It is time for Thoughtful Thursday and the bookish questions that pop up while I am reading. Please share your thoughts on the bookish question of the week. I am curious to hear what you have to say! There are no wrong answers. Questions about Thoughtful Thursday or future Thoughtful Thursday posts? Check out my Thoughtful Thursday section. Alright, on to the question!
Do you have guilty pleasure books that you don't review? Do you feel pressured to rate your guilty pleasure books a certain way?
There used to be books that I read, but I didn't tell anyone that I was reading. These books consisted of the Twilight series, The Series of Unfortunate Events, anything written by Amanda Quick, the Star Wars book, and the Sookie Stackhouse books to name a few. When some of my friends discovered that I read the Twilight books, I would explain that I read them, so I could connect with some of my younger therapy patients (I did work with one patient who thought I was super cool, because I had read the Twilight books and knew about the Magic Kingdom online game). With this explanation, my friends would nod and provide sympathy for this horrible plight. Another friend teased me endlessly for going to the Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows midnight release party. What really got my goat was that she asked if she could borrow the book after I finished, because she figured I would read it super quickly. I told her in no uncertain terms that she was not allowed to tease me about my decision to go to a midnight release party and try to reap the benefits of it in the same breath. I got tired of feeling compelled to come up with excuses for my reading habits or of making self-deprecating comments about my reading habits, so I just stopped mentioning I was reading books when I was reading my "guilty pleasures" (AKA books that I couldn't tell my friends that I was reading).
When I started book blogging, I reviewed my guilty pleasure books, but I found myself rating them lower than other books subconsciously. The idea that guilty pleasure books are not as good as other books had become ingrained in my mind. I think I was afraid that people would judge me for enjoying these books, so I felt that I needed to rate them lower. I wanted to make sure that I looked like a smart and sophisticated reader and blogger. After I started delving deeper into the book blogging community, I discovered that people read all sorts of books. I was so happy to see that people didn't apologize for their reading habits and rated books based on how they felt. I had entered a world devoid of guilty pleasures. There were just pleasurable books.
Although I still find it challenging to rate books that I had previously considered "guilty pleasure books," it is getting easier. I also find myself not apologizing for my reading as much anymore.
When I started book blogging, I reviewed my guilty pleasure books, but I found myself rating them lower than other books subconsciously. The idea that guilty pleasure books are not as good as other books had become ingrained in my mind. I think I was afraid that people would judge me for enjoying these books, so I felt that I needed to rate them lower. I wanted to make sure that I looked like a smart and sophisticated reader and blogger. After I started delving deeper into the book blogging community, I discovered that people read all sorts of books. I was so happy to see that people didn't apologize for their reading habits and rated books based on how they felt. I had entered a world devoid of guilty pleasures. There were just pleasurable books.
Although I still find it challenging to rate books that I had previously considered "guilty pleasure books," it is getting easier. I also find myself not apologizing for my reading as much anymore.
Now it is your turn! Do you have guilty pleasure books that you don't review? Do you feel pressured to rate your guilty pleasure books a certain way?
