Random bookish facts about me you didn’t know!
Salutations friends! There’s been a lot of new faces finding their way to my little corner in the book community and I thought I’d do something a little fun and different, post wise. Originally I thought about doing a new introductory post, but I decided I would reveal some fun, interesting, maybe questionable bookish facts about myself that you may not know. Time to grab those snacks, sit back, and brace for a little chaos as I reveal my bookish skeletons!
1 – I’m a big reading multitasker.
You may be asking yourself what this means. Do I eat snacks while reading? Listen to audiobooks while cleaning? Yes and yes, but there’s more to it. I dance… lots of dancing, a lot of blasting lofi, sometimes Ocean Man ends up on repeat while I’m feeling a whole chapter. This is all looped in with the extensive note-taking I do and answering emails. I don’t know how I got here, but I chalk it up to that true Gemini behavior coming through.
2 – I’m the worst at completing series.
Ever since the ACOTAR series, I haven’t been able to touch a series the same way. You know, in the way of totally zooming through the series in three days, kind of devouring of series. The best example I have of this is the Shadow of the Fox series. I was consuming that series like a wildfire, but… it’s almost been two years and I still haven’t finished the third and final book in the series. The hardcover and audiobook stare intensely at me every day and I still haven’t touched it, and the third book is the shortest out of all of them. Is it because I’m terrified to have my heart ripped out by another author? Maybe. Am I still trying to work past that and finish series? Trying and failing, horribly. I’d like to think one day I’ll finish at least one series a year because that seems achievable, but it hasn’t happened yet. Oops…
3 – No you cannot borrow my books!
I think this is one of those traits that’s a mixed bag in the book community. You’re either fine letting friends or family borrow your books or you’re clutching your books to your chest, preparing to fight anyone who dares to touch them. I’m Smaug ready to defend my horde of books. For me, I think I developed this trait at a very young age because there would be people in my life who would take my books or destroy my books, and when you’re a child who’s only friends are books because you’re chronically ill, that’s a very hollowing feeling. So I’m very protective of my books. I think there’s only been two people in my life who’ve I’ve sent my books to and for me, if I ever do that, that’s a sign that I trust you with my whole dang chest. If I send you my books, you mean something to me and I value a whole heck-a-ton.
4 – I get very vocal when reading.
Does anyone else get very loud, have pterodactyl screeches escape their body, and then run to discuss a scene or moment in a book with someone only for everything to come out as gibberish, and everyone in the room staring at you like you grew three heads? Yeah… Definitely not me. Maybe it’s from being such a small person and all my feelings have nowhere else to go so they explode out of me like a kaleidoscope of butterflies or maybe my brain just disconnects from reality and then all my thoughts just emerge from my mouth in an incoherent word waterfall that make no sense. Either way, this is something I’ve done for as long as I can remember and I still do it today.
5 – I buy post-it notes in bulk and have them everywhere!
I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’ve been annotating books since I was six years old. I spent a lot of time in my school library and learning reading techniques at a young age, okay, it’s fine! So I’ve had this habit since I was very young of using sticky notes for everything. There’s not a single room you can walk into without there being a stack of 5-10 sticky notes, of different colors, and pens, lots of pens, scattered in a small pile. I use post-it notes in my annotating, I use them for jotting down my thoughts and content/trigger warnings, I have post-it notes everywhere of posts I need to make for this blog, and so on. I use them for literally everything. Some might say it’s an obsession while others might say a “bad habit”, I’ve heard both, but it works. At least for me it works and it helps with my organization. If you want to see the ones I use; I use colored ones not lined & then I used colored lined ones for lists or content/trigger warnings.
6 – Books, book stacks everywhere!
Books for photos? There’s a stack. Books I’m currently reading? A giant stack consuming a nightstand. Book stacks just all over the place! While my note-taking and annotating of books may be highly organized, this is the complete opposite of my situation for my books. Out of all my bookish friends, I always feel like the chaotic one of the group with having so many different books stacks everywhere, nothing being in the place it should be. Between un-hauling books, books needing to be packed up, and being down to one fully packed cart… it’s a chaotic problem sometimes.
7 – Audiobooks and ebooks get a bad rep, in my opinion.
Yup, I woke up and chose violence this morning. I’m adding spice to this post and mostly because I want to talk about it. I’ve been gone from the book community for about a year, despite regular updates. Coming back and seeing fellow readers doubling down on the whole debate of how “ebooks and audiobooks aren’t considered real reading” or “they’re not as good as the physical book” argument – frankly, this is a discussion as old as time, but also it seems so silly in the big picture of things. I think a lot of people really show their privilege and ignorance when they make statements like this because they’re not taking into consideration those who have disabilities, those who don’t have the privilege of having medium to large spaces dedicated to books, those who can only get ebooks because of their income/budget situation, and so many more situations/circumstances that play a factor into why some people may do ebooks or audiobooks over physical books.
Honestly, I really enjoy ebooks and audiobooks. As someone who has chronic illnesses and has a slight visual impairment, I love ebooks and audiobooks. They’re perfect for the times when I’m struggling with these disorders. On the opposite side of things, I’m in the process of moving and audiobooks and ebooks are perfect for when you still want to read, but you’re preparing for big life changes such as moving.
8 – I can never read in the same spot, in the same day.
Most of my designated reading days are usually 50% reading, 25% attempting to remember basic human needs, & 25% changing rooms and positions because I can never be comfortable in the same spot for too long. This typically leads to me roaming my home, flopping across multiple surfaces and places, trying to find the best new reading spot. This is something I do at least three times a week, sometimes more if I’m on vacation from work or sometimes if it’s the weekend, as well.
9 – Constantly updating GoodReads & IG stories.
Every time I take reading breaks, I’ll log in on GR or IG and update pages, post little stories, share thoughts, etc… This is something that I’ve done since I started seriously reading and do more through reviews for books. It also helps with my process of tracking my reading progress, as well. It allows me to process my thoughts on break, reflect on places I stopped at, and circling back to the sticky notes, taking notes for however many chapters I read and jot down thoughts. Also, I’ll take time to update Notion as well. A while back I did a post on how I take reading notes (which I need to make an updated post because there have been some changes) and Notion was a big game changer for me as a reader, blogger, and reviewer. So I’ll take time to update this during breaks and add little notes for the specific things I’m currently tackling for that day.
10 – I struggle with declining review requests.
I’m very much a person who struggles with declining requests to review books. Now granted, I’m very picky of arcs I accept or even personally requested arcs, but when authors take the time to personally reach out to me, I’m a deer in the headlights. Usually authors are so sweet and I’m not going to lie, as a small content creator, it feels good to be noticed sometimes and have authors reach out to you for reviews. However, if you’re someone like me who doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings or upset anyone, declining review requests can feel impossible. In fact, as I type this, I have four pending review request emails right now. (Does anyone have any tips or tricks for declining requests?)
Do you relate to any of these facts? Are you a reading screecher as well? Come chat with me in the comments below about your bookish facts or if you have a similar post, feel free to link it in the comments. I hope you enjoyed learning some bookish facts about me. Until next time friends, remember to hydrate, I love you! š¤
Chapter Malliumpkin 
I love these and relate to a lot of them, especially not loaning out books (same reason, sadly!), sticky notes everywhere, and most of all, the “deer in the headlights” feeling RE: review requests! It’s SO hard to say no! š
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Haha are we the same person? I swear, we have the moments where we almost mirror each other! So many sticky notes. I use sticky notes more than tabs and I always ask myself, “Why and how?” followed by the, “Why are you like this?”
Ugh, why does rejecting requests have to be so hard?! No one said how hard it would be to turn down requests. š
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I’d love for you to do an updated post on your note-taking! I love seeing how others do theirs :3 A lot of our reading habits seem to be very different, which is interesting. I am definitely also terrible at finishing series though!
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Yes! Like it’s exciting to think of finishing a series, but you just know the author is waiting to rip hearts out!
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