Friday, May 06, 2011

How have your book-buying habits changed since blogging?

Have you found that the way in which you buy books has changed drastically since you started book blogging? I have, but only realised this recently. I was in a bookstore the other day and the change really hit me. I had looked through the shelves in the YA department once, then twice and then began wandering aimlessly completely unsatisfied.

It occurred to me that I'm familiar with a lot of the books already. I read a lot of book review blogs and have a good idea of what type of books I'd enjoy reading and which books I'd do best to avoid based on the reviews of very trusted bloggers. This sense of what I would probably like could be totally wrong, of course, but it doesn't often fail me. And at the same time, (incredibly luckily!) I get quite a few books sent to me for review anyway, so often, I already own or will be sent a fair number of the new releases available.

Has book blogging taken away my sense of adventure? I used to browse the shelves and tables, picking up books randomly based on title or cover. I used to read the synopsis on the back, flip through several pages and impulse buy. Now, I find myself going to bookstores with a specific book/s in mind, or I think about how a book might fit in well with a reading challenge or I'll remember a book review I'd read of a book lately.

I can't work out if that's really sad or if it's just really informed? I'd like to be surprised again. I'd like to walk into a bookstore, pick up a book and think 'huh, that looks good, I wonder what it's about?' Perhaps I need to branch out and read non-YA books for awhile? I'm not unhappy with the amount or the quality of the books that I read, but book blogging has definitely changed my reading habits entirely.

I'm not even sure if I'm making sense any more with this post? But do you know what I mean?

7 comments:

  1. I know what you mean. I want a serendipitous find! I want to read something everyone else hasn't read.

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  2. I definitely know what you mean, but I think for me it's different because I don't get many YA books to review so I go into YA sections of shops / libraries with the excitement of looking for the great titles I've been seeing reviewed. I can understand how you must feel though, I'm sure it'll come to me too as I (hopefully) review more YA.

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  3. Vivienne- That's exactly what I want. Something that everyone else hasn't read. Something new and different and out of the spotlight.

    Jenni - Yeah, it's really only been something that I've noticed since I've been picked up by more publishers. I love being sent review books, but ...

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  4. I know exactly what you mean. I do the same. In face I buy most of my books online and I rarely browse. I go there (either shop or online store) with a particular list of books in mind.

    I'm happy with this though as I know that 99% of the time I'll be choosing a great read rather than a mediocre one.

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  5. TSB - Yes, there are definite benefits to this way of buying books, I can't forget about that! :)

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  6. I'm quite similar to Jenni, if I see a book that I've read great reviews of online in a bookshop I get really excited about it!

    I'm quite interested in older YA as well as new titles though, and this helps me feel like I'm making more 'new' discoveries when I find second-hand copies of teen fiction from the 80s, 90s and early 00s. I still have lots of magazines that I bought as a teenager so I use their book review pages for inspiration sometimes.

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  7. I think that's a wonderful idea, Julianne - looking up backlist or older YA titles in order to be surprised and excited again!

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