When I starting blogging here at Angel Reads, I only read YA fantasy/supernatural. I had been reading it since I was 12 and many of my reading habits didn’t change. Then I joined the world of book blogging and was introduced to a new side of YA. A new side that I didn’t know too much about and didn’t know what books to read it. It was YA contemporary. And although I was reading it, I kept on going back to YA fantasy and supernatural. It’s where I found my solace, where I was able to just go away from the world.
Then a couple of years ago, I fell into the world of New Adult and Romance and I was gone. I’m now reading more romance books than ever before. I think because my life is just so busy now, that being able to finish a book in a couple of hours, is great. I’ve found that with romance books, I don’t need to stress or try and remember all the characters and layers of the world. I can just sit down and relax. I’ve spoken about reading more romance books in more detail before, but ever since then, I’ve read more and more romance.
There is a lot of factors in my changes in reading habits and it’s just not the fact that I am reading more romance. So I thought that today I would talk about changes in reading habits.
Changes in Reading Habits
I’ve really thought that I would sway about from reading YA fantasy and supernatural. I had been reading it for so long and loving it that it just stuck with me. I would try and read other genre’s, but I always seemed to go back to read it. This has a lot of this had to do with me being in high school at the time. My friendship group read, but not like me. So I had no one really to talk to about trying different books. When I made Angel Reads, it was the first time I was really exposed to other genres on a regular basis. Reviews of new books were easier for me to find, people that I trusted were reading different things to me and I was going into bookstores and book sections more. This let me see a whole different side to YA.
After I finished high school, I went straight into a writing and editing course at university. So you can imagine the range of books that I was reading, hearing about, and getting recommended. And while even then I was falling back into YA, I was branching out on what I was reading YA. But it was a great way to see and hear people’s thoughts on different books. But reading YA was looked down on and that was a struggle. And while I didn’t care all that much, it was hard to recommend books that I loved, because not many people thought about even picking them, up.
It was probably before even university that I discovered Katie McGarry and I am so glad that I did. She was able to introduce me to a whole new genre of romance and gosh I am glad that I started. What I love about Katie McGarry was that she was on the border of YA and NA romance, so it was easy for me to transition into reading NA romance. Then I started reading Sarina Bowen, Elle Kennedy, and Rebecca Yarros’ New Adult books and again it just grabbed me, and then I wanted to read more of these so I moved into their adult romance. It all flowed naturally, and I wasn’t just thrown into the deep end of romance. Which can be scary and different sometimes. And now I probably read way more romance than I do YA – and I don’t’ mind it.
I think for a while I was getting bored with YA. It was just everything was reading the same and I wanted something new and different. I ended up only reading the same authors because I just didn’t know what to read next. But I think that this last year has seen something happen in YA, that I am so happy about. It’s like it’s been rejuvenated and I am slowly starting to read more and more.
Something else that has changed my reading habits is the fact the last year and a half I’ve worked in a bookstore. I see new books come in nearly every day and sometimes things catch my eye, that I never thought I would. I’ve read more adult books this last year and a half than I have my whole life. And that’s saying something. Adult books never caught my eye, all the ways that I ever saw just bored me. But I did pick some up, after being recommended by both co-workers and customers. In saying that, most of the ones I have read have been historical fiction, but you get my drift.
It’s scary changing what you read, to be honest. Like I said I will always love YA, but reading different genre’s and readerships has made me love books even more.
Don’t be afraid
I don’t know what the point of this post really is, other than to say; it’s okay to branch out on what you normally read. It’s okay to blog about different genre’s and readerships. And it’s alright for your reading habits to grow with you. I will love YA forever, I will never, ever let it go. It embodies a lot of my values and it explores diversity in a way that makes me excited. Being able to recommend teens new and exciting books at work, is what makes my day. Seeing their faces light up when they find a book they might light – it gets to me.
So don’t be afraid to read what you want. Don’t be afraid to blog about that aren’t your usual thing. And while it might be a set back at first blogging wise, I am so much happier now, blogging about YA and romance. I get to talk about all the books I love in one place, because in the end Angel Reads, is about what me, Angel is reading.
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Have your reading habits changed over time? Why do you think they changed? Is there a moment or book in your life that did change what you read? Let’s Chat!
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