Top Ten Tuesday: Changes In My Reading Life

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, is a little bit different than usual: it’s all about how your reading habits have changed. As we get older, we grow as people and our lives go down different paths so it stands to reason that the way we read would shift, too. I know my life is certainly on a different course than I had expected!

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• Book Blogging

I suppose the biggest change is that I’m a book blogger now! My blogging life began earlier this year after I was sent some pre-release books from publishers for review in discussion rooms. I enjoyed the experience so much I began exploring options for reading Advance Reader Copies (ARC’s) of books and thus, A Little Nerd Told Me was born.

• Audiobooks

Up until a couple of years ago, I very rarely listened to audiobooks. I usually only did it if I had heard the author narrated it and it was a lot of fun to listen to (I’m looking at you, Steve Martin). I also sometimes listened to them when we moved to a new house and I needed something to distract me while going through the hell that is unpacking boxes.

Then my library started hosting library books on their Overdrive account, making it so much easier to access audiobooks through an app. After that, I started listening to audiobooks like a fiend and it has easily doubled the amount that I read in any given year. I also have an account with Audible, although I go through periods where I suspend my membership because it can get pretty expensive.

• My Kindle

A couple of years ago my husband bought me a Kindle Paperwhite for Christmas as well as this beautiful cover for it. It’s a wonderful little device! I go through phases of using it non-stop to not using it for a few weeks, but my love for this fabulous e-reader never wanes.

• My Phone

I always joke that I never leave the house without a book and that has never been more true since getting a smart phone. Not only do I read e-books and e-ARC’s on my Kindle, but I always have several downloaded onto my phone as well. Plus that’s where I do all my audiobook listening!

• Online Book Groups

Technology is an amazing thing. Not only do I find amazing book recommendations from my fellow bloggers, but I belong to several reading groups on Goodreads and Facebook. For someone who moves a lot and is a resident of two countries, it’s not always easy to be a part of a book club or group. Thanks to the Internet, I’m a member of several and take part in a lot of group-reads and discussions. My TBR has taken a massive hit because of this, but I regret nothing.

• YA Fantasy/Dystopia

This genre pretty much exploded across the literary world, infiltrating our lives not only in print but in television and movies as well. I definitely hopped onto that train, but the past couple of years I’ve found I’m really wiped out on the genre. So many books I was reading felt very samey and I just wasn’t getting that excited about them anymore.

I’ve taken a break from YA fantasy, only reading books if they really stand out, and to be honest I don’t see that changing any time soon.

• Short Stories/Novellas

Because my TBR list is so astronomical, I never saw the point in reading short story collections. I have so many full length novels to read, why read short stories? I decided to expand my horizons a couple of years ago and even though it was off to a rocky start (guess I picked the wrong collections), I’m finding I do like the genre. Plus, authors sometimes release short stories and novellas that exist within the universes they write about, giving fans even more of the characters and worlds they love.

• Science Fiction

Both of my parents are scientists (and nerds). While my dad leans more toward this dimension of existence, my mother is a massive science fiction junkie. One of my earliest memories is waiting in line to buy tickets for a Star Trek movie my mom was bursting at the seams to see. Once I was old enough, she started buying me sci-fi books like A Wrinkle in Time when I was a kid and Stranger in a Strange Land when I was a teen. Because of her I have a love of what I feel is the most amazing genre in the world. Thanks, Mom!

So I’ve always been a big reader (and viewer) of sci-fi, but the past couple of years I’ve found that I’m reading the genre far more exclusively than before. I also watch a lot more science fiction, too. Part of it is due to the rise in popularity of space operas, but I think most of it is due to the pure escapism quality sci-fi can give you. The world is a bleak place right now so it’s imperative that we be able to escape it once in awhile.

• Book Hoarding and Actually Reading Them

I’ve always been a slight book hoarder, but because I moved so often I didn’t always keep my books. I also liked to donate them to charity shops or to used book exchanges I came across. I still do that, but I’m keeping more books than I used to because now that I own a house, I’ve turned one of the rooms into a home library and I’ve gotta fill those shelves! So I collect books, especially series, far more than I used to.

A few months ago I realized that I haven’t actually read very many of the books on my shelves so I’ve actively been trying to read more of them before I buy more (*cough* I still keep buying more though *cough*).

• My Home Library!!

And that brings us to the most important change in my reading habits. My little home library! Ok, so technically it’s also a dining room, but you work with what you have. Of course the dream is to have built in bookcases and ladders ala Beauty and the Beast, but I had doors and closets to contend with so I’ve done what I can.

It’s still a work in progress, but since adding the rocking chair and string lights, I’m spending a lot more time in this room reading. It’s my happy place!

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How have your reading habits changed? Let me know in the comments!