Broken Spines, Blanking on Recommendations, and Other Book Confessions

We all have bookish habits we’re a little embarrassed about. Maybe you can never remember an author’s name. Maybe you can’t finish a book without starting five others and it takes you forever to get through any of them. Maybe you run in very literary circles but secretly love cheesy action novels.

Reader Shaming helps readers come clean about their bookish habits. I scanned through the submissions so far and agreed with more than a few of them.

A couple of my book confessions:

  • I never remember titles or author names. I always say things like “That one with the dog…”
  • I get overwhelmed when people ask me for recommendations. It’s like all the books I know and love fly right out of my head. Plus, I feel a lot of pressure to get it right–how am I supposed to know what you feel like reading next?
  • I reread a lot and am surprised that most people don’t.
  • I don’t lend books to a lot of people. I lost two copies of The Princess Bride that way and have gotten really protective of my collection.

Share your book confessions in the links, or submit to Reader Shaming.

(H/T Book Riot)

7 thoughts on “Broken Spines, Blanking on Recommendations, and Other Book Confessions

  1. Keri Peardon says:

    We have 6 full-size bookcases in our house (plus my Kindle!), but when people who my favorite authors are, I draw a blank.

    Despite the fact that I’m a fiction writer, I spend a lot more time reading non-fiction. (I just ordered myself 4 books for my birthday and they’re all non-fiction!)

  2. Fay Kesby says:

    I actually like to read the end before I start a book. Not the whole end – just the last couple of pages. I do the same with films – I much prefer watching a film if I have a rough idea of how it’s going to end. It’s more about how it ends up there for me. But most people think I’m spoiling it 🙁

    • Keri Peardon says:

      When I got the last “Harry Potter” book, I HAD to glance at the epilogue, because I couldn’t stand the suspense of knowing whether Harry made it or not. I think I just read the last sentence and saw that Harry was still alive; I didn’t read all of it to know about Ron and Hermione and Ginny and Draco.

      • Fay Kesby says:

        I imagine if I’d read it I would have done the same. (That was my fifth attempt at a reply and the only one which didn’t include any swear words or any references to where I think the harry potter ‘novels’ truly belong…you’ve been treated to unusually great restraint!)

  3. Jennifer says:

    Lately, I’ve been taking forever to finish books. It takes me a month to finish a book that usually would take me a WEEK. I’m the world’s slowest reader sometimes, haha.

  4. Lauren says:

    Oh gosh, I do the same thing… My mom was asking me about book recommendations for my brother and I completely blanked on every book I had read in the last couple of years (except for a few that he definitely would not like, of course!). I’m extremely protective of my book collection and I’m very paranoid about people stealing my books. I’ve never actually had any of my books kidnapped, but I’m terrified of it happening, haha. I also tend to take out more books from the library than I could possibly read in a three week period . . . Then spend the next month renewing them all . . .

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