Why Being Selective of Your Reading is a Good Habit to Have

I got the idea for this blog post from a video I watched recently on A Clockwork Reader's YouTube channel: every book I read in 2020. In it, she mentioned that she was going to be more selective in the books she read for 2021.

Being open to all genres is a great way to approach reading. You're introduced to more books, more authors. As a result, you have more opportunity to find new books and authors that may become your favorites.

However, being selective about your reading and curating what books you read can greatly improve the overall quality of your reading.

With social media like book blogs, booktube, and bookstagram, it's easy to get swept up in the idea of quantity over quality. It's easy to think that the quantity of books you consume over a certain period of time is more important than the quality of your reads.

By "quality of your reads," I mean how many books you actually enjoyed. When it comes to reading, being selective of the books you read can really improve your overall reading year.

Here are 3 ways you can improve your reading year and be selective about what you read:

1. Know the basics of the book(s) you're planning to read. Look at its synopsis. Find it on Goodreads and look at the ratings and reviews. See what the statistics for how many 1-star, 2-star, 3-star, 4-star, and 5-star ratings there are. Also take a look at reviews (spoiler free) under each rating to get a rounded view of the book.
2. Come to terms with the fact that it's okay to DNF books. Setting a book down and no longer reading it is perfectly fine to do, especially if you're not liking the book.
3. Limit yourself to your favorite genres. You are always free to explore new or different genres, but if you limit whatever books you read to your favorite genre(s), it'll make for a much better reading year.