a goal. Then school tried forcing the same thing, and I always hated trynig to read enough to satisfy their requirements. When I started reading for me, and not having to worry about what others thought was an appropriate amount to read or what I needed to read, I enjoyed it a lot more.
It’s all about finding out what works for you. And if a reading slump happens, they happen and there’s nothing wrong with that. Nor is there anything wrong with shelving a book for later that you know you would like if you were in the mood for it. I have a few of those where I’m just waiting for the mood to come back around to them. And others I’m waiting to start until my brain decides now is the time to start those.
Love ya,
Mae Polzine
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