Should Bloggers Follow the "Do Not Engage" Rule?

If you have seen any of the drama concerning authors and reviews, I think you've probably read these words: "Do not engage."

Now, they're always directed at the author. It's really a number one rule for authors who choose to read their reviews. You want to know what people are saying? Fine. You want to argue about their opinion of your book? Don't.

But one thing I sometimes think in these circumstances is, Why does the reviewer keep responding? This isn't to say that these reviewers are wrong, or that they're handling the situation badly. Often times, they're not. I have seen many circumstances when a reviewer (and often times others who have joined the comments) are actually trying to help the author. But in doing so, aren't they making the situation bigger and bigger? Aren't they engaging in a conversation that they're advising the author not to?

Maybe this comes from me being an aspiring writer, myself. I have posted my writing online for a very long time - from the first, awful stories, to poetry, to blog posts. Right now, my blog is the only place where I share my writing publicly. But maybe the rules from before are still an instinct for me.

The thing is, I had that experience in writing communities. Not often, but every once and awhile, someone hateful will comment on your work. They're not there to provide constructive criticism - they just want to tell you how awful the writing is, and move on. I never responded to these comments. And although I have not received any hateful comments while blogging, nor have I been contacted by an author regarding a negative review, I feel that I would do the same as I've always done: Delete the comment, and move on.

This stems from my thinking that my space online is just that: My space. I don't need the negativity. I don't need to argue if someone comes into my area of the internet and starts causing problems. I don't need to tell them they are wrong. I feel it's rather like someone coming into your house and trying to argue. I wouldn't feel the need to explain to a stranger why they are wrong for coming into my home unannounced, and I wouldn't begin speaking to them about why I disagree with any opinions they decide to share with me. Why? Because they are in my space, uninvited. So I'm going to call the police and have them removed from my home. I'm going to press delete, and remove them from my space.

But I understand that this doesn't always work, and that some people just don't want to do that. Some people feel really awful when they ignore others. (I'm one of them, honestly!) Others just want to explain things to the author and give them the benefit of the doubt that they don't know they're wrong. No matter the reasons, I understand that my way of thinking does not work for everybody. I'm not saying everyone should handle things the way I think I would. (Because honestly, this is a hypothetical situation ... Sometimes we act different when we're actually involved.)

I just wanted to get my thoughts out somewhere about this, because it's been sitting in my head for quite some time, and I've finally found a way to put it into words. And I would love if we could discuss this further in the comments. Do you guys think bloggers/reviewers should follow the writer's rule to not engage in things like this? Should reviewers ignore author comments to avoid drama, or do you think authors should be called out and spoken to when they choose to comment on a review?

I don't think there's really a 'right' answer here, just opinions. But I would be so happy to hear your thoughts!

Confession: Half of my Posts Are Rambles

I'm sure if you've been reading my posts long enough, this isn't actually a secret: I tend to select a topic, ramble pointlessly about it for awhile, and call it a discussion post.

And don't get me wrong, that's basically what a discussion post is. It's not a chance to give some great wisdom to everyone who reads the blog - it's a chance to connect. These posts are a great way to get conversations going, and the comments are often more fun than any other kind of post, because each person gets to share their own opinion and experience.

But, my drafts section just keeps getting more and more cluttered with drafts that were meant to be published, until I reread them - or thought about them for some time - and realized I had not said anything useful. I hate discussing when I don't feel like I'm contributing to the conversation. When that's the case, I feel better off reading what others have to say, perhaps agreeing on their posts, and moving on. I also seem to type posts that go nowhere, because there was nothing to discuss in the first place.

For example, I just added a post about word count to my ever-growing pile. It basically said, "I can write 4k words on an average day. Why have I only written 10k in the past month? What is your word count, followers?" It was boring. I would not want to read posts like that on someone else's blog. And so I deleted it - or, as close as I ever come to deletion.

As a writer, I am in love with words. I like to think that some day I will look back on my drafts and, if I'm lucky, get a post idea from them. Maybe I'll remember where I was initially going with a post before I got off track. Or perhaps, it might just be a fun thing to look back on. I'm paranoid about deleting my words permanently, probably because it's so ingrained in me from fiction writing.

Anyway, a lot of these posts do start off with a direction. I think I'm headed someplace with them. But many times they end up in the never-publish pile.

I can't say that I want this to end completely, though. Sure, it would be nice to have a well-rounded post every time I sat down to blog, but missing out on these posts would mean missing out on ideas. Sometimes, I say something in a post and realize that's what I really want to be writing about. So I save it to my drafts and type up the post I actually want to share.

Other times, they might not be great posts, but they get my words and ideas flowing. Another thing I take from fiction writing when I blog is that you don't have to produce great writing every time. You just need to write consistently.

So I'm pretty okay with my growing list of never-to-be-published drafts. I'm even okay with the fact that I ramble too much. (It's why you love my posts here, right?)

But I do want to know if you guys have this problem as well. If you do, you should tell me: What's the most interesting/funny/your favorite post you've ever not published?

Sharing Reviews: Do You "Share" Before You Post?

I'm sure the title is a bit confusing here - how do you share something before you post it? - but hopefully it will make sense with a bit of explanation! When I talk about sharing, I don't mean on Twitter, but on places where you actually post the review. For me, those places are Goodreads and Tumblr. So the question is, do you post your review elsewhere before you post it on your blog?

For me, it depends. If it's a review book then yes, unless I've read it very close to the release date, I usually wait. If I have a bunch of pre-scheduled reviews and I know the blog review won't be up for longer than a month, I also wait. And it also depends on the website, and here's my real problem with this: Tumblr has an option to schedule posts. Goodreads doesn't.

I'm very forgetful. Weeks after I've posted my review here, do I actually remember to add it up on Goodreads as well? Usually not. I tend to go back long after the initial post and add my review quickly, but that leads to a certain amount of guilt that I didn't get it up "on time." If there were a pre-scheduling feature, I would just schedule everything right away, as I'm typing the review. It would be part of my review process, and I would not be able to forget when the time to post actually comes.

Unless one of you reaches out to tell me there's a scheduling feature on Goodreads that I'm missing (which would be awesome), or they add one (just as great!), I guess I'm going to have to find another way around this without always forgetting or leaving it until months later when I notice the missing review. I'm thinking I should get on a better blogging schedule - probably I'll add in links on my Reviews page on the same day I go back and add previous reviews to Goodreads. Maybe once a month or so?

But all this thinking always makes me wonder what other bloggers do. I know some people just post their Goodreads review right away, but I would rather not do that. In fact, if it weren't so difficult to keep up with, I would rather my reviews always be posted to my blog first, before it's shared on other sites.

Do things like that matter to you guys? Is there somewhere your review has to be put first, in your eyes? Where do you post your reviews, and when?

I Don't Comment Back

I'm sure that most of you who comment frequently have realized this already: I reply to all comments, but I do not comment back on others' blogs.

That's not to say that I don't check out the blogs of those who comment on my posts, or that I don't comment on other blogs.

I really appreciate every comment I get. I check my email (too) often, and when I see a blog comment it always makes me smile. I read them right away, even though it sometimes takes me awhile to reply. But I never want people to feel obligated to reply to my posts. I don't want anyone to comment as a payment, or because they want me to check out (or return to) their blog.

And I feel like that's what commenting back does. It leads to this obligation to say something, even if there is nothing to say. It feels like I'm begging someone to return and comment again, which I DO want them to do - but that should happen because my posts keep them coming back. Because they want to be here. Not because we're in this silly comment-trading spree.

I have never commented back, but when I began blogging I did type a lot of pointless comments. It wasn't for followers or anything like that - I just genuinely wanted to say something. I wanted to let bloggers know that I read and enjoyed their posts. But how many times could I say on a Top Ten Tuesday, "I read that book too!" How many times could I say, "Great review! I also loved this book."

It just grew old. I have to admit, I rarely comment on blog posts anymore. I'm trying to get better at thinking of things to say that matter, that I haven't typed time and time again. I know from experience how much bloggers love comments; I just don't want to say nothing in my reply!

I would love to discuss this further in the comments. Do you comment back? How often do you comment on other's blogs at all? (Funny that I'm asking you to comment about how much you comment, isn't it?) Do you ever feel repetitive, or do you usually have something unique to say?

When Books Expire

I had to clear off my currently reading shelf the other day. It had three books on it, and I kept adding more rather than finish the old ones. More than that, I really had no desire to keep reading the old ones. I felt a reading slump coming on, so I thought it would be best to keep only one book (my audiobook of Snow Like Ashes, which I really do want to finish), and start a brand new, shiny book. (That book was Falling Into Place, if you're curious, and it's great so far!)

This isn't the first time I have had this problem, but it's the first time I gave it a name. What I realized as I was deleting ebooks from my device, removing them from my Goodreads shelf, etc. was that I can only read a book for so long before it becomes a chore. Even if I like the book, I need to either stop reading or risk a major reading slump, in which I force my way through that book and end up reading nothing else for a month afterwords. If I've been currently reading a book for too long, it seems to hit an "expire" and I don't have fun reading it anymore. Even if it's a great book!

I rarely read classics for this reason. Whenever I do begin them, I usually read lighter books alongside them, as they are typically slow-paced and sometimes are pretty long. But then, they take forever to read. And I don't want to read them as much as all the other books I could be reading.

I don't want to say that slow-paced books aren't for me, because there are some that I read and loved! But I have to be in the right mood for them. When I tried to continue The Night Circus, which I had been slowly making my way through since the middle of last month, I realized I just haven't been in the mood for it. Sure, I am interested in the story. It's a great book, and I want to know what happens. Right now, though, there are other books I will enjoy reading more. 

I'm really interested to see what you guys have to say about this. Have you ever had a book sit around so long, you just don't want to read it anymore? (This happens to books on my TBR shelf, as well as my currently read books!) Do books "expire" for you, or can you read them bit by bit without feeling bothered by it? How long can you take to read a book before you begin to think about everything else you could be reading?

Blogging and Social Media

When I started blogging, I thought I needed to be on all social media platforms. Because several were unfamiliar, I began with Twitter and planned to branch out.

I rather disliked Facebook and stayed away from it for a long time, then saw tons of bloggers recommending it. A few people asked me, So, do you have a Facebook page for your blog? and I felt bad saying no, like I wasn't a "real blogger" if I didn't even have a Facebook page. I created one, finally, but it really just sat there. Nobody liked it, because nobody even knew it was there. I didn't even really want it there.

Recently, I linked my Tumblr page and this blog, which basically means I share my reviews there and have a link to Tumblr on here with my other social media platforms. This is simple for me, because the website itself suits me better. I like sharing pictures of books, seeing reviews, and being able to share cat pictures once and awhile.

But when this happened, I stopped using Twitter so often. If I have something to say, it feels so much easier to ramble about it without a character limit. That said, I feel awful when all Twitter followers see is Goodreads updates and blog posts.

I guess I'm basically trying to say that juggling more than one social media account is difficult, at least for me, and also give a pretty unpopular piece of blogging advice: I don't think you have to be on all social media platforms as a blogger. While it can help your numbers, it can also be an unnecessary stressor. It's much more helpful to do what works for you, and forget about everything else.

I would like to know about you guys, though. Which social media platforms do you use, and do you notice a dramatic difference in your followers/page views/other numbers because of them? (I personally don't.) How do you balance blogging, "real life," and social media?

How Do You Read Series?

Lately, I seem to be reading a bit differently. I've noticed that once I find an author I like, I want to read all of their books. I want to be caught up on series, or even standalone books, so that I can read new releases as they come out and feel "caught up" with that series and/or author. It gives me an odd feeling of accomplishment.

I think this is the reason a lot of my reading has been focused on series, and I've been more drawn to the ones that are unfinished - especially if there are only one or two books out so far. I want to feel like I finished a series without actually putting the time into several books.

I've been doing this with authors as well - it's very useful in finally getting around to those who I've read one book from, and always swore I would read the others eventually. I'm wondering if this is because I signed up for one of those ebook subscription sites recently, and they mostly offer older titles. I admit, I was very excited to see books that I've been meaning to get around to for years now!

Either way, it's a strange way for me to read. I used to always wait for every book in a series to be out, so I could avoid the wait, and now I'm hopping right into books that I know I will have to wait for sequels to. I also have this odd habit of leaving at least one book unread from my favorite authors - I guess, so that I always have access to an unread book if I don't feel like waiting for a new release. (Which, admittedly, doesn't even make sense.)

I'd really like to know how you guys read series, or what you do when you find a new (or old) favorite author. Do you read all the books right away, or wait awhile? Do you read incomplete series, even if it means waiting a year or more for the sequels?

Taking Breaks

A couple weeks back, I took a short blogging break. It was not intentional, so I did not write about it here, although I did mention on my Twitter account that there wouldn't be new posts on the blog. I simply didn't have anything to write about.

Another thing I did, about a week ago now, was post an update saying that I would not be posting every weekday anymore.

Between that break -- that lasted less than a week -- and giving myself a bit of breathing room, my blogging slump disappeared. Honestly, I began posting that very same week of my "break." I pre-scheduled the posts (this being one of them!) to give myself even more room to breathe.

This happens every time I take away pressure. It works with nearly everything -- reading, writing, blogging. But I never seem to remember it until I'm so far into a slump that it's my only option.

Like I say, that week-long break was not intentional. I just realized that I had nothing to discuss, and so I could not write a discussion post for that week. Nor did a have a Top Ten Tuesday pre-scheduled, or my typical Waiting on Wednesday post. I felt very blah about it all and just didn't want to blog.

I think I babbled a lot here, but my main message in this post is that breaks are incredibly helpful. They don't mean that we will never blog again. It's not letting anyone down if a blog goes without posts for a week, or even longer. The person who cares the most is the blogger who runs the blog -- not the readers, or whoever else we're trying to please.

So, I'm going to try very hard for stress-free blogging from now on. The main goal for the blog right now is quality content, not posts every day. And if that means taking a break for a week, or a month, then that is what will happen.

And if you guys are feeling stressed out by blogging and need a break -- take it! You'll probably thank yourself later.

TBR Piles (And Goodreads Shelves)

In my experience, readers usually have two stances on TBR piles: There is the reader who wants a small pile, and one who wants a never-ending one.

The first type would rather purchase books and read them immediately. They might want a few unread books lying around, but these unread books feel like an obligation. Hundreds of books would be terribly stressful to them. It's difficult enough to realize that there are so many books in the world they will never get around to -- but adding those books to a TBR shelf on Goodreads and having a visual? Actually keeping those books around their home? No way.

The second type just wants to be surrounded by books. They are possibilities, worlds not yet discovered. Knowing that they will never read all the books provides a comfort -- what would they do if someday, there was nothing left to read? A library full of unread books sits very well with this person. So what if they never read every story on their shelves?

I have to say, I'm the first type. When I first discovered Goodreads, I added and added to my TBR. Even if a book didn't seem great, I might want to read it some day. If I didn't add it to the shelf, I would probably forget about it completely.

But after awhile, this constant adding of books turned to constant removing of books. I'm happy with that, especially recently.

Here's something I've found: For me, it's so much more exciting to pick up a book right away. I have never been one to purchase too many books in advance -- I usually buy them when I'm ready to read. But when I first hear about a book's release and can pick it up right away, that's when I'm happiest with my reading.

With a large TBR, I don't feel I can do that. There are so many other books that have been out a long time, that I've been meaning to read forever, and that I should definitely get to first! But since I narrowed down just my Goodreads shelf (Why was I ever letting a list on a website run my reading life?), I feel more freedom in what I read.

It's really all a change in perspective. I think I started out as the second type of reader -- I didn't know about many books, so I had to keep them all where I could find them. But now I know I will never run out of things to read. Between Goodreads and blogging, I am always hearing about new books. Only now, I'm beginning to realize that I don't have to read every one of them.

I would love to hear your opinions in the comments -- which type of reader are you? Do you relate to either of my options, or do you have a different perspective that I didn't think of?

Why I Won't Raise my Goodreads Challenge this Year

The month of December in 2013 and 2014 was STRESSFUL for me. I struggled to meet my challenge of 100 books. Both times, I began the year hoping to read 50 books, but later raised it due to meeting my goal early.

I will not do that this year. The number one reason? Stress. Why should I be so pressured about reading? It's a hobby. I enjoy books. I should be able to take my time with them.

By this logic, I suppose I could just not do the Goodreads challenge at all - but, silly as it sounds, I always feel accomplished being able to say I finished it. I also like seeing what I read each year, and I'm not sure if Goodreads keeps track unless you participate in the challenge. (Correct me if I'm wrong about this!) And also, probably most ridiculous - I like having it on my profile. I like seeing that I completed several years' worth of challenges.

So, I'm doing things this way. I am keeping my challenge the same all year. After all, doesn't it also look cool when people read way more than they challenged themselves to? Why do I need to change the number from 75 to 100 when it will still say I read 100 books? And if I don't, I did not fail, because I hit 75!

Anyway, I am interested in whether or not you raise your challenges, or have done so in the past. Is it only me who gets super optimistic and ups it by 25 each time?

Also, what is your challenge this year? I'm going for 75!

Series I Have Not Finished Yet

If you read my 2015 resolutions post, you know that one of my goals in 2015 is to finish some series. I used to be the kind of person who waited until a series was out and had to read it all at once, but that changed in 2014, and for that reason I'm in the middle of several series.

I obviously have a ton of books to choose from, so if you really love a series, let me know! It'll get me excited to read it, and I might even read it sooner than the others. (I'm pretty easy to convince, when it comes to books.)

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

I started this series in January, and have been reading the books in a slow, scattered sort of way since then. Right now, I have finished the first five, but I really want to say I've read this series fully! I want to understand when people talk about the later books. Also, I have really enjoyed the ones I read and just really badly want to continue!

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

This is another one that I swear everyone else has read! I really want to complete this and get started on the spin-off series. Just recently I finished book four, so hopefully I can continue onto book five soon.

Slated by Teri Terry

I've only read the first book in this trilogy, but I definitely enjoyed it. It was pretty fast-paced and played a part in getting me out of my reading slump, but I went onto other books instead of continuing the series. (I had review copies!)

The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

I just recently began the first book, and I'm still in the middle of it. (At the time I'm writing this post, anyway. By the time this is posted, I'll probably have finished!) Still, it's a series, and I am technically in the middle of it, so I'm adding it onto the list!

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

I loved this first book, but never bought the second! I definitely need (and want, badly!) to catch up with this series very soon.

Wishes by G.J. Walker-Smith

I'm honestly just waiting until I finish up some other series so I can dive back into this one. It's been awhile, and I'm in the middle of the second book, so I'll probably have to go back and reread some - or at least skim. Still, I'm excited to finally get to this, even though it'll likely be awhile.

Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

I only made it about 50 pages through this book, before putting it down due to a reading slump. Regardless, I did enjoy the story and want to get back into it, and then finish up the series!

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

I began this series quite awhile ago on audiobook, and plan to switch over to ebook copies to finish up the series. I'm currently three books through the series!

That's EIGHT series to get through. If I were to finish even one a month, I would complete them all in 2015. Of course, there are always those new ones that I will inevitably read as well.

How many series are you currently in the middle of? Does it drive you crazy to leave so many unfinished, or are you not bothered by it? Have you read any of the series on my list?

Catching Up On Your Goodreads Challenge (Tips and Book Suggestions)

So, it's the end of the year. Christmas is coming, and us procrastinators have tons of work ahead of us in these next couple weeks. We know the holidays come every year, but we put off present-buying and decorating.

We set our Goodreads challenges in January, or at least most of us do - you professional procrastinators might wait until later on in the year. Maybe you set it just last month.

Either way, I think most people can relate to that feeling where you look at your challenge and realize you're far behind. Or maybe you're not, but December is a busy month and you're feeling uncertain you can read at the pace you have been previously.

Here are some tips that will, hopefully, help us all catch up on our challenge:

Tip #1: Try a Book Series

Reading a series can be a great way of reading books quickly. For me, at least, it is easier to transition from book to book when they're a continuation of the story. If you can handle staying in a world for a long time, series with several books are best. Off the top of my head, one very long series that's made up of quick reads is The Princess Diaries.

Tip #2: Read A Children's Book (Or Ten)

At the beginning of this year, I read quite a few children's and middle grade books. They are short and fast-paced, typically, which of course makes them perfect for catching up - I've also found they're great for curing a reading slump. A couple of my favorite children's books are Winnie the Pooh and The Little Prince.

Tip #3: Read Poetry

If you enjoy poetry, this is a fantastic time for it. If it's not your typical read, maybe try a short book of it anyway? Alternately, you could try a novel in verse - the style means less words on a page, and makes the book fly by very quickly. A couple I enjoyed this year are The Realm of Possibility and Ghosting.

Tip #4: Novellas and Short Stories

Take a look at the series on your shelf. Are there any novellas you left untouched, that you could go back to now? Is there maybe a series you're unsure of that you could grab up a novella from to read through quickly? (Be careful not to spoil yourself for the series somehow!) Or maybe there are some short stories you've been putting off reading. Get to it now and finish up that challenge!

Tip #5: Set Deadlines

Maybe it's just me, but setting deadlines for myself helps a ton. Personally, I use my review system to my advantage here - lately, I've been back to posting two reviews a week. That gives me minimal time to read and review books, and forces me to actually put aside time for reading each day. It's much easier - especially if you're a procrastinator - to say, "I have to finish this by Thursday!" than it is to think, "I need to finish this book ... eventually."

Those are all the tips I have! I tried to include book suggestions in here, so hopefully you could find something you like, or at least a tip that helped!

Good luck reading, enjoy the holidays, and don't stress too much!

What is New Adult?

This subject has been on my mind lately. Of course I know about the New Adult genre, but I have also noticed that so many books about new adults are not classified as "New Adult books."

An example I always think of is Fangirl. This is about a girl who goes to college and finds herself. When you simplify it that much, it honestly sounds like your typical New Adult. But it's classified as YA. A couple others that I've read and wondered about are the Just One Day books. The characters are college-aged, but they're "Young Adult books."

I realize that there's a real blurry line between these two genres, especially because they're newer than others - and especially because the term genre is used so loosely to describe them. I have also heard that YA supposedly includes characters up to twenty years of age - although personally, I haven't read about main characters past eighteen that I have considered to be part of a young adult novel.

There's also the fact that these are basically just what I call "age group genres," and they are definitely a big part in the marketing of a book. Also, the two authors whose books I mentioned had previously written young adult - so perhaps it was thought hat their books would do better in that market, where they were already known.

Still, I have heard so many readers complain that New Adult shows the same stories again and again. It's like there's a formula to writing it, and nothing that's too different counts. I'm thinking that more people would enjoy the New Adult genre if it were a bit broader and included all new adult characters, rather than the ones who fit a certain frame.

What do you think about the New Adult genre? Are you a fan? Do you wish it had more variety? What are your favorite New Adult books (whether they're technically classified as NA or not)?

Discussion: When do you write reviews?

Since I lost the review I was going to post today, and don't feel like rewriting, I decided to talk about reviews instead. I've seen so many people say they are behind in their reviewing, and I'm wondering how many of you experience this?

The thing that shocks me about that statement is this: I write reviews as soon as I finish the book. Very rarely do I remember enough details if I wait more than a day afterwards, so I don't try waiting it out. I would have to reread books if I did that!

I guess some have better memories than me. That's probably all there is to it. I don't even allow myself to read another book until I've reviewed my last one.

When do you write reviews? Do you wait awhile, or scribble your thoughts down right away?

Using Stars in Reviews

It seems that everyone uses the star review system differently. I've seen people who give 5 stars rarely, only to their favorites, and then there are others who rarely give less than a full, 5-star rating.

When I'm rating, I rarely give books 1 or 2 stars. If I really dislike it, it's usually a 2. I save 1-star ratings for the most terrible books, the ones I just can't stand - and I've never given a book 1 star for that reason. If I hate it so much, I don't finish reading.

Although 3 stars tends to be my lowest rating, it doesn't usually mean I've found the book to be bad. These are books I finish and think, "It was okay." 4 stars means I enjoyed it and 5 stars means I loved the book (but doesn't mean it's without flaws).

It's interesting to me that people use the ratings in completely different ways. I love rating with stars, especially on sites like Goodreads, if only for my own sake - I get to quickly see what I thought of the book. But I wonder if sometimes people pay more attention to these stars than the written reviews. For example, I've spoken to people who only read books above a certain average rating, and I wonder if that number actually says anything about the book.

How do you guys feel about star ratings? How much should they be depended on when deciding to read a book? What's your system for the ratings you give?

"Age Group" Genres

I know this is a subject that can be (and has been) debated a lot, but it's never been something I thought a ton about. Now that I have this blog and am writing reviews, my big question about "age group" genres (young adult, middle grade, etc.) is what falls into each category?

When I was writing my review for Every Soul a Star, I thought about the genre a lot. The three main characters are young teenagers, all thirteen if I remember correctly, so I had to wonder: middle grade or young adult? Are the characters representing children or teens, and is that the only deciding factor?

If you haven't read the review (or just didn't pay attention to the 'genres' section), and you were wondering, I did finally decide to include it as both children's and young adult. Because to me, these characters are children and so would fit into a children's/middle grade genre. When I see a book categorized as middle grade, I automatically think of characters in middle school.

I'm not sure if this is correct. I'm not sure there even is a correct answer, which is why I labeled it as both.

For those of you who write reviews, what do you do about these "age group" genres? How do you determine which to place a book into?

And for anyone at all: What do you think? How old should the characters in the young adult genre be, or is it not about age at all? Is it all about their situations? The plot?

New Reading Habits

I realized just recently that I wasn't very happy with the way I read books.

This is because I put too much pressure on myself. I have a pretty long "on hold" list, and have been pushing myself to read them when there's a reason I put them down.

Now, this reason doesn't have anything to do with the books - if I found them terrible, I simply would have put them down altogether. These are books I picked up when I wasn't in the mood for them, and now here I am trying to get through them all. But, once again, I'm not in the mood.

I feel like the whole problem is that sometimes, I pick up books I feel like I'm supposed to be reading. And then I get stuck halfway through, because I wanted to read a completely different genre in the first place.

I posted about my unfinished series awhile back, and those are part of this problem too.

So instead of bugging myself to read or finish certain books, from now on I'm only reading what I'm in the mood for. I am going to be more carefree and less organized, because honestly: reading is a hobby. It shouldn't be forced or stressful.

(Also, I hate reading slumps. I feel like reading this way will cause a lot less of them.)

You guys should let me know in the comments how you go about reading. How do you choose your books? How often do you put down books that you're in the middle of?