Side note: I’m writing this post as I sit at the airport waiting for my flight back to Bali after an overnight stay in Jakarta and a hectic AF, whirlwind of a day attending an event for work. Sorry if it’s slightly short and a maybe a little mediocre 🙃
It’s that time of the week again, friends! We’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s prompt is: changes in my reading life. I find this topic pretty interesting and I specifically want to give focus to how my reading life has changed since I joined the book community earlier this year. Although it’s not something that I think about that often, I know that there have been so many changes to my reading life since then. Let’s see if I can get my brain to remember ten things! Here’s what I’ve come up with:
I read a lot more.
This year isn’t over but I’ve already read over 180 books. I’ve never done this before and it kind of astounds me that it’s happened this year. And so quickly? What! 🐼
I remember more of what I read thanks to writing more reviews.
My terrible memory is a little notorious but it’s amazing how much writing reviews has helped me remember the details in books I’ve read this year.
I’ve re-read quite a few books.
This is something that I always say I want to do but have never really done before. There are just too many books and so little time? But I’ve re-read a few this year!
I’ve branched out of my comfort zone.
Key piece of evidence here is the fact that I voluntarily read a horror for Halloween this year. And guess what? I actually loved it! 😱
I’ve added about twice the number of books to my shelves this year compared to previous years.
This counts towards changes in my reading life, right?! Because I’ve seriously added a helluva lot of books to my shelves this year. It does contribute to me reading a lot more!
I’ve become more conscious of diversifying my reads.
I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I never really thought about how diverse my reads were prior to this year… It’s not that I had anything against reading diversely, of course not, I just never really paid attention to it?
Similarly… I’ve become more aware of what I’m reading.
This may sound pretty silly but prior to joining the book community I kinda used to ‘mindlessly’ consume books — I know I’d enjoy certain reads, but I was never very critical about why. Neither was I very critical of whether certain topics were covered well or if they were awfully written. I’m so much more aware of issues now and while that means it takes a lot more to make me enjoy a book, I’m so glad for it 😂
I’ve become more open about my love for romances!
This comes back to a topic that I’ve brought up once or twice recently. I get so much flack about my love of romances from so many people that for so long I’ve kept my love for it on the ‘downlow’. That said I’ve been more open about it ever since I joined the book community and it has been GREAT!
I buy and read more non-fiction.
It’s not that I hate non-fiction. I have nothing against it other than the fact that it’s really hard for my attention to not stray while reading it. But I know a lot of bookstagrammers who read non-fiction all the time and it has motivated me to start reading it more. Not that reading ‘more’ of it is that difficult considering prior to this year I’d only read one or two per year 🤣
I’ve joined book clubs and group reads–which I never had access to before!
Prior to joining the book community I really had no access to book clubs and group reads and having other people to discuss the same book was something that I sorely lacked in my life (I missed having it without even knowing why I should miss having it, if that makes sense). It’s been so fun reading books with other people and being able to discuss it as we read and after we finish. It’s one of the best things about joining the book community for sure!
How has your reading life changed? I’d love to know!
dinipandareads 
It’s so cool that you’re reading more these days! So many people talked about having less time to read this week.
My TTT.
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Yeah, I noticed that too! Everyone mentioned they were reading a lot less but I think I’m just now consciously making an effort to carve out more reading time (and I also have zero social life) 🤣
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The scope of what I’ll read has definitely grown, but I still have to say no thanks to horror. LOL! Funny thing, before I had kids I actually enjoyed horror. It’s like a switch was flipped in me.
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Haha I can’t believe that when I was a kid I used to enjoy horrors! I mean, I’d read things like Goosebumps and I’d happily check them out of the library and go to the bookstore and buy copies too 😅 Such a change! LOL
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Wow, we have so many similar items on our lists this week! (This is totally not a mediocre post, either, so no need to apologize for writing it from the airport lol.)
On an unrelated note, I just realized that, once again, comments got disabled on my post for no reason…and half of the reason I noticed was because you liked it but didn’t comment, which you usually do on my TTT posts 😂
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Haha I saw that your posts got disabled again! I always scroll up and down your page when I don’t see the comment box, thinking that I missed it. That’s really annoying 🙈 Have you got in touch with WordPress to see why it’s happening?
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Oh I recognize the plenty a hauling since blogging quite a bit.
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It’s so dangerous for my savings. Sooo dangerous 🙈
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I started rereading books too! I like to switch it up and listen to the audiobook the second time around, sometimes? And I’m becoming more conscious of what I read too! Reviewing really helps with that part 😀
Also, 180 books???? YOU ROCK, DINI!!! ❤ ❤
My TTT
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I’ve never actually tried that, E! Maybe I’ll give it a go sometime because I heard some of the books I’ve read do have great audios 🙂 Reviewing definitely helps with being more mindful of what we’re reading — I’m so glad I started doing it! Aww, bless, thanks E! You’re the best 😍❤️😍❤️
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I’ve read a lot more this year than I have in previous years too! The year is far from over (couple of weeks to go) and I’m still feeling quite ambitious 😁
Here is mine
https://diaryofablackcitygirl.wordpress.com/2019/11/19/teaser-top-ten-tuesday-19-11-19/
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Yaaas, go you!!! 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽 I’m pretty happy with what I’ve read so far but I’m definitely keen to keep going strong until the year wraps up! Time passes so quickly though lol
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You commented on my blog about this, but I feel the same about reading diversely. It’s not like I was avoiding diverse books, but I slowly realized that my shelves and TBR were still super white and neurotypical and hetero, so I’ve been trying to change that. 🙂 Great list overall!
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Yes! It’s not like I was avoiding diverse books I just wasn’t going out of my way to look for diverse reads or authors. I’m glad that we’ve both started doing that! I’ve definitely found some great reads because of it 😃
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Keep up your reading and expanding your universe. https://pmprescott.blogspot.com/
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Thank you! I definitely don’t plan on stopping anytime soon! 😉
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180 books is amazing! Wow. And I definitely have branched out of my comfort zone too- so much yes to that. There are so many books I’ve loved that I never would have read otherwise.
Have a safe trip back!
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Thanks Greg! I can’t believe I’ve read so much this year — it’s honestly a record (not that it’s a competition or anything)! But I’m quite happy about it 🙂 I’ve definitely discovered tons of books I wouldn’t have done in previous years by branching out and sometimes I wonder how the heck I even found books to read in previous years 😂
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I love Re-reading books! Especially my old romance faves! ❤ I've also noticed that by reviewing books as a blogger it makes me more aware of the themes and diversity present in books as well as the importance of overall message. I used to also mindlessly consume them (which is fun in its own, blissfully ignorant way) but I'm glad that I've learn to think about them more. Lovely post Dini! Jen
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Reviewing books and starting the blog has definitely made me more conscious! It also helps to read other people’s reviews of books and see what they pick up on and then see if I also get the same from a book. It’s such an enriching experience overall and I’m so thankful for it 🥰 Mindlessly consuming is still fun every now and again but I also find that it’s harder to switch off too 🤣
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As someone who loves who loves horror I’m dying to know whar you read! Also, I started reading romance regularly this year and I have no regrets! Great post!
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I wish I enjoyed horror more but I’m just honestly way too chicken for it haha I read Rules for Vanishing and I was surprised by how quickly I read it but that I also didn’t want to put it down coz I enjoyed it a lot! 😍 Branching out to different genres and not regretting it is a big yes! 🥰
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I love how you explained being more aware of what you’re reading. That’s so true for me, too. I have such a better understanding of why I don’t connect with certain books and am better able to steer clear of books I won’t enjoy.
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Thank you! It is a great feeling actually, to be more conscious about what I’m reading 😊 It definitely means that I’m giving out less 4 or 5 stars but I’m happier for it, I think! Haha
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Wow, 180 books for the year is amazing!
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Thanks Suzanne! I’m quite happy with what I’ve read — don’t think I’ve ever read this much in my lifetime! 🤣
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Prior to writing reviews and truly discussing books with friends I used to mindlessly read a lot too. I used to go on binges of ‘chick lit’ and I would be perfectly satisfied. If I did that now I would end up with a string of one star reviews and rants about predictable endings and identikit quirky female leads…. So even though I always read quite diversely in genre I now make a much more conscious decision to not read many books from the same genre in a row…sometimes I will go on a fluffy ya kick though!!! Great post Dini :)))
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Chick lits were definitely mindless binges for me and now I find myself getting more frequently annoyed by characters that I used to love (and maybe even relate to?!) in chick lit! Like the Shopaholic series… 🙈😂 Definitely agree with you about not reading many books from the same genre in a row! That helps in making things feel a lot less copy-paste. But yeah, we definitely still love the fluffy reads every now and again 😍 Who doesn’t enjoy feeling good?! Lol
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Over 180 books already?! 😮 You astound me. I never even thought about the memory thing, but that’s so true! I’m still really bad with character names, but my retention is so much better since I’m more cognizant of needing to remember details for reviews, as you said. Oh, yes, and group reads and buddy reads, and even read-a-thons! That’s something I never even knew existed, which I love so much!
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Haha thanks Sammie! I honestly astounded myself too tbh. This has never happened before and it’s all thanks to the motivation and drive from being part of the book community! It just made me so aware of how many amazing books there are and that I want to read them all at once?! LOL 🤣 I also never knew these readathons and such existed before now and when I first joined I was always in awe at how people used to organize themselves with the books they’d read, following which prompt etc. Now I’m joining in too and I’m like wow, me! Hahaha
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I’m still in awe of people who can organize themselves. My read-a-thon strategy is chaos and words and that’s about it lol.
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Yesss to embracing a love for romance and diversifying reads! I used to be embarrassed to read romance books but I realized… who cares? They’re great and should be shared 😉
Great post! Some of our experiences were similar this year 🙂
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YES! Too right! It’s so hard to not care when people always seem to be critical of romances. I can’t even count the number of times I’d get looks from people that was essentially the same as communicating “oh, she’s not a serious reader” or “she’s not a real reader since she reads romance”. It used to irk me so much! 🙄🙄🙄 Now I’m definitely of the mind to tell them where they can bug off to! LOL
It’s so nice to see with this week’s TTT that so many people have gone through the same reading changes and experiences. It’s a comforting feeling 💜
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Over 180 books!!?? That’s amazing! You’ve made so many great changes. I also have a terrible memory. I’m trying to be better about taking notes to help with that, but usually I get so into a book, I forget. 😉
Here’s my TTT for this week. 🙂
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I’m ALL about good romances!! I read them all the time and don’t feel as though anyone judges me, but who knows! Maybe I’m just unaware of it. 😉 I have read LESS over these many years, but I’m learning to be fine with this. I’d rather enjoy the 40-50 reads I end up with over reading 100 and not caring about half of them. 🙂 Thanks, as always, for visiting Finding Wonderland, Dini.
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