SLIDER

I Do Hereby Confess

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. Every week they post a new topic/top ten list and invite everyone to share their own answers. I'm so obsessed with lists - so it makes perfect sense that I'd love this feature!

Honestly, I couldn't really think of that many things to share that were specific to blogging. So, I decided to just share ten book-related confession because those were easier. I have no doubt that other readers have some of these same quirks!

Top Ten Blogging Bookish Confessions

1. I do not understand the whole "love the smell of books" thing.
I'm sorry, y'all, but I just don't get this one. I see people talk about it all the time, and I have never once thought to stick my face in a book to smell it. And I hate the smell of used bookstores - old books and other people's germs. Thanks, but no thanks. I will occasionally buy used books, but I typically avoid them because I can't deal with the smell.

2. I prefer hardcovers over paperbacks.
Paperbacks take up less room and are easier to hold, but I just love hardcovers so much more! I think they look so much better on my shelves, and I love that I don't have to even think about cracking the spine. I love taking the dust jacket off to see what the book looks like "naked" and keeping it off while I read the book so I don't ruin the jacket. Even if a book is already out in paperback, I'll typically try to buy the hardcover.

3. I never write my review immediately after finishing a book. 
I think this is my only confession that strictly relates to blogging. I am seriously the worst at writing reviews once I finish a book! I always intend to write my thoughts on it before moving on the next book, but that never happens. This is the reason why I usually have a ginormous list of books that I need to write about, and I hate myself for it every single time but I can't change my ways! I'm not good at taking notes on what I read either, so some books never get reviewed because I've let too much time pass and can't remember enough about it to share my thoughts.

4. When I start a book, I put a sticky note in it at chapter five. When I get to chapter five, I move it to chapter ten... and so on.
So, I obviously can't do this with Kindle books, but I do usually do this with hard copies. If the chapters are really long, I won't. And if they're really short, sometimes I'll mark every ten chapters instead of every five. Either way, I have a sticky note marking a place in the book while I'm reading. It's almost like a goal for me - "I want to at least read to this point now that I've picked up my book."

5. I own multiple copies of many of my favorite books.
My husband does not understand this one at all. I'm most guilty of it with classics because publishers are always coming out with new covers and designs for some of my old favorites. And how am I supposed to say no? I collect Pride and Prejudice on purpose, but I think I have at least four copies of all of Austen's other books. I own multiples of some of L.M. Montgomery's books, too. Those aren't the only examples, but they're two where I'm the worst!

6. If I love a book that I've read on my Kindle, I'll buy a hard copy for my shelves.
This probably goes hand-in-hand with the confession above. If I read something on my Kindle and love it, I almost always end up buying a copy for my bookcase. I've also done the reverse - bought a Kindle copy of a book I own if the Kindle copy goes on sale. I know, it's a problem. I typically only buy things on my Kindle from authors I haven't tried before or books that I'm not totally sure about. If I love an author already, I'll automatically buy the hard copy.

7. I frequently clean out my shelves and pass books on to others.
I buy a lot of books. I'm not a clothes/shoes/bags person at all. I like to dress nice, but I've always been someone who would buy entertainment (books/movies, etc.) or beauty products (nail polish/makeup, etc.) instead. Because I bring so many books into my house, I try to be really good at also passing them on. I hang on to anything I loved and/or know I will want to re-read, but nothing else is safe from me when I get in a certain mood. I usually go through my shelves every six months or so and look for things to give to other readers, donate, or trade in at my local used bookstore.

8. I wish I hadn't gotten rid of quite so many books when I was younger. I have very few of my old favorites!
Unfortunately, sometimes I go a little overboard with my clean outs. When I was younger, I kept most of my books on shelves in my closet and was constantly getting rid of stuff. I had a limited amount of space, and I didn't know that one day I'd wish I had kept those "little kid" books that I thought I'd outgrown. I did hang on to some of my favorites (like my original Anne of Green Gables books), but there were so many others that I didn't keep. That was a major mistake on my part!

9. I sometimes buy multiple books in a series before I've even started the first book.
Yes, this is true. It's not the norm for me, but it has been known to happen. I usually just buy the first book, but sometimes I get ahead of myself and want to be prepared to binge read them. There's only been once or twice where I really wish I'd waited to read the first book because I didn't like it enough to want to finish the series, so this hasn't backfired too much. But still, I need to learn some self control!

10. I almost never let people borrow my books.
If I let someone borrow a book, it's because I've decided I don't care if I get it back. If I love a book, there's no way I'm letting someone borrow a copy. I wish I wasn't this way! Since I only really keep my favorite books, I don't like letting people borrow them. I've had one too many books that were never returned or were returned damaged. Now, I am good at cleaning out my shelves so I do frequently share the book love with my friends... but my favorites stay with me. I've had friends say to me, "Oh, you love to read! I need to come look at your shelves and find something to read." Yeah, no. Not happening.

12 comments

  1. Number 10: there are very few people I can lend books too because unfortunately in high school I was careless and people still have my books. (I HOPE YOU STILL LIKE THEM ASSHOLE. Ahem. I mean, that was not a good thing to do.)

    Number 8: I think of this one ALL the time. I have a few copies from elementary and high school, and def from college but certainly not enough. I wish I had cared to keep more of them too. I'm such a sentimental person so it surprises me. (But I also love to clean and get rid of things -- sort of like your be careful books i will give you away cleaning sprees -- so maybe it's just an Estelle thing.)

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  2. I'm totally with you on #10! People are always like: "Ooh! Have any books to recommend?" So I recommend them, and they're like: "Can I borrow your copy?" Me: "uhhh... I think the library has a few copies."

    I don't know why, but I hate giving up my books. And I hate borrowing books from others cuz then I feel like I HAVE to read it RIGHT AWAY, even though I'm not very interested in it.

    ~Lynette @ Escaping Reality - One Book at a Time

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  3. I cleaned out so many books when I was a teenager that I wish I had now. Of course, it wasn't practical to keep them at the time.
    Hardcovers are the best. I like they way they look on the shelf and they're sturdy. The only downside is how heavy they are when in boxes for a move.

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  4. We are SO alike haha. I disagree with you on #1 & #3, but the rest of these are completely spot-on for me. Especially the one about giving away too many books from when I was a kid. I HATE that I gave away some of the ones that I'd seriously kill to have now. It sucks thinking of all the ones I don't own any more :( I wish that my mom had stopped me from giving away some of them, but I don't think she really gets the whole "book collection" thing.

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  5. I can't lend books out anymore. There are currently three books I lent out that I haven't seen back in over four months. I'm siding with you from now on! I agree with you on #3 - there are five reviews sitting in my notebooks waiting to be written!

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  6. Your confessions are great, Hannah!

    (2) I too prefer hardcovers over paperbacks, even though paperbacks are definitely easier for me to take along when I'm on my morning/afternoon commute. I like the solid feeling of having a hardcover in my hands though, and I do the same thing and just take the dust jackets off when I'm reading!

    (3) I FEEL YOU. I generally write my reviews in bulk (4 or 5 in a day), because I wind up reading, reading, reading and before I know it, I've accumulated 15-20 titles I wanted to review on the blog. But it works for me, so I suppose I really can't complain!

    (5) Also, I definitely collect multiple editions of my favorite books (which right now simply includes Throne of Glass, and Harry Potter, though I'm tempted to start collecting editions of A Little Princess and fairy tale nbooks) as well.

    (7) I do this a lot! Especially whenever I get the chance to make a trip home and can go about rearranging my bookshelves (with the help of my sister more often than not). It's nice to be able to donate books to the library that my family put up in my grandfather's name, especially when I know there are young people who can enjoy them.

    (10) Confession: ME TOO. I have a VERY short list of people I'm willing to lend my books to, if I'm being honest. And even then, I generally do not lend them signed copies. In fact, I'd rather BUY them an actual copy of the book, lol.

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  7. I hate smelly old/used books as well! I have some of them, but those are the books I have to read from a distance! I confess that I do like the new book smell, however.
    I've never heard of anyone doing that sticky note chapter goal thing before, but I really like it! Having visual reminders of where you are/where you want to go could be super helpful - I may have to try that out!
    That's great that you are so willing to cull your shelves. I'm definitely not - one of the reasons I tend to be super picky about what I purchase. I still own books I bought from when I was ten or younger. I'm always trying to justify to myself how my little sister could read them, or how I can share them with my kids someday.
    Great list, Hannah!

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  8. I'm so with you on #1! That "old books smell?" That's water-damaged, musty basement smell. Not nice. I also do #6, except more often I'll buy a copy of a library book that I loved. And #7! I live in a tiny apartment with just one bookshelf, so I have to purge it fairly frequently to make room for incoming books. That said, my book stash has spilled onto the floor. But I'm moving in a few weeks and replacing my one crappy bookshelf with two new bookshelves, and then I will revel in all the space... for a little while, until they both fill up again!

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  9. +JMJ+

    I don't like lending my books, either! Unless they're the ones I'm already thinking of culling. One time, my proud mother showed some visitors my bookcases and said, "You can borrow any book you want!" I nearly passed out!!! Luckily, our admiring guests weren't big readers and didn't take her up the offer. Phew!

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  10. 1, I think books smell nice if you have a lot of them in a room, but it's not that I'm sniffing at them all the time.
    3. Sometimes I do, most of the times I don't. It's why I take notes, because most of the things I want to say in my review are already there.
    6. Me too. I don't own a book until it's on the shelves.

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  11. We've talked about #8 -- it still makes me sad I got rid of so many childhood books!

    I am also totally guilty of #9. It's like I'm so convinced I will like a series, that I have to have to other books at the ready for after the first book. If I let too much time pass, I tend to lose my momentum and move onto other things. Take for example Graceling -- I read it for book club and wanted to read the next two right. that. minute. BUT I didn't have them yet -- I ordered them from my local indie and they came in within a few days, but I had already started another book (and probably another audiobook too...) so I've yet to go back -- wouldn't have happened if I had them all in my clutches from the beginning, LOL

    And #3 -- I used to always write my reviews right away, but I'm reading a lot more now and they just get backed up so much -- I'm not sure if it's just the summer, a blogging slump or what, but my list of "already read to-review" just keeps growing!

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