Hello, reader!
Today was a looooong day, y’all. We had our CAP inspection today at work and then a celebratory “It’s over!” dinner afterwards. I just got home and all I want to sleep 😴
But I’m letting a draining day kill my posting streak! So today, you’re getting a ramble-y bookish post about a random subject that I’ve been thinking about recently: reading retention.
One of those eternal book community talking points has been popping back up the past few days. I’ve seen posts where people are ragging on readers who read 100+ books in a year, saying that there’s no way they are retaining the content from all the books they read. And, as per usual, it makes me roll my eyes so hard.
First, please stop trying to police how much people read and how they consume said books. Just because some people can’t read 100+ books and remember the details from each one doesn’t mean that others can’t! And even if they aren’t reading deep reviews and can’t remember every single detail in all their reads, who cares? Does it harm anyone? Does it detract from others enjoyment of reading? I would hope not because how someone else enjoys reading shouldn’t affect your enjoyment of the hobby.
Second, who cares if they aren’t retaining all the details of every book they read? Why does it bother some people so much that they jump on social media to grump about it? Seems like a miserable way to live to me 😅 As if they’re reading to prove something, ya know? I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m doing this simply because I enjoy it!
Personally, I’m never really focused on the number of books I read a year. I always set a goal, but it’s not sweat off my back if I don’t reach it. I also don’t feel bad if I don’t retain all the plot details from every book I read in a year. I mean, I also have a terrible memory in general, so I try not to beat myself up about it 😂 What I remember the most is how I felt while reading a book.
And that’s honestly the most important thing to me. Because this is my favorite hobby not because I want to write an in-depth book report on everything I read. It’s my favorite hobby because of how it makes me feel.
But if in-depth book reports are what make someone else happy, more power to them! Just maybe don’t try to push your way of enjoying books on to other people.
End ramble 🙂↕️
