Let’s Talk: Changing as a reader | Who even am I?

Posted on by Ashleigh

Look at us all, growing up every day. Adjusting habits and tastes with every new thing that comes along. Without even realising, over a year or so we could become a completely different person…and yet still be ourselves.

And lately, I’ve been wondering if who I am as a reader – bookworm, nerdy girl, queen of pages, frolicker of fiction, whatever you want to call it – has changed.

So let’s talk:

Have you changed as a reader?

I mean, I’m pretty sure the answer to that question would be “yes”. I presume none of us are devoted to reading only children’s picture books about hungry caterpillars and giant dogs, as we did in our tiny stages.

We’ve all changed to some extent.

But where this ramble of a discussion is coming from, is my own sense of mind blowing surprise as I’ve realised that lately my reading tastes have expanded. A LOT.

Where I used to dominantly read YA fantasy, I only actually read one of those last month. I’ve read 5 contemporaries already this year,  5 classics, and 4 nonfiction. All of these genres being ones I’d rarely pick up before. And it might not sound a lot, but that’s pretty much half of my books read so far this year, made up of genres I never used to lean towards. Sure, I’d read them every so often, but not as much as this.

But it’s not even that.

I had a “treat yourself” sort of day a couple of weeks ago, and when it came to choosing which books to buy, for once none of them were YA fantasy. Okayy, one of them was ACOWAR, but technically that’s New Adult fantasy. Shhhhhh. Anyway. My latest phase of reading seems to be leaning towards learning more history, on a wider scale, and ancient civilisations. I want to read about ancient Rome and Greece. I want all the really old classics by the likes of Plato and Homer, as well as the Jane Austen type.  I’m wanting more nonfiction, and for once the 500 page nonfiction books aren’t daunting to me – instead I NEED them.

Of course, I still love YA. I still have hundreds of YA books on my TBR, and will be making my way steadily through all the ones on my shelves.

But I just find it so bizarre that I quickly turned into a reader who would happily choose a classic or nonfiction alongside the YA and fantasy type of books, when just last year – just LAST MONTH – I might have shunned them in preference for the latter. Maybe it’s just a phase. Hell, I’m definitely a mood reader. But…I don’t think so. Classics have wormed their way in gradually, and I’ve always had an interest in mythology & history so I think they’re here to stay.

Honestly, I don’t really have a point to this. It’s just one huge ramble about how I’ve noticed my reading taste expand so much over the course of a few months.

Is it a good thing? I certainly think so, yes. I LOVE seeing such a wide variety on my shelves, the choice of having completely different genres for whatever I’m feeling. I’m learning more with every book I read. Granted, I don’t have the money to splash out on ALL the books from these newly loved genres that I’m hoping to collect, but that’ll come over time. And that’s not to say it’s NOT good if you still like reading one genre after years – I know I’ll still dominantly read fantasy because it’s my favourite genre. I just…wanted to acknowledge the change, I guess. And I also want to hear YOUR stories, to see how this has happened to you guys or if you’re still going steady.

So now it’s your turn!

Have you noticed your reading taste change at all over the past few months/year? Can you pinpoint it to one particular thing?

What genres do you tend to read?

Are there any other ways you’ve changed as a reader?

If you haven’t changed, does that mean your love for one genre is still going strong?

Join the discussion in the comments!

Until next time…

Come and visit me!

    

   

36 thoughts on “Let’s Talk: Changing as a reader | Who even am I?”

  1. There are a couple of books that I am caught my eye that is not in the fantasy genre. However I would like to get into the classics a bit more and get a bit more variety into my interests. I am currently have Little Women and books by P.G Wodehouse in my TBR and I would normally shun those books in a heartbeat.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Classics seem to be my main aim too! Little Women is on my TBR too, though I don’t own it so that might take a while. I hope you manage to open your genres more then, it does feel good to have a wide variety to choose from!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  2. I’ve changed insofar as my reading time is strictly rationed and limited now. /sigh. But I’d love to read more classics, too. You know you can get tons of them free from Gutenberg, right? Including a lot of Ancient Greek and Roman writers, I believe. There’s some obscure Wodehouse on there, even!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Yeah a lot of classics can be found for free, but I can’t read from ebooks unfortunately! An eyesight problem. But it doesn’t bother me really, I love building up my collection! Thanks for the recommendation though, because I might still use it to have a scroll through and find new books to add to my TBR! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  3. I never really used to read a lot of non-fiction so I think that’s where I’ve changed the most. It’s just so interesting :). I’ve always gravitated towards Fantasy and Historical Fiction, that’s still what I’m most likely to pick up. I’m slowly making my way over to adult fantasy and I’m reading a lot more classics because I feel like I’m at an age where I’ll actually understand what they are trying to say…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. This is literally my exact reading experience ahaha! Fantasy and historical fiction are my ultimate favourites, but classics and nonfiction are definitely a thing for me now. I used to think all nonfiction would be boring, and I’d not understand classics, just because the few I’d read were that way. Now it’s very obvious that like my fantasy and historic fic, it’s just a matter of which books you pick up! Not going to like them all, after all 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. True, there’s no way you can like EVERYTHING. I can pick up books and put them down again after 30 pages or so because I know it’s just not for me and that’s fine. There are so many books out there 🙂 enough to choose from.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  4. Yes! My tastes change all the time. I think it’s partly exposure to new books/genres, partly just growing as a person. I think some books are like stepping stones, if you read something contemporary and you find out the author was heavily influenced by someone else, it’s always fun to work backwards. There are new books and new genres being created all the time so it’s great to have a pic’n’mix approach – what do you have to loose? Plus it’s always fun to do a reading challenge and be forced to read something you wouldn’t normally – I’ve found lots of amazing books that way.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Ahh I agree! I’ve never really thought of checking out people who inspire the authors I like, maybe I should start doing that and see how it goes. But I love the pic’n’mix approach, there’s something for every mood and I feel like I always have something to talk about with people, because I’m likely to have heard of something they’ve read no matter their tastes!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  5. I used to strictly read Adult historical fiction. I loved the drama during the different time periods. Then I only read VC Andrews for awhile…just that dark Gothic fiction.
    I didn’t get into YA for awhile.
    Now I’m pretty happy with YA. Every once in awhile I’ll agree to review a science fiction or fantasy book that’s not YA, or like a paranormal title that skirts the age range. But for the most part, I’m pretty content reading YA for the next 10 years straight! 😂🤣

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Ahhh YA offers up so many genres within itself though, it’s how I was happy with it for so long! I’m still more than happy with it now! I just love having something that seems to be the exact opposite every so often 😆

      Like

      Reply

  6. I loved this post, it’s always so interesting to hear what people are loving. I used to only read fantasy, but I’ve found myself enjoying historical fiction and non-fiction more recently! I haven’t had much time to read, but I’m excited to see what I read this summer.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you!
      You’ve also been into folklore a lot lately haven’t you for your research? I don’t know if that comes under a different genre, but I’d class it as it’s own “folklore & mythology” type of thing. If that makes ANY sense at all 😆

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  7. Interesting post! I’ve been a devoted fiction reader all my life, and while my tastes have varied quite a bit through the years – I spend many a year reading nothing but crime fiction, had an exclusively WW2 historical fiction phase, etc – I think the biggest change this year is probably the tiny pile of non-fiction I’ve acquired. They still scare me a bit, but I’m looking forward to finally digging into those (true) stories.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I go through phases too, especially with WWII historical fiction 😆 I’ve not read any in awhile I think, but once I do I’ll end up reading loads ahaha! Yeah I still find my tiny pile of nonfiction quite intimidating, despite enjoying all the ones I’ve read so far. Like I’m currently reading a nonfiction book that’s over 500 pages long and I LOVE it so far, but zeesh. That’s intimidating 😆

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  8. It’s funny you should post this as I’ve been thinking the exact same thing lately. Even started working on a post about it haha 😛 But I’ve definitely noticed my reading taste changing. I say fantasy is my favourite genre but I just… haven’t read much lately :/ And I kind of don’t want to read the fantasy books I own because there’s just so much other stuff I’m more interested in! I still love fantasy, but right now I think I love horror a bit more, and I’ve definitely come around to some classics.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Since I’ve literally just been having this chat with you on Instagram, my reply seems a bit pointless ahaha 😆 But yeah I get what you mean, I’m the same with my YA at the minute. I’ll still read and love it, but when looking at my shelves at the moment I just skip over them all and look for something else. Think I’ve burned myself out on YA lately!

      Like

      Reply

  9. Yes! My reading habits have changed as well this year. I love fantasy, I really do, but lately I’ve been getting bored of the same tropes used in practically every YA fantasy book (my main gripe being teenage romances just… no?). So I’ve been picking up more nonfiction books and also more adult mystery/thriller novels. It’s been a fun change! I still read fantasy but I’ve expanded what I enjoy ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Ohhhh I could rant all day about the amount of teenage romances in books (it’s not THAT common in reality, zeesh). But it’s definitely nice to expand genres – like you said, it’s just expanding what you enjoy! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  10. I totally agree with you and it is interesting to see how people’s reading tastes change. I used to only read YA contemporaries and fantasy, but I have found myself wanting to read more classics and non-fiction which is really interesting to me.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  11. Love this. It’s funny because I’ve actually NOTICED your reading changing over the last few months hahah (I’m weird). I can feel mine started to change, if that makes sense. Like, technically NOTHING about my reading has changed so far but I can FEEL me wanting to read outside of YA. I’ve been looking at non-fic, historical, crime, classics. Change is in the air, Ashleigh, it’s coming. hahaha

    Molly @ Molly’s Book Nook

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Ahh I was actually wondering if anyone noticed! Because to me it seems quite sudden – like I still read YA but I don’t talk about them as much as I do the classics/nonfiction etc ahaha. And I’m very intrigued to see your process of changing (that sounds weird but oh well 😆 )

      Like

      Reply

    1. Ahh I love that book! I didn’t think I’d be too fond of it originally, I don’t usually like cutesy stories but it’s one of my favourite contemporaries!

      Like

      Reply

  13. I have definitely noticed my reading tastes change as I have gotten older. Back when I first got into reading it was when Twilight was all the range so I was hooked on Vampire fiction, then I went into contemporary such as Gossip Girl. Then Classics when I started University, now I pick up Crime fiction and thrillers like The Girl on the Train or The Cuckoos Calling and I also pick up Non fiction too. Its very interesting to see how my tastes have evolved as I have grown older.
    I never thought I would buy a non-fiction book just to learn something because I wanted to but I do and it’s amazing to find out more. I think reading tastes also change outside of education, when you aren’t forced to read a certain genre I tend to pick it up more freely. Although without school I wouldn’t have fallen in love with The Great Gatsby so it also has it perks!
    Great Post Ashleigh!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  14. Such a great post 🙂 I have noticed that my reading taste has changed so much over the years, and as well as I started blogging – there were so many interesting recommendations of fantasy books, and I wasn’t such a big reader of that genre at the beginning… Well look at me now, some of my favorite books are fantasy, even if contemporary remains my favorite genre ever 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  15. I noticed that since I became a part of the bookish community last year when I started my blog, that my tastes have no changed exactly, but have definitely expanded. Prior to last year, I mostly read historical fiction and classics, but now I read most all of the genres! I’ve discovered a love for fantasy, and rediscovered my love for middle grade. I think when we are in our teen/young adult years, we stick with what we know we like, so don’t venture out much outside our comfort zones. As an “adult” I am more comfortable trying new things and experiencing new genres and books I would never have attempted when I was younger.

    Lovely discussion 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment