As some of you may remember, I am slowly working my way through the Books Unbound backlist. This is a podcast where two young Canadian women talk about books and their bookish lives. They are young and their taste in books is wildly different from mine, but they are so enthusiastic about what they love that I can't resist listening. Their 96th episode "The Mood Reader Tag!" is just them answering questions about mood reading and I thought it was so fun that I'm going to ask you the same questions.
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| This photo is 100% unrelated to the post topic, but LOOK HOW ADORABLE Hannah is walking with her stick. |
1) How do you define mood reading and are you a mood reader?
I think I'm more of a whimsy reader than a mood reader. It has nothing to with my mood, really, but more of what I think I should be reading at that time. On a nice sunny day, I do not think I should be reading a gothic thriller. When I was at my mother-in-law's deathbed, it didn't seem appropriate to be reading a trashy romance novel. So, basically, it's not about mood, necessarily, but about outside circumstances. Does that even make sense to anyone else?
2) Do you have a TBR? Do you stick to it?
I have lists that are guidelines. So, I loosely am reading books for the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge and the Top Fantasy Books by Women list from r/fantasy. But then someone will rave about a book on a blog, podcast, or someplace else and suddenly I'm reading that instead. And I certainly don't read books in order on my TBR. That would completely go against my whimsy reading.
3) Do you cry reading books? If so, what books have made you cry?
I don't cry often, but A Closed and Common Orbit made me cry so hard I had a hard time breathing. Also, basically every Katherine Stone book I've ever read has made me cry and I admit that there's a type of sentimentality to those books that really gets to me. And I remember crying at a lot of books as a child - Where the Red Fern Grows, A Little Princess, Charlotte's Web, and The Secret Garden are examples.
4) Do you use reading to escape, learn, or critically reflect?
I read to escape. I read a lot of romance and fantasy for this very reason. Reading is entertainment for me and I don't want my reading to stress me out.
5) What is a book that made you laugh out loud?
The Comeback by Lily Chu. The scene where she's singing "Paradise City" nearly made me pee my pants.
6) What is a book that you don't really know how to feel about?
A Spell of Winter by Helen Dunmore. I think about this book So Much, but I don't really understand it, I don't think. It's a war book and then it's a book about siblings fucking and then my mind explodes. Also, can I get a what what for Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders, which is a book I originally read for my book club and thought was meh, but haunts my dreams now. Do I like this book? I don't know.
7) Are you more likely to read on a sunny day or a cloudy day?
I read every day regardless of the weather. I read first thing in the morning and right before bed and most days I read other times, too. Ideal conditions for reading would be a day off where it's raining. That's a guilt-free reading day, as far as I'm concerned!
8) Do you usually "set the mood" when you read? Candles, lights, etc.?
I do not. I do the vast majority of my reading in bed and that is as cozy as it gets, but I don't do candles or mood lights or a special chair or anything.
9) Can you leap from book to book or do you need buffer time between books?
I leap. I finish a book, walk into the mudroom and get another one off my library pile, and start reading a new book.
Oooh this is fun. I am a leaper as well, unless it's a really dense book that has given me lots to think about, then I might wait until the next day to start a new one. Generally, I leap. I choose books based on my library holds and when they come in, but I will add books on my library "for later" shelf on a whim and then put them on hold when I want to read them. Does that make sense? It's a complicated procedure that has to do with library wait times and also my own general feeling. I am a huge rereader too, and sometimes I just want a book that I love, and those are generally books I own. Not always though, sometimes they are library books. I try to mix up my reading genres so if I have a few heavier books, I will intersperse a light one or a comedic book of essays (Sedaris, usually) in between. I don't cry much about books but I will tear up at the mere mention of Of Mice and Men, and when I was a kid I lost my shit about Flowers for Algernon. Those are the two biggest tear jerkers for me. Otherwise, I tend to be fairly dry-eyed, unless I'm laughing until I'm crying, which happens sometimes (Sedaris! Again!)
ReplyDeleteI think we all have complicated relationships with library holds. I don't want to tell you my system for e- and audiobooks, but safe to say that it involves multiple library cards, Libby, and Hoopla. It's quite complicated and not 100% foolproof (last week I had ZERO ebooks, this week I have three).
DeleteI have never read Flowers for Algernon because I've been warned. I don't need that in my life. Or maybe I do? Who knows?
None of your answers surprised me! Although I would say you intersperse some heavier non-fiction into your reading, so I you're probably learning and reflecting there. I would say I mostly read for enjoyment (learning is what podcasts are for!) Every once in a while I'll read non-fiction, but then I'm always wishing I were actually reading a story.
ReplyDeleteSpell of Winter was definitely weird. I can tell you that I read another book by Dunmore that did not involve incest, so I think it was just that one.
I definitely don't set the mood when I read. But my favorite thing to do nowadays is read in bed, so that's definitely a cozy vibe.
Yes, I love Hannah with her stick!
Thank you for noticing Hannah and her stick. She is SO cute when she carries a stick for blocks.
DeleteI do read non-fiction, but it's usually lighter fare (not always). I prefer to read about a guy stealing feathers than about a rape victim talking about how the judicial system screwed her over(for instance).
Spell of Winter. Is that a good book? Who knows? It certainly left an impression on me.
You comment about whimsey surprised me. I guess that I thought that since you read so many lists that you were very regimented! I am regimented in life but with books I am all over the place. I read whatever is available or comes off the hold list and I put recommendations from everyone on my holds, so I never really know what I am going to get next.
ReplyDeleteI am also a leaper, as in, as SOON as one is done, I mark it as read on GR and then add my next one to my "reading" tag! And then, I go! I don't need to ponder books for too long. I do not set the mood, I read on all days, sunny/cloudy/snowy/you name it and I do not mood read. In fact, I probably anti-mood read. Right now my brain is mush, so light and easy are the way to go. I probably read less serious books when my life is more serious. So maybe that IS mood reading?
Well, because I read so much, I can afford to be whimsical. If I read twenty books a year, I'd probably have to be a lot more discerning about what and when I read.
DeleteI think that less serious books when your life is serious is a form of mood reading. Outside events or emotions are impacting what you read!
This is fun! I'm a leaper (I also read multiple books at once almost always).
ReplyDeleteI think I'm a very odd one out in that I read almost exclusively non-fiction. That sounds so...boring. But I really do prefer it!
I am usually reading at least two books, too. It's how I roll.
DeleteI think there are lots of people who only read memoirs, biographies, and the like. It's not boring - it's just what you like.
Fun, fun. I like the questions and your answers provide more insight into who you are. "Do you use reading to escape, learn, or critically reflect?" That's an interesting question that I've never asked myself and I find I have no answer. On the other hand a book that made me laugh out loud was Less by Andrew Sean Greer.
ReplyDeleteI think most people use reading to do all three things - escape, learn, and critically reflect. I think the best books make us do all three.
DeleteThese answers sound solidly you! I'm with you on most reading habits, except genres (although I read The Comeback because of you and did enjoy it!) and if I really loved a book, I'll just luxuriate in the afterglow before leaping in again.
ReplyDeleteI can see luxuriating in the afterglow of a good book. I just always think the next great book is the next one I'm going to read, so I'm eager to get started.
DeleteI'm a leaper - I always want to have something fresh to read - but I do often catch myself after I finish a book and tell myself to sit and savor the feeling of finishing it for a while. I think the only mood reading I notice is that I like reading romance novels when I'm in a luteal phase. I don't know if that's biological or just I want something cozy and familiar when I'm feeling grumpy (maybe that's the same thing?)
ReplyDeleteI'm listening to 10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall right now, and I have laughed outloud so much. There was one part of The Measure that made me cry, but I generally don't think of myself as a book cryer. Oh, and the end of Hamnet. I didn't full on cry, but there was a lump in my throat.
I think the question of what books make you cry is so indicative about something, but I don't know what that something is. LOL. I feel like I should do a survey. Have you cried reading a book in the last year? Was that crying caused by a dead grandparent or animal?
DeleteOh, I love this Q&A! I, at first, took "leap" to mean if you could leap between books at the same time (which I can't very well), but I definitely finish one and leap to the next (there's always a "next" pile, it seems).
ReplyDeleteThe next pile is full of possibilities and your new favorite book! I find it very exciting.
DeleteYay stick! Doggo is into sticks big time. She doesn't let the fact that she's a tiny puppy stop her from picking up a really big stick. She'll latch onto a tiny branch and use it to drag the stick.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, books!
1. I read what I wanna read when I wanna read it. Is that the same as being a mood reader?
2. I had to give up on TBRs because there are so many books that I want to read in proportion to the amount of books that I can read in my current life right now. My only TBR is in my head.
3. Hells yeah! I'm not a crier by nature but if something gets me in the feels I'm gonna hit the kleenex. I know that you can't comprehend it, but I was not exaggerating at how hard Hello Beautiful made me cry.
4. Also hells yeah. Reading is 99% escape and 1% learning for me. I think that's the right proportion.
5. Yes but I can't remember any in the moment.
6. Based on your description I was all excited about Lincoln at the Bardo until I clicked and saw something about 150 different characters...uh no.
7. I'm an all weather reader. However, if I go on a beach vacation then it's all reading all the time.
8. Nah. I ain't got time for that. It would cut into my reading time.
9. I usually take a day or so as a buffer. Believe it or not sometimes I'll even go a week between books.
This was fun!
Sticks are toys that you can find anywhere! I think it's great when dogs love sticks.
DeleteSo, the deal with Lincoln in the Bardo is that you have to let go of figuring out all the characters. There are really only a dozen that are major players and you figure those out relatively early on. There's something haunting about that book. I don't know if you should read it, though. It's confusing.
A week between books! I can't even imagine that!
Somewhat embarrassingly, I don't seem to read much these days, but I am presently reading a Kindle mystery featuring a retired detective along the Welsh coast.
ReplyDeleteMysteries can be so much fun to escape into! Especially if they have a great setting.
DeleteHannah knows a good stick when she sees one!
ReplyDeleteThis was a fun Q & A.
I understand mood reading completely. I generally have several books going at once, and some of them are for different moods; similar to TV/Movie watching. What am I in the mood for? Laughing? Seriousness?
Oh, interesting about tv/movies. I almost never watch movies, so that's not something I even know about, but I always just watch whatever television show I'm currently watching, regardless of mood. Do you switch between tv shows?
DeleteYep. Always switching up my series, depending on my mood: comedy, drama, complete nonsense, etc...
DeleteWow! I am a completionist and do not switch up my tv viewing. That's interesting that you can do that without losing track of where you are.
DeleteThese were some really thought-provoking and interesting questions. I'm saving them for a post over at the Dept. in the future. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteLots of books have made me cry. One in particular was The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. I remember one passage that was so beautiful and incredibly sad that I almost couldn't continue. When I taught To Kill a Mockingbird, I stopped being able to read the last chapter aloud because I kept losing my composure; I would tear up and get a catch in my voice.
There are many. I get lost in books when I read. (If I can't, it's not a good book.)
Oh, I can't wait to read your answers.
DeleteI tried to read Edgar Sawtelle on your rec and it was TOO MUCH for me. Maybe someday I'll be in a mental space for it, but it was so good that I could imagine what was happening so well and I had to nope right out of there!
Oh, fun questions! I think, like Nance, I'll carry my answers over to my own blog. Sometime soon!
ReplyDeleteOh, I hope I start a trend!
DeleteThis was fun to read (lol). I may grab it and do it on my blog at some point. I am NOT a mood reader and follow a very regimented TBR list. I try to set myself up for success, though, and make sure I'm not reading too many of one type of book. And I make sure to vary light reads with heavier reads. I will say that I do become more of a mood reader when life is hard. That's when I solely read romance novels for the escape.
ReplyDeleteYour TBR is amazing. I wish I were half as organized as you are about what to read next. LOL. It's mostly random in my world.
DeleteWe read "Lincoln in the Bardo" for Book Club and we were mostly befuddled by it. One person liked it but the rest of us were unimpressed. On the other hand, I thought I didn't care for "Disappearing Earth" since it was just a series of vignettes about disappearances, yet when it all tied together, it was powerful; I haven't been able to get that book out of my mind.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I was very wishy-washy on Lincoln in the Bardo at the moment, but now I think about it all the time. I just imagine ghosts floating around everywhere and it's really stuck with me. It's interesting how sometimes we don't really *love* a book, but it sticks.
DeleteDefinitely NOT a TBR person, so more of a mood reader, I think. I literally think, what do I want to read/what am I in the mood to read right now? (Self-help? Mystery? Fluff?) Right now, I have... um.... 3 books going on: Four Thousand Weeks (ebook), a J.D. Robb (ebook), and Joyful (audio from Libby). Who knows where I will go next? ;) Also, Bridge to Terabithia. I sobbed. Charlotte's Web, and A Little Princess, too. Sigh. Books. They make us feel things. I love them for it. :)
ReplyDeleteBridge to Terabithia!! So many tears shed. Why do they have 4th-6th graders read that?!
DeleteI'm also currently reading a JD Robb book on ebook! We're twins!
Craziness. JD Robb books are the only ones I read when they come out. They are perfect bedtime reading! I can't remember what number it is - just looked up title and it's Payback in Death. And yes, Bridge to Terabithia. That book absolutely killed me. Sob.
DeleteYES!! I'm reading Payback in Death, too! We're reading twins for real!!!
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