Saturday, March 17, 2012

Reflections: What Shaped Your Reading Habits?


Early on, I committed to participating in the 2012 Multicultural Reading Challenge with Truly Bookish, which requires participants to read YA books written by authors or containing characters of color.  I know this sounds strange but I had no idea where to start or how to find these books.  I'm super serious.  It got me thinking about the types of books I read and why.

My librar(ies) shaped the reading habits I have now.  I read too fast for parents to keep up with my habits so I depended on libraries for books.   Thinking back, I think that is why I'm familiar with certain authors over others.  It is also the reason why I read romance and mystery novels.  My library was full of them.  I'm also pretty sure that I read mostly books by New York Times bestselling authors because that is what my library mostly bought.  Those authors became my comfort reads.  Though, I had to give up Danielle Steel.  I just couldn't take the hardship and heartbreak (but that's a different story).



I didn't find myself reading books by people of color or about people of color.  My library simply didn't have many.  We had interlibrary loans but I wasn't familiar with these authors to even request them.  Would I sound old if I said that my family didn't have internet back then or that google didn't exist?  Yes?  Okay nevermind.  I'm thinking now that I missed out a bit.  My library so completely shaped my reading habits but I was only impacted by the books I was exposed to.  I'm certainly not complaining but I can see how this would be difficult for authors who have put in so much work to write amazing books, but can't be found on the shelves of libraries for whatever reasons. I'm not sure how libraries choose which books to invest in but I'm sure it has complex considerations.

As I've gotten older, I've certainly branched out in terms of the books that I try.  However, my love for reading and the types of books I read was shaped by the available options at my local library.  I wish now that my library had more diverse options.

I know now that some people didn't use their library growing up (that's crazy to me!) and reading habits have been shaped by other things.  My husband is a reluctant reader, and I think it is movies that shaped his reading habits more than anything.   He is more likely to read a book if it has been made into a movie and he is interested in the movie (i.e. The Hunger Games).

What has shaped your reading habits?
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18 comments:

  1. My local library shaped my reading habits too. I read a lot of Stephen King growing up, and murder mysteries and romance novels. I have branched out since then, and try to suggest books to my library when they don't have them. But there was definitely a small town library influence.

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    1. Yes, I think it was the same for me. I didn't know you could suggest books for the library though. I should do that.

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  2. My mama. She doesn't read but she always encouraged me. She fed my hunger and showed me the glories of the library early on. I love her for this. She's also taught me that as a mother you don't have to love what your kids love, you just have to encourage them to follow those things that set their souls ablaze.

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  3. I can't say, I guess it was the library for me too. But then again the library was far away, i could only go there if dad drove me. Mostly I went to the bookmobile so I guess that is what shaped me, and mum reading books to me

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  4. I am not sure who/what shaped my reading habits. I know I read a lot of "supernatural" novels(books having to do with witchcraft and magic), but I also read thrillers, dystopian lit, young adult lit, and a few romances here and there.

    Those topics are what interest me, but I am not sure why. However, I do know I have been reading since I was itty bitty and that has played a HUGE role in who I am today.

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    1. My reading has made me who I am today as well. I've branched out a lot but a lot later in life. Mostly when I started teaching I became more eclectic. Now blogging has really made me an eclectic reader.

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  5. I had a myriad of things shape my habits. My mother for one, she taught me to read when I was four and in the hospital and it's been crazy ever since. My Grandmother provided me with books. For some reason I relate her to Ramona Quimby. I stayed in the school library, and my parents never had a problem with me ordering books from the scholastic sheets or grabbing a book from the book fairs.

    But I was just an explorer and as I got older wondered if there were any stories about people who looked like me. I began to seek them out on my own. And while there wasn't much variety or choice, whatever I did find I devoured happily and bought anything else by the author.

    My public library provided a wealth of books and the bookmobile was a godsend. My friends would encourage me to read certain thing and even some teachers. So I had influences everywhere.

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    1. That sounds great Jade.

      Again, what is the bookmobile? I've heard it twice now.

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  6. It's funny you mention that your hubbie is more likely to read a book that was made into a movie, I was like that too. Books are very expensive in my country and it's very hard to find contemporary stuff, so I read a lot of classics when I Was a kid both because it was available and because of the BBC mini series:)

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    1. I LOVE BBC mini series. I've only just discovered them because of Netflix. I never bought books until I had my own job and bought them. I always used the library.

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  7. When I was growing up we had a mobile library bus that visited every two weeks. it was fairly small so choices were necessarily limited and so I read a bit of everything, just like i do today I guess.
    Great post!

    Shelleyrae @ Book'd Out

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    1. Maybe that's what everyone means by "book mobile." We never had one of those.

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  8. My dad got me into reading - it was nice to be able to share something with him at a young age. I think that's the reason why I read such a wide range of books too - he was into westerns & spy lit. And the library played a huge part in my life when I was an adult - I moved several times to places where I knew no-one & had no family around. The library & gym were always my first memberships!

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    1. It's funny because most of my family reads except my brother. My husband doesn't either. It was my mom who introduced me to the library. I think reading is great for bonding because so few people really do it anymore.

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  9. I'm really bad at finding books about people of color mostly because I refuse to get out there. Most of the books I read are fantasy/sci fi/things that don't happen in the real world and a lot of authors of color (surprisingly) don't write under that genre.

    I should really broaden my horizon and get some more multicultural books on my shelves. That challenge sounds awesome though!

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    1. I was the same. I'm still bad, but I'm trying now. I was never sure if authors of color didn't write in those genres or if I was just unaware of who the authors writing in that genre were. (That was a horrible sentence).

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