Pow pow pow, Book you’re victim to my mood swings

May 31, 2015 Discussion 22

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As I finished reading the latest book (A Court of Thorns and Roses) I realized, all books I devour are total victims to my mood. I think if I would have read it when I was in a different mood I would have liked it more. Normally I know what I am in the mood for.

If I want quests and magic I grab a fantasy.

If I think I’m in the mood for romance, then I read romance.

If I’m in the mood for action and a touch of comedy I tend to grab urban fantasy.

But what about when I just don’t know what I’m feeling like? That’s usually when I’m feeling blah!

THE DANGER ZONE!

At times like those it’s quite possible nothing will satisfy me. Does that stop me from reading? Of course not! Reading is like eating…a daily necessity for me.

But I feel sorry for anything I read during times like those. Because it’s likely I’m generally feeling blah and that will bleed over into the book. It makes me wonder if I’d read the same book at any other time would I rate it higher and have enjoyed it more?

What do you folks think? Are the books you read sometimes victims to your blah moods?

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Tabitha (Pabkins)

When I'm in the zone I can flip book pages faster than the eye can see - screaming "More Input!" I'm a book, yarn, & art supply hoarding goblin who loves to draw, make toys and craft all sorts of creepy cute things. My current habit is to listen to audio books while I'm arting it up!
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22 Responses to “Pow pow pow, Book you’re victim to my mood swings”

  1. Sabrina

    Yesssssss! Was just talking about this tonight with Sara @The Hiding Spot. I am a moody reader for sure.

    Luckily I’m getting better at reading what I actually want/am in the mood for, rather than what I think I ‘should read.’ And when I’m just not in the mood for anything, taking reading breaks to binge watch some netflix until I feel ready for new stories works too.

    I think because there are only so many story lines it can sometimes also be that I’ve too recently read a very similar book. If I love that first one even a small bit more, or draw too many comparisons, it doesn’t stand a chance.

    Also, my husband tells me most people don’t read 100+ books in a year, so it’s fair to say I won’t adore every one. Perspective-wise he has a good point. Why do I expect to love them all?! I just feel so bad when I don’t.
    Sabrina recently posted…Review: Daughter of Deep Silence by Carrie RyanMy Profile

  2. Steve Vernon

    Oh yes indeed. I can’t tell you how many times I have picked up a book to read and after a page or two I am feeling something like “What fresh hell is this?” and I throw it to a lie untouched in a very small heap at the foot of my bed – and then three months later I pick up the same book and start reading and say something like “Hell, now this is fresh!”

    (all right, that was bad, I haven’t had my coffee yet…)

  5. kimberlybuggie

    YES! You are totally right. Books are sometimes the victims of my moods. For instance, the other day I really just wanted to read a contemporary romance. I had book to review deadline coming up so I tried to start a thriller instead. Halfway through, I knew it wasn’t working and had to start the romance book. I was so happy and satisfied, that I liked the thriller book way more after I was done with the romance. Sometimes, you just can’t help it.
    It’s like chocolate.
    You want what you want and won’t feel satisfied until you get it! 🙂
    kimberlybuggie recently posted…Review: The Devil You Know by Trish DollerMy Profile

  7. Micheline @ Lunar Rainbows Reviews

    I also feel really sorry for the books I’ve forced myself to read when I wasn’t in the mood for them. Those poor souls get unfairly judged and I’m often overly harsh on them because of it. I’ve been trying to only read books when I’m in the mood for THAT type of a read, but it’s more tough with review books. I am 100% a mood reader!
    Micheline @ Lunar Rainbows Reviews recently posted…Fandom Mashups #4My Profile

  8. Chrystal

    I just wrote a post about a book I was reading for a tour that I just could not get into. I don’t think it was the book at all, but my mood. I just wasn’t really wanting to read that book, but it arrived so late that it was cutting it close to the tour date so I agreed to promote the book, but write my thoughts at that point. I’m not sure if I’ll try it again or not.

    It’s so funny that our moods can change what we think of a book.
    Chrystal recently posted…Book Budget | May 2015My Profile

  9. Silvara

    I totally have the mood thing. Sometimes I pick up a book and start reading, only to realize that it just isn’t clicking with me. And I KNOW that if I had picked it up a week or two earlier, I would have loved it! When I can tell it’s a book I’d like more, if I just wasn’t being all “meh!”, I’ll put it down and do something else.

    Either a movie/tv show binge, working on my craft projects, or playing a computer game. Sometimes I’ll just put the book aside altogether if it was just on my personal TBR pile, and read something else that appeals to the mood I’m in. Then go back and try it again once it sounds really good again.

    Sometimes though, it’s not so much as being a ‘mood’ as being too many books with similar elements. Like, I might have liked x book if I hadn’t just read 3 others in the last few weeks that blend together with that current book. That’s when I know I need to start grabbing other sub-genres for a while.
    Silvara recently posted…Iron Shoes (Tales From Hawks Folly Farm #1) by J. Kathleen Cheney (review)My Profile

  10. DJ (@MyLifeMyBooksMyEscape)

    YES. This happened to me when I read Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear a couple months ago. I was in the mood for fantasy – I truly thought I was – but I guess I was wrong; that book just wasn’t working for me. There were zero things I didn’t like, yet nothing grabbed me. Little things nagged me, and I just kind of skimmed through. I going to try to the sequel, because I believe I just wasn’t in the mood for it then.
    DJ (@MyLifeMyBooksMyEscape) recently posted…Backlist Burndown: Railsea by China MievilleMy Profile

  11. Lisa (@TenaciousReader)

    I think there are certain books that are in that nebulous area, not quite my normal thing, but not something I would clearly dislike, by nature they are in middle ground for my tastes. Those books I think are the ones that are most likely impacted by my mood. Or really, maybe those are the ones where the difference is most notable because the star difference can be fall somewhere between something I dislike to something I like, where as others it might be a difference between absolutely loving it or just really enjoying it. If that rambling mess of a comment makes any sense.
    Lisa (@TenaciousReader) recently posted…Stacking the Shelves – May 31, 2015My Profile

  12. Dragana

    Books are very often victims to my moods. Also if I have read an awesome book previously I tend to be more critical of the next book. That’s just the way I am. Books just have to deal with it. 🙂
    Dragana recently posted…May 2015 – Monthly RewindMy Profile

  13. Danya @ Fine Print

    I can be a pretty moody reader too. I think the key is knowing a genre/sub-genre or author whose books work for you every time. For me it’s UF (obviously!!) or Kelley Armstrong; if I’m feeling slump-y or like nothing appeals to me, then I reach for those books. And hey, at least your honest about how your mood impacts your opinion!
    Danya @ Fine Print recently posted…Monthly Recap: May 2015My Profile

  14. Lynn

    Mood definitely affects me when reading. Sometimes the book is just so damned good that it pulls me out but sometimes, when you’re almost on the cusp of a book reading slump – or maybe suffering good book hangover – you have a certain mood for a certain type of book and woe betide if you pick up a book that promises one thing and delivers another! Expectation gone wrong is definitely something that turns my mood sour on a book.
    Lynn 😀
    Lynn recently posted…Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey, readalong week No.4My Profile

  15. Tonya

    This happens far too often for me to keep track of. A really great book can pull me in, regardless of my mood but more often than not, what I find happening is that either my enjoyment of the book is diminished or I end up abandoning the book. Much later I’ll give that book a second chance and I find myself enjoying it much more than I did the first time around. Go figure.
    Tonya recently posted…Who Actually Likes Writing Reviews?My Profile

  17. Mary @ BookSwarm

    Reading is totally a daily necessity for me. Like food or breathing. At work, we were talking about what we were doing this summer and I mentioned that I was going to take some day trips around the state and one of the girls I work with said, “Oh, good. That means that you’re going to put down those books and live a little.” Um, what? NO. The books are coming with me. (I was so irritated with that comment. Come on. Really?) Anyway, just needed to share that with another bookish type!
    Mary @ BookSwarm recently posted…The awesome craziness that is BEAMy Profile

  18. Cee

    *high fives* MOOD READER REPRESENTIN’!

    That’s why I can’t be pushed into reading books I don’t feel like reading. If I am, then I’m more inclined to hate it because I wasn’t in the mood to read it in the first place. And I want to give the book a chance! (I may be forever waiting for the mood to hit. Whoops? Lol.)

    When I don’t feel any books are pulling to me, I just end up reading romance books. I don’t know what it is about them, but I can devour them when I’m in my reading slumps.
    Cee recently posted…HOLY, MOTHER COVER | Trend: Neon Lights!My Profile