Reading Pressure

I’ve seen people talking about the pressure they feel to read review copies or to read a book and review it. I don’t think I’ve read anything at length about it, but it is something I’ve noticed about myself sometimes. And I thought it would be an idea to explore it a little more. So, discussion post it is! This post is most likely going to be messy, so I apologize in advance. My discussion posts are usually just a mishmash of my thoughts, as I think them.

So! Reading pressure or reading anxiety. I know I’ve felt it. I don’t think it’s increased since I’ve started blogging, I just think I am more aware of it. And I am better at telling myself how ridiculous it can be.

I like writing reviews. I think it’s fun and I like sharing them. But I’m also the type of person where finishing multiple books in a week isn’t common. I would like more reviews to go up, but it just isn’t realistic right now. Sure, I could dedicate more time to reading, but I also like hanging out on Twitter and Instagram or watching whatever show I’m interested in. And that’s completely fine. I can come up with other content to post.

I am always a little wary of big books, no matter how excited I am for them. I know it will take me longer to get through and then that’s more time between reviews. BUT THAT’S FINE. As long as I’m enjoying what I’m reading, that is all that matters. I can still promote other books and be excited for them, even if I don’t get to them as fast as I would like. I’m still a good blogger even if my blog isn’t swimming in reviews.

I think another things that adds to this is review copies. I know I have two (kinda 3?) Netgalley books sitting and waiting for me to get to them. And I want to get to them so my ratio can go up, so I can have a better chance of getting other books I’m excited about. So, it’s basically a neverending cycle haha. In all honesty, I think it’s fine to submit a review to Edelweiss or Netgalley saying you just didn’t have the time to get to it or a DNF review. Sometimes life just gets in the way.

All in all, I think the point is that you’re a reader no matter the number of books you read. Or how you read them for that matter. I read for enjoyment and that is good enough. If I want to review them, that’s great! But I shouldn’t put pressure on myself to read more just because I think to review.

I’m not quite sure what I thought this post was going to be about, but I definitly didn’t think it was going to be me screaming at myself that I don’t have to read a ton of books to be considered a reader or have to have a million reviews to be a good blogger. It’s something I’m learning, I just didn’t think it would come out this way haha.

Thank you for reading!