Confessions of this bookaholic

I have a few confessions to make regarding my reading habits: I am a very picky reader, I don't usually read Indie books, I go mostly for Best Sellers or Award Winning ones, I rarely remember the name of the author of the books I've read, I mostly forget the name of the characters of the books, and I most definitely forget the story line of the book. And I don't even read hundreds of books a year.

Before buying a book, I make sure I check the ratings. Check what people have said. Check if the book is going to be worth my time. Praises aside; and there are always praises for the books on the covers, at the backs and even right after you open them, I feel the need to see how other 'people' enjoyed the books, not 'The Times' or 'Washington Post'. And the range of things people have to say about books is pretty impressive. And since I rely so much on reviews, I have started leaving some of my own on a website dedicated to book lovers (Goodreads).

Sometimes I put a book back on the shelf just because some of my "Goodreads" friends didn't have good things to say about it. I know I risk losing connection to a potentially good book but I'm sure it's not really a problem because there are 'plenty of fish in the ocean'. I don't think I have ever left a negative review on a book. I read, I absorb, I live the lives of the characters, I somehow learn something new in every book and then I move on.

I am not a fan of libraries. This might sound very very weird coming from a bookaholic. But wait, I have a logic. Other than being a bookworm, I am also a book hoarder. And library books aren't meant to be hoarded. As far as I know, it's illegal.

And then there are the books that have been made into movies. I don't necessarily watch a lot of movies but if a book is good enough for a silver-screen, it must be good (that's how my thought process works). However, I have stopped reading romantic novels a long time ago especially if they have names that are along the lines of (I don't know) 'You have my heart' or 'Destined for each other'. You get the idea. Also, I am very selective with the covers of the books that I read. I know they say, don't judge a book by its cover but if the cover is pink with hearts or two people in intimate embrace then I would not like to be seen holding it in public. That phase has been tucked and packed away with my adolescence. Mills & Boons were never my type anyways.

Speaking of being seen with books, I love being seen with books. I love carrying books around. I prefer reading over smartphones when travelling. I like to be the odd one out who whips her book out instead of her phone. I even ignore texts while I'm on board reading. That's how I care about my image (something that obviously no one notices nor cares about for that matter).

For me books are sacred. I hate it when people scribble on their books. Using pencil may be forgivable but anything other than that for me is a sin. Another sin is dog-earing. So, you can well imagine what my opinion is towards those book arts. It makes my blood boil to see someone carve something out of the pages of a book in the name of art. You are a monster in my eyes.

I may have a few other book-related habits that I can't think of right now, which I'm sure are equally bizarre. Some of them I have left out because I've already mentioned them in other blogs. But one thing is sure, if you are into reading books, then it seems like a given that you are prone to a few random tendencies that is an end result of living too many lives. And these will last a lifetime.