My library hasn't been ordering too many new books lately, and consequently, I've been going to the library less and less. Friends of mine ask me when I last went to the last library and I think about it and say...I don't remember. Why? Because it was so long ago that I don't even remember the date. I think it's sad that I call myself a bookish peep and can't even remember the last time I went to the local library. WHAT BRAND OF BIBLIOPHILE DOESN'T KNOW THE LAST TIME SHE WENT TO THE LIBRARY?
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| I am a sad excuse for a bibliophile. I am sorry. |
Before I became a book blogger, I used to randomly pick books off library shelves - based off the cover, of course - and read them. Usually, I enjoyed them. Nowadays however, I don't go into the library without looking up books from my TBR on the online catalog and checking whether they're available. If they're not, well, that's another library trip canceled (although it's not too big of a deal since I literally live right next to the library). My point is, my trips to the library have rapidly decreased, and I blame my new reading habits.
Whenever I go onto my Goodreads account when I'm in need of a book to read, I always look at my 2015-release shelf. Not my 2014-release shelf or my TBR in general, but only the books that have released in 2015. On those rare occasions that I pick up some popular YA novel that was hyped up in the last few years, it feels like I don't enjoy it as much as I would have if I'd read it when it first came out. I don't know if it's all in my head or authors have been writing better each year, but I prefer reading current books to older ones.
Sometimes I get to wondering if it's all about the hype. If I've learned anything after becoming a book blogger, it's that hype can really help make or break a book (I think I might write another discussion post on this later). In fact, the more the hype, the better the reading experience, in my opinion. That got me thinking: maybe it's the lack of hype around the older books that decreases their chance of getting five stars from me? When all the hype is being centered around books that are being released currently, every day, why would I be interested in older books people don't talk about anymore?
On the other hand, it's also possible that I don't enjoy these books as much because I already have the idea in my mind that I won't enjoy them. The mind is easily persuaded, after all. When I begin to think that I won't enjoy older books due to the lack of hype or whatever other reasons I tell myself, I don't enjoy them. It's a never ending cycle, and it's really frustrating.
I recently read A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray and Altered by Jennifer Rush. I was excited about both these books way back when they first came out, and when I read them both a month ago, they were good, but not great. I can't help but think I would have loved these novels more if I had read them earlier, but who knows?
I have, however, noticed that this only affects YA novels I read. I can read Historical Fiction, Contemporary Romance, and Horror from any date, and I will love it or hate it as it deserves. They are timeless, apparently. If only YA novels were the same way. It seems that maybe it's because the Young Adult genre goes through phases of sub-genres each year that when I read a book a year or two late, it rarely sucks me in.
On the bright side, my inability to enjoy older YA novels means you guys get more reviews of recent books! *cheeky grin*
