Bookworms are an unusual breed, we live in world of our own and are quite happy about just hanging out with our favorite book (or the one currently being read) and we try not to bother anyone, however, even with this happy attitude in life we too have some bad habits when it comes to reading and socialising with others.
I’m sure most of you guys are familiar with the more harmless “bad habits” out there like dog-earing pages, freaking out over mismatched covers and editions, cracking spines,( I know that this are the apocalypse on earth for some of us but bear with me) because they pale in comparison to what I’m going to talk about here.
There are some bad habits that some fellow bookworms have that I find difficult to understand the reasoning behind them and they really make me upset (either sad or mad as hell)…I don’t want to say that they are bad people or anything like that (we do what we do, and we are entitled to our opinions) it’s just that, some of these can end up being hurtful to other readers (even if you don’t mean them to be).
- Hate Reading
What??? No, you did not read this wrong…some readers like us, chose to pick up a book that they know they will hate, just for the heck of it — or maybe to trash talk about it on social media later on.
I can’t for the life of me understand why– Why would you chose to invest, time and money to do something like that?… Maybe if you were asked to give a review on something that is not your cup of tea, Okay, that I do understand but if you don’t have that commitment and you purposely chose that book …. that I just don’t get….
- Trash Talking
Most of us have done this at some point –let’s be honest –, we have trash talk books we hated with friends and even online once or twice…Okay, it’s not a great thing to do but what disturbs my inner peace it’s the fact that some people do this without even having read the book… I mean what makes you think that this is okay?? Why go to the trouble of getting on Goodreads, or Twitter, or Facebook, or whatever social media you prefer to bad mouth a book only because you heard from somewhere the it was problematic, or it wasn’t diverse enough… If you want to give an honest opinion READ THE BOOK and then come back and share your true thoughts on it.
As for the trash talking when you have actually read the book well I think we should learn how to be tactful when criticising, Of course we should.
- The Bad Reviewing Stalker
This has a bit to do with my previous issue, the whole bad mouthing a book thing…which is made even worse when you chose to link up everything to the author’s page or social media…
Why do this if you don’t have a constructive review of their work?? A valuable opinion should state why you thought that some parts were problematic or just why you didn’t like it. Just saying “this book sucks!!” or “this book is stupid”doesn’t quite cut it…It upsets me how often this is done…
- Rating Books Without Having read them
I understand a bit why this is done, at least I think I do… When it’s a negative rating I guess is just a way to express your dislike of the book, Author, genre, Trope or whatever it is that bothers you…and when it’s a positive rating well, you are either a fan or are trying to build up Hype….But this is annoying as hell… how can you say that something you haven’t even read is a 1 Star?? This may affect the chances of said book to be picked up by someone who might (Huge Gasp) like to read it… So, if you don’t like something just ignore it …isn’t it easier to do than getting on Goodreads or Amazon to put a bad rating there??? I get the reasoning but it still boggles my mind why???
- Judging Other Readers
Coincidentally I just finished reading a post from Mikaela on The well thumbed reader about this topic, go check it out it’s quite good.. And this is one of those bad habits that makes sadder because we shouldn’t judge or shame anyone for the things they enjoy…
Even if you think that they are problematic in their content, we should just talk it out and not make fun or ridicule anyone. I remember how awful it was with 50 Shades of Grey… you were either stupid or just horny because you liked that book… This should not happen….we are all entitled to like what ever and no one should make us feel bad for it.
Thankfully, this is not the norm, most readers out there (the ones I’ve come across at least) either in real life or online are an amazing group of fun people, with open minds and caring hearts…So, it makes me feel reassured, but I just thought it would be useful point this out a bit so, that we don’t let this grow out of proportion and we can reflect on our own “bad reading habits”…. We should be mindful of our fellow readers and authors and not spread bad JuJu among us…
What do you think about these “Bad Habits”?? Do they upset you as well? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below…
As Always
Happy reading
This post has been added to the November Discussion Challenge hosted by Feed your Fiction Addiction and It Starts at Midnight … go check it if you still haven’t…
Chelle's Book Ramblings 
Oh, these definitely all upset me haha. I actually just learned that people rate books without having read them, and it’s such a strange concept to me. A common theme I see among these upsetting reading habits is bias. I think some people get so blinded by their bias that they can’t see another point of view. Interesting post, Michelle 🙂
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I agree, we get so caught up in what or how we think things should be that there’s no room for anything else
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Ugh, yes, I’m not a huge fan of trash-talking, unless it’s called for. Like, if literally nothing has happened that has to do with author or book you’re trashing, I just find it trashy and obsessive, tbh. 🙈
I actually just published a discussion today about rating books before you read them! The coincidence. 😂 Thanks so much for linking back to my post! I don’t like to judge other readers either, even though I totally do. 😝
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I saw your post and commented on it and while I was doing it I was thinking WOW! this is so funny…we were thinking alike without even trying…
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“…we are all entitled to like what ever and no one should make us feel bad for it.”
SOOO True! You must respect the preferences of others and in turn so should they when it comes to yours. Generalizations and stereotyping should be a NO NO. Reading and blogging can be an escape but it will be another kind of hell if you are judged for what you love. Great post!
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Thanks I think so too…
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And love that Hiddles gif by the way ❤
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i love him
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same here 😀
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A very interesting post as usual, Chelle!! I didn’t know people did Hate Reading… that sounds awful! I guess if one lives for the drama on social media, they’d do that… but sounds like such a waste of time and effort. And rating without reading is terrible.
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Glad you like it and you’re right it’s just the need for drama…and wanting someone to pay attention …. it is sad that you are just looking to do this in such a negative way
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Yes, I guess that would be a reason why… but it’s certainly awful!
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I’d like to think I’m not guilty of any of these, but I’m sure I’ve demonstrated some of them from time to time!
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It happens, we can get stuck on some but it’s good that we know we shouldn’t and correct our behaviour as much as we can… we are bound to make mistakes we are humans after all…
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Oh gosh, yes, I can’t stand when people rate and review books they haven’t read. Do people seriously have nothing better to do w/ their time than be mean?? I also try not to judge other readers, even what they like is extremely problematic, because everyone has diff reasons for liking the things we like. And if I do sometimes judge other readers, well, I at least keep it to myself and don’t post about it lol. But honestly—and this is a whole ‘nother topic—it’s not so much that I judge other readers, it’s that by not even acknowledging when things in a book are problematic, it kinda makes those things seem ok. So that’s what bothers me about that. Great post!
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I get what you’re saying but it’s such a subjective thing because unless it’s quite evident like abuse, drugs, torture… there are so many triggers to so many different people, that’s probably why I try not to judge (or I do as you do just keep it to myself)
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I thinking rating a book you haven’t read is just wrong–whether you give it high or low marks. And I used to be more judgmental about what other people read, but as a reading teacher, I am just happy to see people reading. It’s okay if we don’t all have the same taste! There are books I’d rather stab myself in the eyeball than read, but there’s an easy solution for that–I DON’T READ THEM. I try not to judge people who love those books, and I don’t need to waste my time or anyone else’s by posting hate about them.
Great points!
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That’s exactly what I think if you don’t like something why pick it up and read it?? It’s silly..
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