I came across a post where a woman listed her bookish facts. I loved this idea! However, I realized my own were far more sordid. But I thought it could be cathartic to bare my bookish soul & list them anyway. I invite you to do the same.
I'll start.
1. When I was a child, I found out I was speed reading. I had no idea I was doing it so it came as quite a shock! But it was also a relief to finally make sense of why kids thought I was lying about the number of books I read in a week.
2. I now refuse to read a series unless it's completed because of my trauma with Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time. His series of 14 books published over 23 years ruined me. I would forget all the details & have to re-read each book in the series in order to read the new one when it came out. I gave up 3/4 of the way through the series & can't put myself through that torture again.
3. I despise books that end on an unhappy note. Even if I adored the book up until the ending, a sad final chapter will turn my love into pure, unadulterated loathing.
4. I can read for hours on end & have been known to easily lose a day or even weekend reading. However, I've had people refuse to believe this because I don't fit their view of a bookworm since I'm extroverted & love adventurous activities like scuba diving.
5. As someone who works in tech, I was absurdly old fashioned in my preference of "real" books over ebooks for many years. But a gift of a Kindle one year has turned me into the biggest ereader proponent.
6. But when I do read a paperback or hardcover, I am one of those monsters who cracks its spine & bends its pages to bookmark my place because I think a well-loved book has more soul.
7. When I was a teenager, one friend lent me his favorite book. I still have this book (included here) & will likely never return it. (Hi Jay!)
8. I do not understand the obsession with reading hardcovers. Though they're beautiful, I find them clumsy to read & their jackets always get in the way. I was book-shamed about this as a teenager & because of that began hiding the fact that I always threw away the jackets.
9. I will only read audiobooks that are listed as better than the paper-based versions. Even then, I have been known to return the audiobook because the narrator's voice bugged me or my mind wandered. (Learn from my previous mistakes & check out my 7 Best Tips for Audiobook Virgins & Newbies to help ensure you’re getting the best audiobook experience.)
10. When I was in college, another friend lent me a series of books by Michael Moorcock which he adored. I also never returned them. (I'm sorry, Jon!)
11. Repeatedly lifting an ever growing cache of books was the reason my friends refused to help me move ever again. (Their last straw was a move which included 17 large almost-hernia-inducing boxes. Thanks Jay & Steve!)
Aah, I feel so much better!
Now, it's your turn.
Let's hear your bookish facts as you bare your bookish soul.