Heya!
As we grow older, and/or have been reading (or any other hobby) for so long, we tend to change and like different things. I’ve been reading all my life, altough some of my early children books I completely forgot- I only remember a part of them from maybe 11 years old and going? One thing for sure, I used to be able to read so many books in a summer- I think over 100s!
Then again it’s true that our books back then were easier and probably smaller.. aswell as no other obligation 😅
Related; LTB; a change in bookish opinions
As most of my book memories start about the same as my teenager years, my taste in books haven’t changed much to me. I still reach for the same genres most times, being Romance & Thrillers. I’m still into YA, mostly, though I can dab into the Adult genre aswell.
Overall changes;
The main thing, along with the fact I have more obligations and need to work fulltime to pay my bills & Sheik’s vet (RIP), My concentration took a hit. I used to be able to read with music on and not be distracted.. now it’s way more harder. Hence why I mainly choose to read in the evening near bedtime with my nightlight. I can bring it to work to read on my break on the occasion that I have an easy read, small stories book.
The part that gets bittersweet, is that I do remember being obsessed with the “Quebec Insolite” book serie; “Smaller” books about the paranormal in french Canadian (Québécois). I remember I could read those books in a day! I picked one of these to reread a good decade later and it’s been taking me 5 days to finish this 215 pages book.
Genres changes;
Though I can still enjoy some YA, some of them can feel too “baby” for me. Not all of them however, there’s a few factor that comes in effect ; most of them I can still enjoy. Since i’m also more constant in my healthier mental health, I don’t reach for the same books. I used to LOVE really dark and suicidal YA reads, something that I now prefer to avoid, as the emptiness it used to fill isn’t there anymore.
My niches favorite genres remained the same, but we’ve added to the list. I can now enjoy Nonfictions, True crimes, Healing fictions & Horrors, aswell as picking up books in all different formats. Rather than growing up, I was just reading printed books.
Downsides of changing..
With recent years of being able to read in english, I do reach less for the French books. Not entirely because I want to- but perhaps because i’m opened up to way more english books with the blogosphere’s influence; French books in comparaison do feels a bit blend. I used to pick books from both France and Quebec, nowadays I feel the France books are a bit too “high reach” for me- the ones I had in my shelves were adults, and even now I feel like I don’t resonate with them anymore.
It’s odd when you think about it; My changes hasn’t been as drastic as other readers, where you sometimes read that they can’t read any YA anymore or had completely grown out of specific genres. It’s only when i’m sitting and really thinking about it, like when prompted for a Let’s talk bookish.
Did you noticed the change for you?
Great post! This is something that I’ve been reflecting on as well, although I feel like it mostly has to do with the age-range that I read in. While I still love YA and MG, I don’t read it as often anymore, especially YA contemporary or romance, because I just don’t feel as connected to it as before. While I can still appreciate the age/genre, it’s not as fun for me anymore. Similar to you though, I don’t think my reading preferences have changed drastically. Something I’ve noticed myself doing more this year is gravitating towards other genres that I used to read much more of in my early days of book blogging (literary fiction, historical, thrillers) as I’m now finding more joy in reading those books again. I think part of that has to do with the state of the world and how overwhelmed my brain feels at the moment, but I also want to read those books that will stimulate my brain again, haha. 😂
On the contrary, I love YA comtemporary! But yes, very fair. I find that interresting that yoy went back to these genres!
Well, my reading preferences really haven’t changed much- referring to the time period of elementary and middle school when my top favorite genres were discovered
1. Genres- still love fantasy and mythology. Some of those fantasy books were LONG (only because I did read Harry Potter when I was younger)! My love for classics sort of started young- due to a Holiday Tradition (that was watching the George C. Scott A Christmas Carol), my love for classics was a bit smaller but still a huge impact on my love for them now
2. Reading Level- yes I read books that are adult, but certain genres I do lean more into the MG world! This is primary seen in fantasy (most of that genre is MG for me- hard to find fantasy books I am interested in past MG). However, easier to find my other favorite genres in the adult world
Ah that’s interresting, maybe I should give MG fantasy a try
I definitely understand this! I reach less for contemporaries overall but definitely fewer in YA. I’m reading more Adult Romance than I ever thought I would, which is fun.
Ah interresting!
My reading tastes have definitely changed over the years. I also read YA still like you, but I’ve been dabbling into adult more too. I’ve also started reading more widely too, like I started reading manga and graphic novels (and if I want to be honest that’s become my most common read these days lol) and I’ve been reading some more non-fiction as well. Though with non-fiction, I’m still just as selective as I was in the past, so I think the change is just I’m a little more open to reading non-fiction.
That’s good! Nonfiction is not the boring genre I had thought it was 🙈