Do you ever get so excited about a new book that you keep putting off reading it until you can find a perfect day with nothing but free time so that you can read this (hopefully) amazing book completely uninterrupted by anything other than maybe food, the occasional desperate bathroom break, and sleep (although you’ll push your body to its limits to stay up until you’ve finished the whole book)?? 

I do this a lot and it’s one of the reasons why my TBR stack gets so tall. I buy books I’m excited about but then I never read them because life gets busy and I want to preserve my first experience with a book for a time when there are no phone calls, no errands, no duties, no early responsibilities the next morning, etc. I get so pumped for a story that sounds excellent that I want everything to be perfect. How many times have you read a book you love and wish you could experience reading it for the first time all over again??

Maybe part of this ridiculousness stems from the fact that I want a book to be great so badly that I try to seize control of any factors I can. I may not be able to change what is written on the page so instead I’ll make sure I’ve got the A/C set to a perfect temperature, I’ve got soft blankets by my side, I’ve got snacks within arms reach, I’ve got an assortment of beverages to choose from, I’ve got candles lit that match the book’s premise perfectly,…and it all just sort of gets crazier from there.

Anyway, I do this a lot. But what I’ve found is that a great book is a great book no matter when you read it. I’ve picked up books I wasn’t sure about and magically ended up devouring it all in a day. Schedules magically clear and suddenly night has fallen and I haven’t moved all day except for my eyes roving across the page. And sometimes I’m given a book to read with a deadline and simply have to start and stop and start and stop, finding time to read around my schedule, but when it’s a good book this inconvenience doesn’t really affect it.

Do I prefer reading in long luxurious stretches? Yes, I always do (unless the book isn’t that great). But what I’ve realized is that a great book is a great book. Creating the perfect reading setting won’t change a disappointing story into a fabulous one, and reading snatches of pages whilst traveling or buzzing around with your daily routine won’t change a heart-stopping story into a shallow one (although it will frustrate you when you’re forced to pause your reading in the midst of a plot twist).

I mean, okay, yes, for me reading in long stretches allows me to fully immerse into the book and so it does actually help. But really that’s not the point. The problem is that I tend to psych myself out of reading books I was so looking forward to and allow my TBR stack to grow and glare at me from where it hunches on the floor of my room.

…wow, this was a really random rambling post. This was just something that kept poking my thoughts and I figured if anyone could understand it would be the book community (a.k.a. you 🙂 ). So maybe I’m crazy or maybe you totally get it. Either way this post is turning out to be another way to put off reading one of those lovely books that are literally stacked not two feet from where I sit.

Alright, I’m ending this atrociously rambling post and WILL read one of the books on my TBR stack. It must be done. It shall be done! Haha okay…

Cheers.