April 26, 2013

Picking Your Next Read: Creature Comforts VS. Branching Out


Fact: I don't like coffee. I just like saying Coffee Clutch in my best and deepest New York accent. Considering I'm a New Yorker, I'm pretty freaking good at it. So I've got my tea and I hope you have your heated beverage of choice, because it's time to gab the day away.


Sometimes I feel like the order in which I'll read the next couple of books on my TBR are similar to my eating habits.

Me too, JLaw, me too.
I bet you're wondering: Huh?

Well, there are people (mostly kids, but also some grown ups), who can eat THE SAME THING every meal, every day. When my brother was younger, he couldn't get enough hotdogs.When I was a kid I consumed so much mac and cheese I can't even tell you (this is still true today, but I try to moderate. With breakfast foods and sushi. CALL ME. LET'S GET DINNER). 

Patrick picks hamburgers.
Then there are people who CANNOT eat the same thing twice in one week. They just get sick of it. It's either TOO MUCH pasta or TOO MUCH chicken or TOO MUCH whatever else. Someone once told me we couldn't get pizza because they'd had that for dinner the night before. I was like... SO?


I feel like these tendencies are similar how people choose their next read.

Some people who like to read contemporary novel after contemporary novel. And then there are others who eat up every paranormal book they can find. They like a genre and they STICK WITH IT. Every now and again they'll read something else, but they're comfortable consuming the same genre of book over and over again and never get sick of it.


But then there are people who CANNOT read the same genre over and over. They'll read a contemporary, then a fantasy, followed by a paranormal, a dystopian, maybe some sci-fi or a historical and then maybe come back around for some more contemporary (not to say people have a schedule like that, but you get the gist). Whether it's a boredom thing or other, they just can't read the same genre two books in a row.


Where do I fall?

I have a tendency to mix it up A LITTLE. Basically what happens is I'll read something that needs SERIOUS world building (dystopian, fantasy, paranormal...) and then need to go back to something a little less magical (contemporary, historical...). Y'know, to help my brain distinguish between worlds and stories or whatever with a dose of reality. But there are no hard-fast rules. If something interesting pops up, I'll skip whatever else is in my immediate TBR pile and read that, regardless of what genre my last read was. Or if I suddenly decide I want to read these three awesome looking (non-series) retellings in a row, I'll do it. So basically what I'm saying is:


I WILL say that I can't bringe read too many series in a row. It's like, y'know how some people can go out and drink Thursday, Friday and Saturday night? Yeah, I can't. Feels are akin to alcohol and I don't do hangovers for either.

TALK TO ME, MY PRETTY READERS! Do you stick with your creature comforts, do you branch out or do you do a mix of both like I do? Let me know all about your food/book picking habits in the comments below!

33 comments:

  1. I like to mix it up or I get bored/confused. I'll read a paranormal then switch to contemporary. I think it's better that way too because then I'm not comparing what I'm currently reading with what I just read since they're different genres. But food...I can eat the same thing everyday if I like it enough.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha just because you're one way about food doesn't mean you have to be the same way about books!! But I pretty much agree with you, ESPECIALLY on the food end! ^_^

      Delete
  2. I suppose I'm an inbetweener! I read whatever I want, like right now, Clockwork Prince. But after this series I'll need a breather book - aka GIMME MY CONTEMPORARY. Otherwise I get stuck in a rut! So, yeah.. no one wants to do that!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ain't nobody got time for a book rut. I like the way you think ;-)

      Delete
  3. Okay, when it comes to food I'm a creature of habit. I like the same food all the time. It's even to the point where if I go to a restaurant or to get fast food, I get the same meal every single time. I'll want to try something different sometimes, but part of me is like "No, you know what you like and what if you waste money on something else and you don't like it?! Don't do it Asti!!!" I know, I'm crazy.

    With books, I'm not as bad. I have certain genres I like to read more than others, but I don't mind switching it up. Generally I'll read books in the genres I like and then I'll try another one, but have one on back-up that I am pretty sure I'll like just in case I hate the book and need to wash the taste out with something I'm used to.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I AM THE SAME WITH FOOD. THE SAME. Creature of habit for realsies. But yeah. I'm a little more diverse when it comes to books (thankfully!).

      Delete
  4. (We need to get dinner. Mac and cheese, breakfast foods AND sushi? YOU SPEAK MY FOOD LOVE LANGUAGE.)

    I like to mix it up when I read, in terms of genre and format. I usually try to read in different genres (so I too don't get the worlds confused), but I also try to mix up the formats. I don't know why, but it's fun to rotate between all kinds of books (paperback, hardcover, e-copy) AND genres at the same time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I AM SO GLAD WE SPEAK THE SAME FOOD LOVE LANGUAGE. SO GLAD.

      And I like the idea of rotating formats. Very clever. I do that now because I have to, but I don't usually. I much prefer hardcopy.

      Delete
  5. Haha - I love the gifs! This post is fun. I tend to stick primarily with contemporary, with the occasional dystopian or paranormal mixed in (lately: City of Bones and Clockwork Angel), so I suppose I am a creature of habit with my reading. Which makes sense, because I could eat pizza every day, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! :)Love the reading/food analogy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love the gifs too ;-)

      And for sure your eating habits and book choosing habits don't HAVE to be the same, but it's cool in your case that they are!! Thanks for sharing ^_^

      Delete
  6. I tend to read all kinds of things, from classic to YA to poetry. Then within those I also go for everything: sci-fi, paranormal, contemporary, historical, WWI, WWII and all kinds of stuff. I have some favorites, but I like reading from all of them and getting some new favorites on the way. I'm exactly like that with food, except that I don't eat meat, but hey, vegetarian barbecues are awesome (at least to me) :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Veggie burgers are great!! And I love that you mix it up with food AND with books!!!

      Delete
  7. I don't really stick to a pattern, it simply depends on my mood. I might be able to read ten contemporaries in a row one time, and the next, only two. It also depends on what books I have.

    BTW, love the gifs! They're amazing! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha glad you love the gifs! And not having a pattern totally makes sense. Books whims are pretty powerful. You really need to answer to them, y'know?

      Delete
  8. If I ever make it out to New York again, or you come out here, we are SO going out for sushi!

    As for my reading habits, I do both. I usually mix it up, but every once in a while I'll read several books in a row from the same genre. Like when I discovered Sarah Dessen and read 4 of her books in a row.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. YES TO THE SUSHI. YES. ALWAYS YES.

      And oh man. Authors like Dessen really make it hard not to book binge. I attack her books on the day they come out and eat them right up. Akin to how I might eat up all of the sushi.

      Delete
  9. Fun post. I definitely like to vary up the genres I read a bit. (Although I could eat pizza every day, breakfast, lunch and dinner - which probably explains the size of my thighs). Sometimes I'll read a book, and I'll love it, and I just want another book to give me that same feeling. Say I read something all romancey - then I will want something else that gives me the swoons. But after a few swoony books, I want to switch things up. It's not always genre, though. I might read a contemporary romance, then a paranormal romance - just as long as I get the swoons, until I'm sick of swooning (I mean, really, how often can one swoon?) and switch it up and read for a historical or fantasy or whatever, just one that doesn't involve hot boys. That's just an example, though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. YES. Considering feels totally makes sense. I like it. Excellent point.

      Delete
  10. I'm like you, Gaby - I like to mix up what I read. A contemporary, then a paranormal, etc. I will sometimes read a few of one genre in a row, but then ultimately I need a break. Especially if I read a lot of heavy books in a row, then I NEED something light.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UGH so true. I can't read tons of sad books in a row and if I read too many fluffy ones I get bored. The feels totally play a role in this.

      Delete
  11. I'm the same as you! I cannot read just one genre, but sometimes I will read a couple of the same genre is a row and then switch to something else. I also can't just exclusively read series, not even the same series! I will start to feel like I've been reading the same thing too long and switch for a book or two then continue. I don't want to get bored of a genre. I like most of them, so switching it up is really easy. I also have to be in the mood for a certain genre or I'm not going to enjoy it as much as I normally would.

    Great post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You totally can't force yourself to read one thing or another. You won't enjoy the books as much. Every book has a time, y'know?

      Delete
  12. BEST COMPARISON EVER. I largely stick with contemporary, but I will mix it up once in a while. I'll read a bunch of contemporaries in a row and then get sick of the genre and have to switch it to something else. It's kind of like my yogurt obsession. I have eaten yogurt every morning for years. I mostly eat black cherry because I LOVE it, but sometimes I have to get other flavors because I get bored.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like that your food and book habits match. Especially with the yogurt. So cute ;-)

      Delete
  13. Omg I totally ate that way when I was a kid too >.> Trix cereal will never be the same....

    I pretty much just switch between fantasy and dystopia/sci-fi. I've tried non-magical books before and the genre just doesn't seem to do it for me :(. I read multiple books at the same time because I listen to an audiobook and read a physical book and read an ebook constantly (this must be the case otherwise I won't have a book during one of the times I want one D:). To that end I try to keep them a little different so I don't get them mixed up. However, when I say different, I mean high fantasy adult books are different from YA fantasy books >.>. I like plain food too okay!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well at least you know what you like!!! Personally? It's hard for me to read more than one book at a time. But I like the different formats you've got going for you.

      Delete
  14. I have a tendency to go on genre-binges, and then I'll burn out and switch to something else for a bit. Like when I discovered Sarah Dessen, and promptly read my way through all the Dessens the library had in stock. I only really got into contemporaries early last year, so I'm still in that, "MOAR CONTEMPORARIES" phase... I'll probably go on a fantasy-kick though soon.
    Love the reading-eating analogy :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So glad you like the analogy!!! And yeah, genre binges are great! Just be careful with the burning out. Those are the worst. :-(

      Delete
  15. My husband left me last year after 25 years of marriage (he turned 50). It has been the most difficult year of my life, but full of lessons about myself and what life and marriage are all about. I am passionate about marriage and i didn't give up on my husband. resides in USA, I entered online in search of advice on how i can amend my marriage while i was at work. I saw so many positive reviews and nice feed back about how a Doctor called______________Robinson.buckler@ yahoo. com has been wonderful with his work. I gave a shot to make contact with him via his Email and he assured me that my marriage will be peaceful and i believed in his words. 16 hours after he finished work, my husband came back home pleading and now, we are living peacefully again. Get in contact with him if you need any help. he is the real deal WE’RE BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. HOW I GOT MY EX HUSBAND BACK WITH THE HELP OF REAL AND EFFECTIVE SPELL FROM DR Aluya My name is jessica, I never thought I will smile again, My husband left me with two kids for one year, All effort to bring him back failed I thought I'm not going to see him again not until I met a lady called Jesse who told me about a spell caster called Dr Aluya , She gave me his email address and mobile number and I contacted him and he assured me that within 48hours my husband will come back to me, In less than 48hours my husband came back started begging for forgiveness saying it is the devils work, so I'm still surprise till now about this miracle,i couldn't conceive but as soon as the spell was cast,i became pregnant and gave birth to my third child,if you need any assistance from him you can contact him via:email:{aluya.48hoursspelltemple@gmail.com} you can also call him or WhatsApp contact:: +2348055431163

    ReplyDelete
  17. My husband left me for another woman after one year of our marriage. I needed him back desperately because i loved him so much. I became very worried and needed help. On this faithful day  as i was browsing through the internet, I came across a particular testimony about this good DR IROSI help get ex back fast and stop a divorce or breakup and so on , So I felt I should give him a try. I contacted him and he told me what to do and i did it then he did a (return Love spell) for me. 28 hours later, my husband came back to me crying and begging for my forgiveness. Today I’m so happy and i want to recommend this great spell caster to anyone that truly needs an urgent solution to his or her broken relationships and marriage email him at:(DRIROSISOLUTIONCENTER@GMAIL.COM) Simply contact the great “DR IROSI” If you have any problem contact him and i guarantee you that he will help you., do not cry anymore-contact this powerful spell caster now. Thank you DR IROSI for saving my broken relationships and brought my husband back to me!” email him at: (DRIROSISOLUTIONCENTER@GMAIL.COM)

    ReplyDelete
  18. I'm 61 years old, I contracted hpv in 2011' I has be taking lot treatment for it and embarrassed some months ago the wart stated coming out seriously, I used lot recommendation because there was lot warts around my anus and was so . but today I'm totally happy I got the virus eliminated by using natural treatment from Dr Onokun herbal center after his treatment I got cured. all the warts went away' seriously believed Dr Onokun he have the cure for human papillomavirus because he has eliminated hpv been in my body since 2011, Dr Onokun make it possible for me. Here is Dr Onokun email:  dronokunherbalcure@gmail.com 

    ReplyDelete

Hey there! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. I would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment. Also, if you have a blog, be sure to leave a link so I can go check it out!