How my book and reading habits have changed over the years. 

Oh, the audiobook for non-fiction has worked very ocassionally for me... like only thrice (as far as I recall) and in the three cases I ended up purchasing the physical/ebook and rereading it there! Ebooks I think are uncomfortable, for some reason, the medium is less immersive for me; it's like I need the pages! Special editions, I never was too much into it; there weren't many in my home country, and after relocating so much, I try not to get bulky things. I have Dune's special editions and I'll keep ogling Folio's BoTNS because shipping to Aus is outrageous. I agree on hyped books, sometimes they don't really work for me, and I think it's mostly because what hypes a book is generally not what I (subjectively!) prefer to read. It was a great analysis and discussion, Zara, thanks for sharing it!

I buy paperbacks when it's a classic or anticpated book I really want to read. Ebooks for books im curious about, and I need to try more books in the audio format.

The Green Bone Saga is what made me leary about getting caught up in booktube hype.

The way my book habits have changed the most is that I re-read books more often, and I listen to more audio books. It used to be that I didn't absorb books as well via audio, but I've gotten much better at it.

I have found out I enjoy listening to audio books while I have my physical book in hand, it has definitely helped me with some of those with fantasy names / places 😂. I have also found the special editions to be just overkill, not to say I don't have any cause I do, but they are just everywhere 😢. As for genre I've always been a person that likes them all I do however get into stretches were I just read a certain genre. FYI I read Curse of Chalion - fantastic book, makes me won't too pick up bk 2 at library (was it as good)? 13:28 13:28

“Less is more” I emphasize with this one so much. I recently gave away 70-80 books and kept the ones that are meaningful to me. I am careful of buying books nowadays. When I see a book I’m interested in I get it on kindle, and if I like it then I’ll probably buy a physical copy. I think I bought so many out of FOMO like Stormlight, Dresden and Greenbone, but now I am very picky in what I buy. I only take recommendations from people I trust

I've definitely had some changes in my reading and book habits. I also finally got away from the hype that pops up....thankfully!! 😅 I miss the days pre-internet where you just go into the library, read the flap, and see if it appeals to you.

To a certain extent, I've changed what I read and how I purchase books. I used to alternate reading a literary fiction book, then a nonfiction book, then back to literary fiction, etc. Now, due to mental health reasons, I primarily seek escapism in fantasy fiction. I used to purchase books mostly from used book stores, then my local used book store closed up shop and I started purchasing mainly new books, then costs of living and interest rates skyrocketed and now I mostly dig around at thrift shops and the neighbourhood free book boxes to see what I can find.

Cool video! When I migrated to Canada I got forced to change and now I like the way I consume books - I really only buy physical ones I know I'm going to/did love, I primarily do ebook or library because space is such a factor. If I do happen to pick up physical ones and they're okay/didn't like, I donate them whenever next I visit the library so they can make a few bucks. As for hype, I approach anything that's lauded on here with alot of skepticism, there's a lot that matches my tastes but some that make no sense whatsoever and that's where the shilling comes in typically. You can usually tell. I could genuinely care less about special editions, those subscription services for them in particular are one of the funniest rackets I've ever seen. Quality goes a very long way over quantity, it's not easy to buy it sometimes but I've rarely found something higher quality not worth the investment.

I'm so with you on hyped books! I felt this way about Way of Kings recently. Surprised to hear your thoughts on greenbone. i don't think ive heard a booktuber dislike it. I also thought it was overhyped, felt like it was written by someone who is exhilariated by the cool mafia aesthetics but didnt know how to execute it properly without making it feel edgy and dull. I also avoid Booktok like a plague and take recommendations from people with similar tastes.

I'm such a slow reader, so I have to read three books at a time, one fiction, one non-fiction narrative, and final being some denser non-fiction. At least for now. I often read in chunks, when it comes to non-fiction, so I don't get overwhelmed or bored. In terms of content, I honestly don't think it has changed all that much. I am more analytical when I read, since I've been writing my own books, but the content is more or less the same. I plan to reach out a bit more to get more influences, but is more a trajectory than anything.

100%! Less is more. Great video.

I read a lot of ebooks, if I can borrow them. The thought of buying ebooks is still a bright too far unless it's for a big discount. Partly because I do buy used and resell so many books. Yeah I skip most special editions. It just seems like another piece of the hype machine now. And from most services or specialty publishers, they just kind of look too similar. Take something like Folio though, who usually creates a pretty unique design (and the bar is a little higher to be made). I do get a lot of recs through social media, but mostly because a lot of more niche books don't get the critical mass the books we usually see around here have, where big fantasy reigns supreme.

Super interesting video, especially because I have been on a very similar path as you (except for the hyped books, I am still a sucker for those and I can't resist the fomo lol). I think I am even more extreme in the switch from physical to digital, because I have read maybe 1 or 2 physical books over the past 2 years lol. My kindle and Everand are my best friends! Also, I have never been a super big book buyer, because the shipping to The Netherlands is genuinely just not funny. I only very rarely buy a pretty edition of a book that is an all-time favourite, and even that I find hard to justify for myself because I care more about the stories than the physical material they come with. Thanks for sharing!! 🥰

Lol I cannot even remember the last time I read a physical book. I buy a lot of physical books, usually hardcovers, sometimes but not always special editions, lmao to put on my bookshelf, but instead of actually reading those, i will read e-book version or listen to audiobook lmao XD In my defense a lot of the books I like are chunky boys. I am not about to lug around a 4K word Brando Sando hardcover Stormlight novel wherever I go lmao

Very interesting to hear that only non-fiction works for you in audiobook format. It's the same for me: A few minutes into a fiction audiobook and I'm already starting to lose focus. But I can listen to non-fiction for hours. (Although I've realized that I need to speed up the audiobooks so that my brain is sufficiently occupied and doesn't have time to wander off during the narration, haha!) Other than that, I've also come to appreciate quality over quantity in my books, and I'm much less likely to fall for hype after some big disappointments. Unlike you, though, I still have a spare shelf waiting to be assembled, so I'm still buying physical books like there's no tomorrow, lol :D

Not sure if my reading habits have changed too much. I still tend to spam authors but I have tried to find more authors I like and shift between those. My favorite type of book is still hard covers, but I usually buy soft covers. I’ll listen to some audiobooks but it’s a rarity. And e books aren’t big with me. At one point I was reading more e books but that waned. E books would be bigger if I traveled more. Or if I had to read chunkers. I do like new books over old with soft covers, but my collectors virus kicks in if it’s a nice used hard cover. Even if its not a book I’ll read I have to fight myself not to buy lol. I usually don’t buy a lot of books at once. I’m not a fast reader and I like buying one book at a time. But I have gone through a ‘buying up books phase’ too though less then I’ve seen others do. I’m happy enough to take a trek to the books store for the next one when I ready for it. The biggest change is reading less Sanderson. I read nearly all of his books nearly all in a row at one point! I’m still planning on grabbing the next stormlight book just as a sorta last try at his writing but the last two books of his I’ve read I wasn’t too keen on. One I DNF’ed, it was just too much. I read a bit more grim dark but also not really. It’s hard to find writing that doesn’t kick me out of a reading state. Sometimes too grim and dark can do that just as well as bad writing.

I am curious. How long were you buying 40 SE/ year befor you changed to 1-2? Of how many sub boxes are you a member? I have only one sub box. It took me five months to decide to start skipping and skipped 80% of it. What I get I love because I now do a research and read 1-2chapters in e-book [ still not my format😑 ]

Mine have changed a lot, for better or worse. I'm primarily a Kindle user these days, space being a huge factor, and I've found I enjoy non-fiction and memoirs for audio but I still struggle with fiction, especially Fantasy on audio. Nothing to do with retention, just not something I enjoy. I used to be able to read installments in a series months, potentially a year or more apart and it wouldn't bother me, but the more immersed in booktube culture I became I found I altered my reading to that structure i.e. read a book in a series a month until its done or there's a natural break, finish a book the same month I started (this one is especially stupid) etc. I grew to hate doing that, so I started binge-reading series, which worked for a some series but I quickly ran into similar problems. I'd also become anxious about how many series I'd ongoing and it was zapping my enjoyment out of reading, especially last year. But lately I'm trying to break that cycle and i like to think I'm succeeding 😅 and I've been branching back out and reading other genres again (as much as I love Fantasy, its a never-ending rabbit hole of series). Reading more standalones has been helping a lot. This year has been the most consistent stretch of enjoyable reading I've had in a long time, my most disappointing books of the year so far have been a DNF and a forgettable thriller from the 70s, thats a great problem to have. I'm already quite picky when it comes to books, so hype doesn't get to me that often, and I don't get fomo much anymore. I get joy of missing out instead, which isn't as harsh on the bank account 😂 Sorry for the rambling.