Hobby Zone "Book-Out" Challenge in Honor of Book Lover's Day and Lazy Day!
Happy Book Lover’s Day!
Today we celebrate our love of books and reading! Although, who doesn’t celebrate that every day?!
[Image: Wall of bookcases with the text “You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy books. And that’s kind of the same thing”]
There are so many things to love about books. By reading books for just 30 minutes a day we are able to gain valuable knowledge, exercise our brains, improve focus and memory, have fun, increase our ability to empathize and communicate, reduce stress levels, improve our mental health, and maybe even live longer!
Sometimes finding our love of books simply requires finding the genre or genres that spark our interest. Sometimes we just need to make the time and find a comfortable space to retreat into the pages of a story. Whatever it is, perhaps a book lover resides in you?
[Image: Person with a flashlight laying inside a propped open giant book reading at night]
Did you know? Tonight is also the peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower so when the sun sets you can put down your book, lay back and look to the sky. But don’t worry, tomorrow is Lazy Day, so what better way to carry on the celebration than to spend your Lazy Day sleeping in and reading books?! Join us for a book-out, that's right, put down the tech, take some time to be lazy, if you want, lay on the beach, or just lay on your bed and read away the day!
[image of a pile of books with a mug that reads “Sorry I’m booked”]
Join our “book-out” challenge if you are able and take a day this next week to escape into the pages of a good book. Either way, I want to hear about your love of books, so maybe consider the following questions:
Do you love the feel of a paperback, are you a hardcover snob, or maybe you like ebooks? Do you have a preference or are you just happy so long as you have something to read?
What section of the library or bookstore are we most likely to find you browsing? Non-fiction? Mystery? Sci-fi? Maybe some books about your other hobbies?
Book series? Love them or leave them? And do you read them all at once?
For our LGBTQ+ readers, and allies too, you may want to check this post out as well!
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Guess I'll take a moment to respond to my own questions in case anyone wants to know!
As for preference, I am a total hardcover snob, I take off the jackets and store them carefully while I read the book, and unless I am confident that someone is as particular as I am, I won't loan them my book. Some people love to 'break the spine' of a new paperback etc, for me that's probably what I hate most about paperbacks, I love my books to stay looking unread and new, no dog-eared pages or random bits of food. Ew! Even my uni textbooks were always pristine no highlighting for me! I will read ebooks and even paperbacks in a pinch, but if I am going to deem a book worth owning, chances are it's worth having the quality and durability of my hardcovers, or if it's a lessor favourite the ebook will at least save space. I had a set of paperback books as a child where the glue failed and the pages just started falling out, I think that solidified my preference.
You will find me all over the bookstore, I love fiction, young adult fiction and fantasy when reading for pleasure, but I have many interests.
I am a voracious reader, and will happily read a book a day if time allows, sometimes even if time doesn't allow! I love series simply because there is more to enjoy and I can spend a whole week reading one series instead of having to find another new book to read tomorrow! For me I insist on sequential reading, to where if I find a book read it and then discover it's only the first book in a series and the others aren't even written yet, I will end up reading the series from the beginning again with each new book released as I impatiently wait for the full series to written.
Do you love the feel of a paperback, are you a hardcover snob, or maybe you like ebooks? Do you have a preference or are you just happy so long as you have something to read?
I'd really prefer paperbacks if it was up to me, but I'm also broke so I make do with ebooks because yes just happy as long as there's something for me to read!
What section of the library or bookstore are we most likely to find you browsing? Non-fiction? Mystery? Sci-fi? Maybe some books about your other hobbies?
Fiction definitely!
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Book series? Love them or leave them? And do you read them all at once?
Love them! All at once, of course, patience is not a virtue I have hahah
@enjoyiableElementary9396
The cost factor can be a big one too! For me it's thank goodness for public libraries!
Yay fiction! So do you have a favourite book or series?
I can relate! I may be a slow eater, but I devour books like I'm starving!
So will you "book-out" one day this week to dive into another book?
I am not good at reading but I like to read !! I do not learn to read until after I’m 10 I really glad my mom teach me because teachers say I can’t ever learn they were wrong
I like to go to library there is one library person there know sign can talk to me and help me find good books I have to read books in kids section because is to hard read bigger books but I like books with animals and magic and fantasy and stuff like that this year I start to read Zoey and Sassafras books and are favorites!!!
Zoey is girl take care magic animals that go her barn if hurt or sick or something and she takes care them and sassafras is her cat my favorite animals is cats
@theboymoana
I'm glad your mother didn't give up on your learning to read the way your teachers had. Just because it may take us longer or be a harder process doesn't mean it's not possible to learn!
Personally I read a lot of books from the teen and young adult sections as well as other books, I find a lot of the difference is in the types of content included more than the quality of the story. I'm glad that there is someone at the library who can help you find books you will enjoy in line with your current reading level. Zoey and Sassafras sounds like a fun series of books to enjoy.
I hope you'll be able to find some time to enjoy reading soon!
All books are amazing but lately I've mostly leaned towards ebooks because there's so many available and I can take it anywhere. I also love audiobooks, I listen to them at work and they really help the time pass while helping me learn.
Non-fiction mostly but I have a huge soft spot for fantasy.
I like series but I agree that it can be terrible waiting for the next one to come out or being unable to find it!
@rationalSpruce9828
Ebooks and audiobooks certainly seem to have change the face of reading for many. The portability and practicality can be hard to resist!
Do you have a favourite non-fiction book, or if you are like me a list of favourites? Oh and with a soft spot for fantasy, is there any particular topic in the fantasy section that you like most? Any series you would recommend to others?
I hope you will find time to "book-out" and get in some reading soon!
@EmotionsListener
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Do you love the feel of a paperback, are you a hardcover snob, or maybe you like ebooks? Do you have a preference or are you just happy so long as you have something to read?
I love the feel of both paperback or hardcover, trying hard to get use to ebooks
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What section of the library or bookstore are we most likely to find you browsing? Non-fiction? Mystery? Sci-fi? Maybe some books about your other hobbies?
Craft Section
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Book series? Love them or leave them? And do you read them all at once?
Depends on the series but when I do get a series I read them all at once hahahaha
@eowsian
I still prefer physical books and pages to ebooks, especially when it comes to things like craft books! I have an ebook about crochet but the formatting is so broken up with all the pictures it's hard to get any benefit from it.
It can definitely depend on the series, but I can relate to "binging" a series if it's a good one!
I hope you will be able to find some time to "book-out" and enjoy a bit of reading soon!
For many years I was not interested in reading books but recently I found a book in the laundromat where I live and I love it. It is in Spanish. I finished very quick. I really enjoy the story because it relates to what's going on in my life.
I just started reading another self help book that is related to mental health. So far I am loving it. It is very helpful.
@Yroquis76
I've found many people who didn't think they liked reading ended up discovering it wasn't that they didn't enjoy reading, it was that they hadn't found the right books yet. I'm glad you were able to discover a book that spoke to you and gave you a chance to enjoy reading!
Many people find self-help books can be a way to feel better and find new strategies to deal with the challenges of life! It's great that you've found what that is helping you!
Maybe you'll find some time to "book-out" in the next week?
What section of the library or bookstore are we most likely to find you browsing? Non-fiction? Mystery? Sci-fi? Maybe some books about your other hobbies?
Book series? Love them or leave them? And do you read them all at once?
@WarmLightXO
Sounds like the "if you give me something to read, I'll read it" approach to format! I've had some series from the library where they had a paperback of book 1, then a hardcover of books 2 and 3, with ebooks or audiobooks of book 4 and 5. It can make for an interesting experience reading when they are mismatched like that! 😄
Sounds like you try to balance out your reading and what's going on in your life otherwise, especially as school tends to involve reading a lot of non-fiction instructional material so we may need a bit more fiction escape! Realistic fiction can be a nice way to have a bit of that balance as well!
What would you say it is about YA trilogies that puts you off? While I can relate to procrastination in other things, when it comes to a book series it's more like I can't help myself and procrastinate on everything but reading! 🤣
@EmotionsListener
I certainly hope I'm able to soon!
My distaste for YA trigologies may be unfair, I've just rarely found ones that I enjoy all the way through. The books seem to go downhill in my experience. I'm also not a fan of love triangles.
@WarmLightXO
I'd say that's a fairly fair critique of YA series, while some can be good and break from that pattern, many do indeed fall into the same. Sometimes I wonder if the author was happy with one book but pushed for a trilogy for the "repeat customer" factor.
I hope you find some time to relax with a good book!
This is amusing. I booked-out last weekend for the first time for months. I used to do it quite a bit and then online stuff gobbled up the time.
I love new books. They look beautiful to me and there's just something about flicking though a new book discovering things which I find irresistible. But for reading, which I like to do lying down, I love my e-reader for not making my hands ache.
I can get lost in any section of a library.
I love book series! Because I don't like books that end and so a series is like a really long book. I space them out, making them last as long as possible. There's some series where I've never read the last book, saving it for, I don't know, a special occasion I guess?
Which reminds me - I have holiday next week so time to go download some books!! :-)
@Clio9876
I'm glad you already took some time last weekend to "book-out"! It's true online activities can gobble up so much of our time and leave us wondering where the hours went!
Ah yes the "but I want to keep reading this giant heavy book" dilemma, I know it well! I often end up laying on my side so I can read the book without holding it up myself, or use pillows etc. to prop it up for me, but ebooks can certainly be an easier way to go.
Sounds like you enjoy variety when you are reading. What is it they say? "Variety is the spice of life!"
As to making a series last and spacing them out that must take so much self restraint, I'm more likely to re-read the entire series again another time and experience it all over again. I hope you find your special occasions and will eventually read those last books, even if it means the story has come to an end. You can always go back to the beginning. 😉
Yay! Sounds like a whole week of "booking out" for you! 📚
@EmotionsListener
Do you love the feel of a paperback, are you a hardcover snob, or maybe you like ebooks? Do you have a preference or are you just happy so long as you have something to read?
Hmmm, I think I love paperbacks the most because they're easier to store than hardcovers and the feel of them is the most comforting to me, however, no one can deny how stunning hardcovers are. For some reason, I manage to finish reading a book in ebook format in way lesser time and so for reading series I usually like reading them in ebook format.
What section of the library or bookstore are we most likely to find you browsing? Non-fiction? Mystery? Sci-fi? Maybe some books about your other hobbies?
Mostly always fiction! I'm a huge fan of romance and fantasy and they are my top two genres. I also enjoy reading thrillers, especially psychological thrillers.
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Book series? Love them or leave them? And do you read them all at once?
If the first book is really interesting and I've gotten extremely invested in the storyline then I'll read the rest of the series. I try to read series one after the other so I don't forget the storyline otherwise if there's a huge gap of time between the books I sometimes can't bring myself to start the second book and instead pick something else I'm in the mood for.
@hiraxx
It's true the different formats seem to exist to meet the different priorities of each reader! I suppose for me the aesthetics and durability wins when it comes to my favorite collections. They've shown there are multiple differences in our experiences when reading ebooks vs books on paper, including things like our awareness of "where" we are in the story.
Fiction can certainly make for a great escape into this new world. Do you have a favourite book? As for thrillers. 😱
I don't like large gaps between books in a series either, though my solution is to read the earlier books over again. 😂 But it's true if a series doesn't draw you in with the first book, it's hard to even want to bother picking up the second.
I hope you were able to take some time to book-out the last few days or will be able to sometime this week!
Does anyone else get 'hooked' when reading and get crabby when people disturb you? I can remember one time on holiday, instead of going swimming with my friends, I wanted to finish my book! Ohhh is there any hope for me lol?
Listening - One Step At A Time!
@MistyMagic
You mean there are people who don't get crabby when disturbed while reading? 🤣
It's like pulling you rapidly out of that other world when you aren't ready to leave! Also of course you must know what happens if you are to go on with the rest of your life, how can you focus on swimming when your head is swimming with "but what happens to so and so?" Sure tv shows do that to you all the time but there you have no say with a book the pages are there you just need to read them!
Now where did I put my book...😁
@EmotionsListener
Agree with you. Sometimes TV cliff-hangers can really be frustrating, especially if the series is discontinued before resolving the mystery.
