Tony was so fed up with the tatty old shelves that had been taken apart and put back together over the years that, when we renovated our house, he had the carpenter make these for me.
I love my bookcase ❤
I didn’t just put this picture up to show off (ok, maybe a little bit 😉 ) but also to demonstrate how my reading habits have changed.
Thing is, some of that is due to the rise of the kindle too, and as this month’s Insecure Writers Support Group question is, How has being a writer changed your experience as a reader? I’ll have to save that for another post. And maybe yet another post; What does your bookcase say about you? Hmm maybe I’ll do a three-parter. Tune in next week too!
However, back to this month’s question.
I have less time for reading these days because I now spend some of that time dreaming up my own stories. As a result, I’m less patient than I once was. If I were purely a reader nowadays, I’d spend an awful lot of time on Goodreads, and I’d probably have some kind of book blog.
But writing and children don’t allow time for that, so my reading habits have changed.
I’ve always read fairly widely, but now I also read to learn new techniques, for research and to read the novels of fellow writers, and that can lead to little gems that I’d perhaps not have stumbled upon otherwise.
I’m more sympathetic to authors, because now I understand that this is someone’s baby, and the amount of work they’ve put into it.
I can spot clunky writing and poor proofreading. And I can appreciate good writing – and by that I don’t just mean beautifully polished prose, but writing that’s so effortlessly smooth you don’t realise you’re reading it. All of these can provide a benchmark for my own work.
How has writing changed reading for you? Or maybe you just want to compare bookcases? 😉
The IWSG was founded by Alex J Cavanaugh, where writers can blog about their hopes, dreams and fears. If you want to join this merry band of writers Click here to add your name to the list.
The awesome co-hosts for this month are; Misha Gericke, LK Hill, Juneta Key, Christy and Joylene Butler!
Books should be read...
Angela Wooldridge 
I wish I were better at spotting effortlessly smooth writing. I’m not even sure how you compare one piece of writing to another, solely based on style not even considering content. I do love the idea of a follow-up post “what does your bookcase say about you?” 🙂 You should do it! For real. 🙂
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Thanks, I think I will 😉
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I love your bookcase! That’s one think I miss about living in a house – lots and lots of books.
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Yeah – I’d probably sink a boat 😉
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I’m just trying not to stare at your bookshelf! I’m also a lot quicker to stop reading, as a writer than as just a reader.
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Your bookcases are gorgeous! One day I’ll have all my books back with me (we left so many in storage when we moved) and trust me: there will be bookshelf pictures galore!
I try to read as much as I can, but, yes writing and working and family take away from time to devote to the pleasures of reading. I am a better reader because of writing, but sometimes I get caught up in “editor mode” and just wish I could read and not be a writer at the same time!
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have you found yourself buying duplicate copies because you really need to read something that’s in storage?
Here’s to the day you’re reunited! 🙂
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My husband clearly needs to meet yours. I have one shelf for books. I also have books all over my house, on tables, in drawers etc…
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ha! Just leave your laptop lying around with my post prominently displayed 😉
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I had bookcases like that in one house in upstate New York–with 12 foot ceilings. Oh my! I miss those. (But not the cold.) We totally need to build one in…
Here’s to being picky, but not too picky in our reading, eh?
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12 foot ceilings!? Oh my! (Changing lightbulbs must’ve been fun 😉 )
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Your bookcase is far awesomer than mine. 🙂 Mine is pretty much all digital.
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My reading is also more targeted. I want to read books in my genre or else read something entirely new. I switch it up. What I don’t have time for these days are bad books. I’ll give a book a shot, but if it doesn’t hold my interest or it’s too poorly written, I’m out.
Here’s my February IWSG post: Stephanie Scott How I Read Now
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I envy your bookcase.
I didn’t write on this subject for my blog, so I will answer it here. Writing has changed my reading as far as noticing when others do it poorly. Such as write like they are on a cellphone and charged for every letter they use, which means truncating their message that requires a decoder ring in a Lucky Charms Box or an enigma machine to understand.
Only in the last few years has that changed as I learned what it means to become an ebook Author and editor, that I’ve set the bar higher for myself and as a consequence, for everyone else. I often see patterns that people fall into, and it is painfully obvious to me. I sometimes fear I’ve become a snob. However, I try to be proactive about it, turning what I know and hopefully make it into a series of writing help books.
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I’m telling you – it’s like you become an editor, spotting all the clunky writing. And you’re right, you do appreciate all the work that goes into a book, knowing what it took to get to that point.
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Except I can’t do that with my own writing 😦
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Love the bookcases. I use to have 8 when I lived in Texas, but got rid of three when moved to Florida and have not had a place to put them so they are still packed up in garage and had to get rid of the bookcases to make room in the garage when I was forced to move in 2015. My books are all in boxes in the garage, but I have about 4000 on my kindle, so its my Kindle that says something about me now a days, lol.
Hope this lets me post,
Juneta @ Writer’s Gambit
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Wow – your kindle must be heavy!! 😉
(and yes – your post got through yippee!)
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I love it when all I see is the story. 🙂
Anna from elements of emaginette
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I love the bookcase. 🙂
At heart, I’m a paperback gal!
With regards to the question: I just can’t read with that same abandon that I used to before I started writing. On a certain level, it makes me sad. The thing is, I’m a reader first. I’ve been reading from the age of five-and-a-half. The writing started very, very late (just under 7 years ago) and maybe that’s the reason I can’t sink into a book like before. Almost as if the ‘writerly brain’ is in competition with the ‘reader brain’? If that makes any sense? Probably not. LOL
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Wow, that is an impressively large bookcase!
I can spot the poor writing, but like you, I understand the effort that went into it, even if it didn’t turn out so well.
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It’s the same way for me–I have less time to read, so I’m much choosier on what I read. Usually it’s to support friends and learn more about my chosen genre. If I start a book and I can’t get into it, though, I’m much more likely to drop it and pick up another book, since time is so short!
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