I was scrolling through NetGalley last night and it occurred to me that the books I’m interested in now are things I have always wanted to read but just never picked up. Meanwhile the things I use to inhale are things I don’t even reach for or think about anymore.
I started getting into YA in 2006 after I read Twilight. I had just left my job (for my mental health) and I was waiting to board my plane for a birthday trip to Vegas with my then boyfriend (who is now my ex husband). I remember reading it on the plane (I usually sleep) and I didn’t pick it up again until we flew home. Then that week I pretty much finished the series. I didn’t pick up another YA book until 2009 when he left for the Airforce. I needed something to take up my time and distract me from the fact he was gone (we were literally together every day for years so this was really hard for both of us; and honestly after that relationship I was never really able to stand being with some daily, but that’s another thought for another post lol).
I started with the Sweep series and that’s when I started a book blog with my sister (in law) Marissa. We both read YA and we would sit in B&N and pick a pile of books to skim through, swapping with each other. My ex would usually read like.. computer or fitness books or something. And at the time I was actually a beauty blogger/youtuber. I noticed books were kind of taking over my channel so I kind of decided to just make a whole different channel then I made my own blog to follow. And that’s when everything changed. I miss those days of no IG or worrying about stats or followers.
I started getting tons and tons of books for review. I was lucky enough to work with Scholastic, Penguin Teen, Harper Teen… I got to do a campaign for Every Day by David Levithan and Splintered by AG Howard. And for a long time my preferences were YA paranormal, contemporary, Fairytale Retellings, Middle Grade, Erotica and Chick Lit. Along the way I discovered Dystopia and books with gothic elements were fun. I wasn’t really a mood reader though, I could pick up any one of these genres and finish the book perfectly fine.
I feel like now that I’m older and maybe because I have such limited time to myself, if I’m dreading picking the book back up or if I just seem to forget about it then it’s a DNF. I mention this a few times but 2021 has been the year of finally getting into Historical Fiction for me. And I’m pretty excited about it. I always wanted to get into it but my mind would always travel to “well there’s that new hot release I should review…” and I think now that I can ENJOY books without feeling like I have this stack that are waiting to be reviewed, I can take as long as I want reading anything I want.
These days I’m likely to pick up Historical Fiction, YA paranormal (bonus if it’s with gothic elements), Middle Grade, Fairytale retellings re still my weakness. I try to pick up a Chick Lit book esp if it’s from an auto buy author for me but I don’t find myself reaching for them as much as I use to. I don’t find myself picking up witch fiction much either even though I’m still drawn to them.
This was just something I randomly thought of as I was scrolling through NetGalley and realizing I was skipping over books I would had normally reach for!