Which Blog Posts Do I Actually Read?

Okay, that’s a harsh title, but seriously. We all follow a ton of book blogs, we all have a ton of posts to read every day, and to be honest, we can’t read all of them. At least, I know I can’t.

So…what’s up with that?

Just to be clear, the purpose of this post isn’t to bash on anyone’s blog posts. I love the spectrum of posts that the blogging community creates. I know that we all have different focuses, schedules, and passions when it comes to the posts we create. I’ve even written the blog posts that I say I don’t read often, probably more than I should.

But I’m putting this out there, because I think it might just be interesting, and maybe a little helpful, and most of all, it will probably start a discussion. And since this is a discussion post… 😉

How often do I read each common book blog post…and why?

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Lists!

I’ve seen a lot of people criticizing memes like Top Ten Tuesday for their lack of originality. Recently, I feel like a lot of bloggers are turning away from memes and trying to focus more on original content. And I love that.

But I also loved reading TTTs. They’re quick. I can read a lot of different blog posts in a short sitting. I get an idea of what kind of books different bloggers like and I find out about new books. Though they aren’t the most unique or complex posts, I enjoy the simplicity of TTTs.

Discussion posts in the form of lists are also in my most-read category. This is kind of awful, but when a discussion post is clearly broken up into summary-esque titles, it makes the post easier to read quickly. When I’m reading blog posts, I’m generally in the middle of doing something else—watching TV, eating breakfast, going somewhere. Being able to get the gist of what someone is saying (and then get more detail if it’s interesting) is one of the best qualities of list-based posts.

Reviews for Books I’ve Read

I love seeing what other people think about books that I’ve already read. Being able to measure someone’s critiques and praises against my own experience makes book reviews more interesting for me.

It’s fun to see other people fangirl about a favorite of mine, and through them, relive some of my own obsession with the book.

In a weird way, I also like reading reviews that are critical of books that I loved. Usually, I find that I totally understand where the reviewer is coming from, and though I still love the book, I have new ways of thinking about other books I’ll read and review. Some of my most interesting comment conversations have come out of reviews of books where I disagree…but agree at the same time.

Reviews for Genres I Don’t Usually Read

Yeah, this is a bit weird. I follow a few bloggers who read mostly NA books, a genre that I don’t think I’ll move into right now. (Nothing against NA, I just love YA.)

The fact that I probably won’t read the books that other bloggers are talking about means that I’m able to read everything they say without fear of spoilers, or disagreeing with their assessment. I find it interesting to see how people describe different plots, especially ones that I’m not familiar with. I get to take away different critiquing styles—and notes for things to do/avoid in my own writing—that are still relevant, but tied to a slightly different genre (so that content changes a bit from what YA book reviews usually entail).

Poems

This isn’t really a book blogger thing, but I also follow a lot of poet bloggers. I love reading short poems as I blog hop. Most of them are really amazing, and they get me thinking in the space of a minute or two.

Random YA Book Reviews

Let’s be honest, my WordPress Reader is flooded with book reviews. I love that, but I can’t read all of them.

Often, whether or not I’ll read a review is based on if the description of the book sounds interesting. If a plot sounds like something I’d never read (this time because of cliches or lame plots, not genre type), I probably won’t stick around to read the review. Sorry about that.

Then again, there’s a good chance that I’ll randomly decide to read a book review, no matter what the book’s description is like. I’m unpredictable 😉

Discussion Posts

These are hit-or-miss for me. Sometimes I’m really in the mood to read the amazingly creative and insightful posts that everyone has created, in which case I can’t get enough of discussion posts.

But sometimes, when I’m on a time crunch or if I’m tired from school, I don’t actually feel like reading through long discussion posts. I’d rather read a quick list or skim a book review than not give a discussion post the attention it deserves.

I’m trying to get myself to read all of the discussion posts that interest me, no matter the mood I’m in.

Random Memes

Readathon TBRs/wrap-ups, Waiting on Wednesdays, blog awards, and other random meme-esque posts that pop up can be really interesting. Or really boring. Again, they’re usually shorter, so I’m more likely to read all the way through them, but I get less out of them than a great book review or an interesting discussion post.

Reviews for Books I Plan to Read

I’m afraid of spoilers, I’m afraid of hype, and I’m afraid of someone telling me that the book I just spent ≈$20 on sucks. If I know that I want to read book (and even more if I already own a book), I rarely read reviews for it until I’ve actually read it. I like to keep my expectations clear of other’s viewpoints.

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Do you agree? Or not?

What do you look for when reading blog posts? How do your most-read posts stack up with mine?