I have gotten super picky about my reading material over the last couple of years. Maybe its because I’ve been forced to read so much content in nursing school that I’ve kind of lost touch with what it means to “read for pleasure.” Or maybe my taste in books has changed without me realizing it. Either way, I just don’t pick up books like I used to.
These days, when I pick up books, I’m looking to learn something. I’m not looking to be lectured. I repeat – NO LECTURES! I’ve gotten enough of those from my college education… I’m just searching for that text out there that will inspire discussion and even stir up my emotions. Books with a message, research texts about a topic that interests me, something that makes me question myself to better understand who I am. I realize, reading this back, that this sounds like a huuuuuuge feat, but truthfully for all of the content out there all it really takes is for me to read one thought provoking sentence to completely change the way I think.
TEDTalks are a great example of what I mean. I’m looking to learn something new, hear the point of view of different people, see a topic in a light that I hadn’t even thought of before. I actually own a couple of books written by authors who were TEDTalk speakers.
My selection process goes a little something like this:
Basically I’ve been guilty of the following:
- Selecting one book over another because of its price
- Selecting no books because of their price…
- Selecting one book over another because of how it looks
- Disregarding all books from a particular author that I have previously read and disliked; regardless of any change in writing style/topic selection that the author may have undergone
I feel guilty that these are incorporated in my selection process, but its the honest truth.
The even more honest truth is that I go to Barnes and Noble to read books for free while drinking coffee at their little café. I’m a full on moocher.
HOWEVER! When it comes to bloggers that I follow, all bets are off. Unlike books, I can enjoy following a blogger who has completely different interests than my own. I don’t even have to be blown away by their blog layout. Best of all, I don’t have to bring cash up front to view their posts. Books and blogs are like two different dimensions. I read several different blogs, and have done so for several years. Bloggers are great because although they are usually themed – style, cooking, technology, gaming – I get to indulge and share in the excitement of whatever they’re posting. And that’s something that a good majority of books can’t do, truly connect with their audience. I say majority, but I know there are plenty of books out there that completely tear through you and force you to see pieces of yourself that you may or may not have wanted to see. Bloggers more easily achieve this kind of reading catharsis for me, just because I get to know that person. I can interact with them. I can follow them through their own daily journeys and see their struggles as they parallel with my own. Some bloggers I use for an escape, since their lives are so different than mine. I don’t know if my blog does any of these things for other people…lol okay I know it doesn’t…but I do enjoy being a part of the blogging community. Even if it is just me ranting about things 90% of the time.
Okay so now I want to hear from you guys! This is a daily prompt, but I still want to know your answers.
How do you pick what blogs or books to read? What’s the one thing that will get you to pick up a book or click on a link every single time?
I'm just Super Saiyan 