This could easily be the 4th time I'm reading this novel. And although I enjoyed it, I never went as far as to call it a favorite of mine. Well, for whatever reason, I ADORE it this time around 🤩 It feels as though I'm reading it for the very first time. I love all the characters, the writing is beautiful, the pacing is good, the legth of the chapters is proportionate to its content, the dialogue is engaging.

Bonus point: The letters delivered in full instead of having the characters simply narrate the message.

by Anais Lughe ☆ anaislughe.com

My fellow readers, I have been reflecting on my book habits, and I have found that these days, I borrow more books than I purchase.

I am a huge fan of the library. I try to visit my public library at least once a week to pick out new books to read for the next week. My library does a nice job of updating their collection to get new releases, and I love checking out these new books when a title catches my eye. (There’s nothing better than being the first person to check out a new book.) I love that I can check out as many books as I fancy, and I don’t have to worry about my pocketbook. I also like that the library is low pressure—if I don’t like a book, I can simply return it. (This is especially great for trying books that are different from my usual tastes.)

Sometimes, a book in which I am interested is not available at the library. (Or the copy is in poor condition.) In this case, I will decide how badly I want to read this book. This deliberation process can take a while. I think this stems from my fear of buying books that I don’t read. (Which I am guilty of.) I also have limited shelf space, so I try to be careful with how many books I buy. I want my bookshelves to reflect the books that I love. For that reason, I usually pick up new releases by favorite authors and in favorite manga series.

This is why I like the library so much. All of these concerns are swept away.

At the same time, I want to support my local bookstores to keep them in business. So, I still frequent the bookstore and make sure to buy books when a title speaks to me.

I am curious, what are your borrowing/purchasing habits? Do you prefer to borrow or purchase your books, and why?

I don't know if this is a hot take or not, but I don't like leaving stars/ratings on many of my reviews. Half of the time, my opinion and perspective of a book changes over time and what was a 4 star book two weeks after I finished a book now feels like a 3.5 or 3 star book six months later. Also, when I'm comparing books across widely different genres and/or intended audiences, it feels weird to shoehorn them in to the same rating system.

Like... a middle grade book can be great, but because I'm not the intended audience, I might not be as moved or wowed by it. It feels wrong to rate something that is obviously a fantastic middle grade book as lower because I'm not the intended audience, especially because I know Im not the intended audience. Middle grade authors aren't writing a story for adults (though some stories definitely speak to wider audiences). Likewise, I know I'm not the intended audience for most thrillers or horror books, but I can understand why other people might like those kinds of books, even if I don't. I still try and dabble in them to see if I've changed but... idk, a 2 star review on a book because it wasn't for me doesn't feel right when I can understand why other people rated it 4 or 5 stars, but I'm not going to rate something I didn't like 4 stars.

I only ever feel strongly about a star ratings when a book is either fantastic at or woefully fails at what it's obviously trying to accomplish. A non-fiction book making a weak argument that resorts to fallacies is definitely getting a low star rating. I usually try to reframe my reviews as "I would recommend for readers who like X, Y, and Z" or "if you don't like X or Y, this book is not for you". I just wish I could leave no stars on a review without it looking like I gave it 0 stars, but maybe I'm just overthinking all of it 🤷

It's time for the pagebound version of "which way do you hang the toilet paper roll". I need to know!

Do you log the last page you read or the next page you are going to read?

I asked a friend, @UnPancito, and it turns out we do it different ways.

Idk what happened but after i finished my latest book I haven’t read in over a week. I borrowed almost 10 books from the library and haven’t read most of them and I have to return them now 😭 What do you do to help with reading slumps, or to help you feel motivated to read again?