Oh Mary has my reading changed since blogging, and I mean drastically. My reading life in short:
Gradeschool: Scholastic books for kids
I think of this time as my reading for pizza years.
Junior High: Shakespeare and other "Classic Authors"
This is my reading for intellectual development years.
High School: Intellectual writers, primarily from the 1920s through the 1970s, and Stephen King
These years were taken up with reading for coolness factor. Albeit, a very specific and nerdy kind of cool.
College: Classic novels from 1750 through 1920, Creative Nonfiction
I think of these as my reading for being "smart" years. Not intellectual development, just plain old I can join in this conversation smarts. On the opposite end of that was my creative nonfiction reading. That was so I could bring something up no one else knew about.
Graduate School: Ancient Texts, Philosophical Texts
Just like junior high, I think of these as my reading for intellectual development years. It's just that this time my intellectual development was taking up with ancient and medieval times, and philosophy for that intellectual-slash-cool factor.
First years working: Trashy romance novels and Harry Potter
These are my reading for pure entertainment years. I believe this was the result of my brain being downright tired from the first portion of my reading life.
Blogging: Variety
I'm happy to say that now I'm in my reading simply because I love it years. All I really care about is that I "want" to read the book. I don't care to read because I have to anymore. I don't want to read a book because it will challenge me, or because it's historically important, or because everyone else is reading it, or any other reason other than that I want to read it.
While there were certainly exceptions to the hard and fast categories listed above, I can honestly say that my reading life, overall, shapes up in this fashion, and I am thrilled to be in my blogging years, and I am very thankful that blogging got me out of my trashy romance novel rut. Not that there's anything wrong with them - I still read and enjoy them - but it's nice to be back to a more eclectic style of reading. I have so many interests, and I finally feel like I'm indulging in them with my varied reading.
I like today's topic. Book blogging has definitely widened my reading habits and introduced me to great new books I'd have missed otherwise!
ReplyDeleteDamn your reading experience makes me look like a troll! I think I read one or two respectible books in high school, with a gun against my head, but I was mostly into Judy Blume, V.C. Andrews, Dean Koontz, Stephen King, etc. Only since I've been blogging have I really broadened my horizons.
ReplyDeleteI love the way you organized your reading life. Hurray for the "reading simply because I love it years"! I'm right there with you.
ReplyDeleteI also really love the way you organized your reading into stages, and would have to agree that I went through some of these stages myself!
ReplyDeleteWow, classics in junior high? That's really cool. During that time I think I was trying to be an adult and gobbled up Stephen King because I thought it was cool, ha.
ReplyDeleteAlison at The Cheap Reader
I think you make an awesome job of describing your reading years.
ReplyDeleteI kind of always think I started backward, I was reading books for "Adults" and classics when I was 9 to 14 years old.
And now that I'm closer to 30 than 20, I read a lot of things just for fun. Romance novels and YA. :D
I like the way you categorized your reading life over the years.
ReplyDeleteI laughed when I saw what you read after graduate school, since I, too, veered away from serious books and just read whatever I fancied.
Blogging has brought purpose to my reading, but I still read what appeals to me. I just broadened the scope of what is available to me.
Here's MY BBAW POST and
MY WEBSITE
"reading for pizza years" I love that. I remember doing that too!
ReplyDeleteI love this format! Of course I was reading trashy romance novels in high school! :) I'm also in the reading simply because I love it years, and it's great!
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how reading tastes change over the years. As a kid I was all about The Baby Sitters Club. In high school I was more into true crime, the majority of it being by Ann Rule.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't mind reading for pizza now. Actually, that would be awesome.
ReplyDeleteBlogging has certainly brought out the variety in me as well. I'm reading things I would have never dreamed of reading pre-blog. Love it!
I love how you laid out your reading progression as a timeline! It's fun to see how your tastes/focus changed as you went. You have certainly read a wide variety of genres, which I'm sure has helped shape you into the eclectic reader you are today!
ReplyDeleteI love your evolution of reading sorta timeline style! hehe
ReplyDeleteI really like the way you broke down your reading history! I think I've had some similar stages, but not over as wide a range.
ReplyDeleteI love the timeline! Blogging is great for the variety isn't it? My fave.
ReplyDeleteThis was a fun way to set up this post! I read a lot more variety than I did when I was younger, too...
ReplyDeleteThis is a cool way to answer the question, Trisha! It's awesome that blogging has brought you to a happy middle space with book reading.
ReplyDeleteI love the 'reading for pizza' remark. And I'm with Trish... wouldn't be so bad to get rewarded with pizza nowadays. Reading a variety of books for pure enjoyment is such a wonderful thing, though! Love your creative style on this post.
ReplyDeleteThey were still giving out pizza coupons at my daughter's school last year for meeting reading goals. ;)
ReplyDeleteI've noticed that my reading tastes have changed since I started blogging, too, and like you, my shelves have more variety these days.
Reading for pizza made me laugh. I definitely did that too. Not that it took much for me to read as I was that kid that sneaked books under my desk while the teacher was droning on.
ReplyDeleteI remember picking out books from the scholastic book fairs. I so looked forward to thumbing through the catalogue and finding new books to read.
-jehara
I love this progression of your reading yers. I think Imssed out on most of the intellctual development stuff!
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