Category: discussion

Aria @ Book Nook Bits is the new host for Let’s Talk Bookish! If you aren’t following her yet, good check out her blog and give her a follow!

June 2: Summer Reading Plans (Aria)

Prompts: It’s almost summer! What kinds of books do you like to read in summer? Do you have any summer reading plans? What books are at the top of your summer TBR? 

Welcome to another week of LTB here at DTRH, everyone! I can’t believe it’s June already, but this topic arrives just in time, what are everyone’s summer reading plans? Or are they just an extension of what happens during the year? Time to find out!

For me, I like to read relaxing books during the summer for sure. Rather than diving into difficult reads, summer just seems like the perfect time to be relaxing (beach or not) and reading a book that doesn’t take too much out of you, you know? Of course this doesn’t totally disturb the regular flow of things, and books I’ve been wanting to read that are heavy don’t just suddenly get pushed aside necessarily. However, given the choice, and given the luxury to read whatever I want in the nice weather of the summer, I definitely lean towards quick and easy reads, particularly ones that are feel-good.

This summer I really am just aiming to read as much as I can. The regular school year is always crazy busy and I read way way less than I hope to. As such, I really hope to (happily) churn through a lot of books this summer so that at least I feel I really tried to reach my quotas and also get to try a lot of different books! I have already ramped up my reading a lot compared to what I was able to do during the year, and that has really helped to bring my bookish spirits back up and continue on.

I’m currently reading Leigh Bardugo’s Hell Bent, and I’m enjoying it so far (spoiler!). I definitely have a lot of recommendations to get to from my friends and the community, so I will be happily working through that this summer as well. I saw a book at the bookstore called The Immortalists, which seemed really interesting, so I had to pick that up, that’s definitely one on my list to read. My bookclub has chosen Cloud Cuckoo Land as the next book, so expect to see that on the horizon as well! Really these are just a few of the titles on my TBR, but I’m really going to try having as much fun as possible this summer reading through whatever I can.

What are y’alls plans for this summer? Lots of reading? Or maybe it’s time for a break? Let me know in the comments below!

Aria @ Book Nook Bits is the new host for Let’s Talk Bookish! If you aren’t following her yet, good check out her blog and give her a follow!

May 26: What Causes Reading Slumps? (Aria)

Prompts: There have been past LTB topics about ways to get out of reading slumps, but I was curious about why they happen in the first place. Do you fall into reading slumps often? What causes them? Are there patterns you notice with when you tend to read fewer books? What do you do to get out of a reading slump?

Welcome back to another week of LTB here at DTRH, everyone! Today’s topic is about reading slumps, which I’m sure is relatable to everyone in the bookish community, blogger or not. I actually wonder if there are those who love books who have never fallen into any sort of slump. Let me know in the comments below if that applies to you!

I don’t fall into reading slumps too often, although I do not think that is directly correlated to reading a lot. Getting busy and not having time to read is not what I would personally categorize as a reading slump, though feel free to disagree there. I feel like the slumps often happen when you read a few books in a row that aren’t particularly exciting, and no new upcoming books really tickle your fancy either. The dampeners on your excitement to read another book is what starts the slump I think, and if nothing gets in the way of that, it can quickly snowball into total slump, I think.

I really think the cause is like a lack of motivation. For whatever external reason it is, usually a bad book, or perhaps just a series of books that aren’t exciting, these kinds of dampeners can really lower the excitement and motivation to read. I think if you just act passively in these situations, it can be really easy for the motivation to slip away, and just get less and less excited to read.

When I get busy I tend to read fewer books, which I think is the case with most people. But it’s not a strict correlation there either of course. If I’m excited enough about a book, most likely I will just make time for it despite the busy schedule. Yet sometimes I don’t read when I’m busy; I assume no book is just interesting enough at the time for me to consider a particular priority. I think it’s really easy to put down books and stop reading and then fall into the weird paradoxical slump where you “really want” to read, but don’t actually read. Does anyone else do that?

Honestly I usually hard force myself out of a slump usually. Or what also really helps is talking to other bookish friends or members of the community who are excited for something. All these will usually re-ignite my passion for reading and make me want to read as well. Even if I don’t speak to someone, honestly if I just pick up any book that sounds a little bit interesting, or something more exciting like a thriller, often times the emotions of reading a book will also jog my love of reading and get me out of a slump. Even if this doesn’t necessarily always have a 100% success rate, I find that since I really do enjoy reading, it isn’t too too hard to climb out of the slump.

How about you all? Are slumps common or just a rare occurrence? And how do you get out of them if so? Let me know in the comments below!

Aria @ Book Nook Bits is the new host for Let’s Talk Bookish! If you aren’t following her yet, good check out her blog and give her a follow!

May 19: How Do You Decide What Books to Prioritize on Your TBR? (Jillian @ Jillian the Bookish Butterfly)

Prompts: Do you have a lot of books on your TBR (to-be-read) list? Do you always have specific books at the top of that list? Or do you just pick up whatever book you feel like? How do you decided what books to prioritize on your TBR? 

Welcome to another week of LTB here at DTRH, everyone! Today’s topic is from Jillian who is wondering about priorities on a TBR. I’m pretty lax with my TBR, so much so that it is hardly ever even written down, just mostly in my head. Though that being said, I also have my own prioritizations of what to read next, even if my TBR isn’t always concrete.

I don’t have too too many books on my TBR. And recently, knowing my own schedule, my TBR is actually pretty short. However, that being said, I know that if I talked to any bookish friend for maybe five minutes, I’m sure I would have to add five books to my list. Such is the community right? Let me know if it’s the same for you!

I usually have a specific set of books that I want to read at the top of my list, and that is kind of what forms my “TBR.” It will usually be books from different genres or different suggestions from friends. Or more likely it will be something I want to read personally, versus the things I have to read for a book club or a review, etc. Not that they’re like obligations to me, but there is something to the way it’s prioritized when other people are also waiting for me to read it.

I generally do just pick up whatever book I feel like though, because who wants to read something they’re not really into? I will try and put off books that I “must” read until I am feeling it, and usually that will still be on time, so I haven’t run into too many problems there, luckily. Reading is one of my favourite hobbies, and I would hate to diminish my enjoyment from it by forcing myself to read books that I didn’t really “feel like” reading. Of course, inevitably sometimes that will be the case, but I try my best not to have to force myself to read anything! (Don’t we do that enough for school?!)

I guess I gave away the answer to the last prompt, which is really that I just go off feeling for what I want to read. If it’s a series, I will generally try and finish the series. But assuming there are no tight deadlines, I will make sure I read all the books I want/need within that timeline, and just read them in whatever order. I used to never read multiple books at a time, but now I find myself doing it occasionally, just to make sure I’m always enjoying what I’m reading. Does anyone else relate with swapping books on a whim purely because you feel like it? Let me know in the comments below!