Monday, February 2, 2015

book talk: What type of reader am I?

I have been pondering this a lot today. I probably should ponder on it more before I actually write about it, but my hands are feeling antsy! I have mentioned before that my reading tastes have changed so much that I have felt a bit lost in the book world, and recently being overjoyed at discovering some new books that I am in love with. This, coupled with seeing a few posts by other bloggers happily listing things they like, it has made me wonder. How would I answer this question?
Well, I absolutely love classics. I will always have a place in my heart for Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, and find myself frequently picking that book up to read parts, my favorite being the beginning few chapters. To me, it is such a beautiful tale of humanity and life, and always leaves me feeling connected. I also have a spot in my heart for My Antonia by Willa Cather. That book is honestly the one thing that kept me alive during an extremely hard time in my life. I was so depressed, stressed and filled with worry, that I couldn't even read the book, I was listening to it. This small novel took me so long to listen to, as my mind could hardly focus and found myself rewinding through a chapter many times over. But that book kept me alive. I will still find myself thinking deeply on Antonia, loving how wonderful her tale was. I am always so blown away with how beautifully Willa Cather describes the new prairie lands, it makes you feel like you are there breathing the air. I have also always loved Richard Paul Evan's The Christmas Box, and find I tend to crave that book almost every summer. But what else? I haven't been able to read through anything new for several years, which has become slightly frustrating for me.
I decided to Google types of readers tonight and see what comes up. I was surprised to discover that I found myself listed amongst the different types, and even more surprised to discover that suggested readings is exactly what I have been realizing this past week! At this site I definitely fall under The Multi-Tasker, one who reads a bit of this book, that book, another book, never seeming to finish anything. Their suggested reading was short stories, essays, novellas, and I would personally add books filled with letters. That is exactly the type of books I need to be reading, and for some reason I just could not pull myself out of the novel genre. Now, at this site, I would probably consider myself The Really, Really Emotional Reader. I do love to read things that get me in the heart, books that I can walk away feeling something. Being a highly sensitive and emotional person, I prefer to read books that I can connect with on that level. Though I feel that I am more a sentimental type of reader, rather than someone who flocks to really sad books. An author's choice of words, a sentence beautifully written, will tug at my heart. The message of a book, the description of the environment can even leave me with deep emotions. Age old fairytales will even get me, simply because of their long history and how they have lasted through time, still holding strong.
This is kind of exciting, to feel like I am actually stepping into the world of books again, though I never 100% left. I never realized how important it was for one to actually understand the type of reader they are and I am glad to be learning these new things about myself! What type of a reader are you?  

9 comments:

  1. Oooh, so "My Antonia" is good? I recently got the movie for free, and I was wondering if it was worth watching or reading. I definitely will now!:D

    I so understand! I should find out myself...

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    1. It is a classic, and really doesn't have any kind of crazy adventure going on. It is a calm book I guess, but I love Willa Cather's writing. It is a neat story. I am actually currently rereading it at night in bed this week. Not sure how far I will make it through before my mind wanders to another book, but it is good! What movie do you have? Is it really old? I tried to see if one existed a while back and only found some really old version. I haven't watched a movie on this book yet but I would love to see it!

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    2. The one I have is a 1994 version starring Neil Patrick Harris, so not that old:D

      Cool, I like calm books! I'll check it out:)

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    3. I will have to see if I can find that one!

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  2. Oh, by the way, would you mind terribly if I friended you on Goodreads? I see your account name down there on your sidebar XD My account name on Goodreads is Graceofthevalar :D

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    1. Go ahead, of course! I will you as well. I will admit, I don't really use goodreads for too much. I try to but there are phases I tend to forget about it!

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    2. Well, I tried, but it's not letting me...hmm. I'll try again:)

      I don't either, honestly; all I use it for is keeping track of books and my thoughts on them.

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    3. I'll try to add you next time I get on too.

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    4. And I use my blog more to keep track of what I think about books over goodreads. Goodreads usually ends up being an after thought for me.

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