Friday 21 March 2014

Feature and Follow Friday, #1



The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee’s View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host has their own Feature Blog and this week it features Fantomless Reveries and My Midnight Fantasies.

This weeks question:


How have your reading habits changed in the past few years? Did you get interested in a new genre? Do you read more? Less? Why do you think your habits changed, if they did.


I used to read all the time as a kid, but when I got to secondary school, I moved away from reading into writing. I was never really any good at it, but I loved creating things and putting my thoughts down on paper. When I got into my early twenties, I drifted away from both. I read out of habit, not love. Until a little book called Twilight came along. I was definitely bitten (sorry, I had to do that) with the reading bug again. I read the entire series in ten days. Ever since, I’ve had a huge weakness for anything paranormal, both YA and adult and will give any variations a shot.

The past six or so months, I noticed I have started to broaden my horizons, and I’m reading a lot more contemporary fiction. I use reading to escape completely, so it’s harder for me to find a contemporary book to really take my interest. I keep trying and it’s a good change of pace, helps keep things varied.

In 2012, I read about 50 books, I didn’t keep track. In 2013, I read 120. That’s a heck of an increase! It makes sense that the more you read, the quicker you will become, but I don’t expect another increase of 70 books each year! Reading quickly has never been a goal; I’m more interested in finding amazing books and enjoying the story as I read.




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36 comments:

  1. I agree! I read to escape as well. I use to read dystopian all the time, and I had to ease off of the dystopian train. Dystopian can make me paranoid of what the world can end up being like. I also have started to try to read more contemporary books. Great post!
    New bloglovin follower =)
    Here's my F&F
    http://bookstothetea.blogspot.com/

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    1. Hi Ashley, I feel the same about dystopians. I love them, but have to space them out a bit between other genres. I read Under the Never Sky around the time Google Glass was in the making, and in that book they have Smarteyes, and you get that little chill and think, this is kinda creepy when reality and fiction cross... It's fun though!
      Thanks for visiting and I followed back on bloglovin =)

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  2. Hello Alma! I am a new follower via bloglovin! Thanks for following me at bookhooking :0) http://bookhooking.blogspot.com/2014/03/check-out-feature-and-follow-blog-hop.html

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    1. Thanks for following and stopping by Tanya =)

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  3. Quality over quantity, yes! As long as I find some good books and authors along the way, I'm happy. Now following on BlogLovin' and Google+. Thanks for stopping by my FF!

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    1. Thank so much for stopping by and following Kristen =)

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  4. My goodness! You have had quite the increase haven't you? Twilight was the one that did it for me as well. I am going to be doing a reread in April with another blogger of the whole series. Keep an eye out on my blog for some fun stuff I'm planning for the reviews!

    Kristalyn @ The Sarcastic Palmtree
    Here's my FFF

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    1. Also I am a new Bloglovin' follower (sorry I forgot to mentiont that)

      Kristalyn

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    2. Thanks for stopping by Kristalyn and following, I followed back =) Happy reading!

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  5. Hopping through. New follower! "ie" is Ireland right? Are there any good Irish YA authors you like?

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    1. Welcome to #FF by the way! Let me know if you have any questions about it or blogging or anything else.
      My FF

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    2. Thanks for following and the welcome, Alison! And yes, "ie" is Ireland =)

      I have to confess I don’t read many Irish authors. Their style just doesn’t do it for me; some can be a bit too stuffy for my tastes. I was forced to read Irish books and poetry for both Irish and English classes in school, and I think it left me with a permanent prejudice against them! I should be more open minded I guess. I might try some. Maybe... ;)

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  6. We both got into the reading groove with Twilight. :) I really love contemporary fiction. Thank you for stopping by and following. :)
    Following you back Bloglovin

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  7. See Twilight being a book that changed a lot of people. Sadly it wasn't for me. Granted I did read them but wasn't really wowed by the storyline. I have always loved paranormal reads myself! Never could get enough of them, for me, those were my escape. During my teens I didn't get to read as many paranormals--the dark days--so I did read a few YA contemps but soon the mundane, normalcy of it all bored me to tears and I began reading adult paranormals! There was such a wide variety!

    Then it was Vampire Academy--and several online forum friends nagging me to read it--that opened the doors to Paranormal YA! Soon the genre I had been waiting for as a teen was born! And I've been pretty much in reading heaven ever since!

    Then Borders closed, had multiple sales, I went to book conventions--all that was probably 5-5 years worth of getting more and more and new books! Whereas I didn't have much of a TBR pile before, I now have a mountain. It's taken over two corners of my room!

    Sorry for the long winded comment! But wanted to return the comment and the follow! Thanks for following my blog! Follow you now too!

    Have a GREAT day!

    NEW Follower :D

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    1. Thanks so much for following, Jessica. I have the exact same problem with exploding TBR piles at home! I can't resist buying second hand books in good condition. I know I should just buckle down and read them. Usually when I make up my mind to start, one of my favourite series releases a new book and I just have to read it… and that idea goes out the window!

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  8. The Twilight series had a big impact on my reading habits as well. And holy moley, you did jump 70 books from one year to the next! Just, wow! LOL :) I haven't targeted 100 books yet but maybe in a couple of years, I'll get to that. Thanks for sharing!

    Here's My FF :) New follower via Bloglovin' :)

    Camille @ Girl meets Books

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    1. Thanks for the follow, Camille! I followed back =)



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  9. I also increase the books I read every year. Thanks for stopping by & following. I'm following you through G+ & Blog Lovin :)

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    1. Thanks for stopping by Itara, added you on G+ :) I have noticed that the more I read, the quicker I'm getting.

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  10. My reading journey matched yours almost exactly. I also read a lot more contemporary since I've been blogging too. Now following via Bloglovin'.

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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  11. Thanks for visiting our blog yesterday!
    Following back via bloglovin and twitter :)

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  12. Alma, actually, Twilight is the book that got me back to reading again, too. And it also broadened my horizons straight away. I have read a lot of contemporary romances lately, too, and I love it :)

    Thanks for stopping by earlier. Have a wonderful weekend.

    Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews

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  13. new follower via Twitter and yay to your comment system having a name/url option as I don't have accounts for any of the others! LOL I have to admit I'm not a fan of Twilight, BUT if it got you reading more, then more power to it! :D

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    1. Hi Jaki. I will confess, if I read Twilight now, I'm not sure it would have captured my interest as much as it did back then... But it shall remain on a nice pedestal in all its glory for getting me reading again! Thanks for stopping by!

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  14. Oh, I'm so with you on not reading quickly...good books should be savored. ;) It seems like Twilight did a lot of good for reading in general. It either got people back to reading OR made readers broaden their horizons. Whatever else you want to say about Twilight, it did accomplish quite a bit. :) Thanks for stopping by my blog. I'm following you back via bloglovin. Enjoy your weekend!

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    1. Thanks for the follow and stopping by, Brandee =)

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  15. You read 120? That's awesome! I'm trying to read 100 books this year, and I'm on 24 as of now. I hope I get to reach my goal! :D

    Followed via bloglovin :)

    Our FF

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    1. You definitely will! Loads of time left and you're already a quarter of the way done. Thanks for following, and I’m following back on bloglovin =)

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  16. Hopping thru... Thanks for following...following back via twitter and bloglovin

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    1. Thanks so much for stopping by, Monica =)

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  17. Hi there friend! New bloglovin follower here! See you soon!
    <3
    Brittany @ Please Feed The Bookworm
    Follow Me Here

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    1. Thanks for visiting and the follow Brittany =) Followed back.

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