Hey, fellow bookworms, lately, I’ve been having less and less time to read, which has caused a glitch in my system. I’m so used to the comfort of reading that it makes me feel like something is missing when I don’t do it.
And this got me thinking about the pressure we sometimes put on ourselves and the ones that we receive from external sources… cough, cough… Social Media… cough, cough
We all know it is out there, that insidious whisper that tells us how much we should be reading. That explosion of TBR piles and the hyped-up chatter of new and popular books that everyone is devouring. How our Book friends are reading a thousand books a day in each format—slight exaggeration (or is it?).
But what if you are just not interested in those books? Or are you just reading 5 pages a day?
Then your own TBR feels like a mountain about to crush you, and your beautiful escape turns slowly into a chore because regardless of how much we protest, we do feel the pressure of competition – On different levels, I’ll grant you that, but still, there’s this niggling in ourselves that tells us we are falling behind – That insidious voice I mentioned earlier…
But guess what? You don’t have to pay attention to that voice… In fact, just tell it to go the heck away…
Reading at your own pace and choosing the books YOU want to read is perfectly OKAY!
Why? Easy. Reading is for YOUR enjoyment, not for anybody else’s, and picking up a book should transport you, make you laugh, cry happy or sad tears, be cathartic, and make you feel better afterwards—not inadequate or stressed out.
There’s no written law that we all need to enjoy the same books. Taste is subjective, and we are (thank God) free to like whatever. From that popular hyped-up book to that obscure and weird romance about a door, it’s your thing, and YOU are the one who calls the shots—even if we sometimes forget it.
Finally, there’s no race—or at least no one told me about it if there was. LOL. ( I would be opting out ASAP.) You can read a thousand books or just two, and it’s perfectly okay. It’s even better if you loved those books. Nobody should tell you how many books you must read; there’s no minimum or maximum quota to join the club.
So, take your permission slip from this bookish friend because we need the reminder sometimes and:
Read what you want, when you want and how you want!
Have you felt the pressure to read a certain book? Does trying to keep up with everyone else cause you stress? Let’s chat in the comments.
You can visit my Ko-fi page or Paypal.me/cbookramblings and support my work… There are a few surprises there, Printable journals, bookish calendars, and a few other things coming up.. so check it out.
As Always
Happy Reading
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Well said!!
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