“Top 10 Tuesday” is a weekly meme by The Broke and the Bookish
Another freebie round for Top 10 Tuesday this week, at least sort of since the actual topic is „Rewind“ which means we could go back in the history of TTT and do a topic we have missed but still want to do. I decided to pick one from 2012 which fits perfectly to my character: „Top Ten OCD Bookish Habits“. Of course I’m far away from suffering from an actual obsessive-compulsive disorder (at least I hope so^^) but I definitely have some quirks that could be seen as a very light form of OCD and this also effects my reading habits and how I deal with books.
1. I can’t DNF books
This might sound like a joke but once I’ve started reading a book I just have to finish it, no matter how bad it turns out. I know it makes absolutely no sense to waste precious lifetime on terrible books but I just can’t help it. My only comfort is that I get rewarded with the opportunity to write a really angry and/or snarky review after a disappointing read.
2. I have to review every book I’ve read
This point makes me feel just as stupid as the first one, but ever since I started blogging more than 5 years ago I’ve reviewed every single book I’ve read, even if it was just a short story, and now I kinda have to keep this streak going even if it means a lot of work and often comes with unwanted pressure. Better don’t ask.
3. I continue series even when I don’t like them
I feel more and more stupid with every point, I’m not sure this post was a good idea XD But it’s true, as soon as I’ve started a series I find it very hard not to finish or at least continue it. That might be still understandable when it comes to trilogies to find out how the story ends but I also do it with endless crime series that don’t have any continuous plot at all, just to complete them.
4. I rather break my fingers than my book spines
I’m hopeful that at least some of you can understand this point because for me there’s almost nothing worse than breaking book spines. The stupid thing though is that I don’t even mind if someone breaks them after I’ve finished the books but as long as I have to hold them in my hands their condition has to be perfect, no matter how uncomfortable or even painful it can be to hold the book in a way that perfectly protects the spine.
5. I am a book hoarder
One reason why I never can’t have enough bookshelves is that I never get rid of books. No matter how old they are, how much I liked or disliked them or how used and ugly they look – I like having some kind of archive of all the print copies I’ve read and find it extremely difficult to say goodbye to my books, that’s why I never give any away or sell them, even when I know for sure that I’m never going to read them again.
6. I hate reading used books
When I was a child almost every book I’ve read was in a used condition because I either got it from my parents or from the library but when I got older I kinda developed an aversion for used books. I can’t help it but I want my books to look new and be in a perfect condition when I read them and I treat them so carefully that you usually won’t be able to tell if a book has been read or not. That’s the main reason for why I don’t get books from the library anymore because I can’t stand filthy books and even hate it when they have those typical library stickers.
7. I never read blurbs shortly before reading books
I hate being spoilered about books and I’m not even worried about being spoilered by other reader but by book blurbs since they often give away way too much about the story. That’s why I only read them when I hear of a book for the first time or shortly before buying it but NEVER before I start reading. Thanks to my lousy brain I usually forget about the descriptions so that I can dive into my books more or less completely blind and let myself get surprised by the story.
8. I never write in my books
I know a lot of readers like to highlight quotes or write annotations in their books but I could never ever get myself to do that. The obvious reason is that I want to keep my books in a perfect condition like I explained above but I would also be too afraid of making any mistakes and having to correct them so that the notes would look super ugly.
9. Books in a series need to have a consistent look
I know I wrote above that there’s nothing worse than breaking book spines but in my opinion it’s even a graver crime when publishers change the look of a book within a series, whether it’s the cover design, the typography, the height, the position of the book title or the author’s name on the spine or switching from HC to PB or the other way round – STOP DOING THAT, PUBLISHERS! Seriously, it’s like stabbing us readers with a knife in our back and I’m sure your authors hate it too, so JUST. STOP. IT. My OCD will appreciate it because it always makes me go crazy when I see a series on my bookshelves where the books don’t perfectly match.
10. I have to read the whole book
… and by whole book I don’t mean the story from the first to the last page but also any form of dedication, foreword, afterword or acknowledgements. I’m just afraid I miss something interesting, funny or important if I don’t read EVERYTHING and every time I find something that goes beyond boring „Thank you“s I’m glad that I read it all, even if it’s just seeing that the author is friends with another favorite author of mine and mentions them in his acknowledgements 😀
I am pretty OCD about my books too!! I normally don’t have an issue DNFing, but I don’t like to! I always feel like I have let the book down when I do, but I also feel like I wouldn’t be being honest if I didn’t dnf a book that I feel deserves it! I also review every single book (even the DNFed ones!) – someone can always grab new recommendations, even if you didn’t enjoy it yourself!! Great list 🙂
It’s comforting to see that I’m not alone 😀
I don’t know why it’s so difficult for me to DNF books, I guess it’s probably because I want to review all the books I’ve read and wouldn’t feel comfortable with reviewing just half of a book. So one quirk kinda leads to the other XD
Ha! Definitely OCD but in a fun way. I used to always finish books but I’ve let up on that in recent years. I also get really annoyed when my kids/husband leave books propped open to keep their place.
Oh God, that’s just like my Dad! Why is it so difficult for them to use bookmarks?!
I can’t say that I am very OCD about books, though I do share your book hoarder tendencies. Even books I have hated and will never read again will always have a spot in my collection. I think it’s great that you have to review what you read. There is nothing worse than a book kind of falling into the abyss, so to speak, where you can’t remember much about it, or even why you liked or hated it. I wish I were more diligent about writing reviews 🙂
My TTT.
It actually really helps to remember the plots of the books I’ve read, even though my lousy brain still makes me forget most of the story after just a few weeks XD
But it’s always nice to go back and see what I liked/disliked about a book, especially if it’s part of a series.
When it comes to my book hoarding then it also doesn’t help that most of the books I didn’t like are among the prettiest of my collection XD
I used to not DNF books, but if I REALLY can’t stand what I am reading, I just have to let it go! Great Top Ten! 😀 My Top Ten Tuesday!
Actually the books where I’m tempted most to DNF are the average ones that aren’t really bad but also not very special and which just bore me. When I really hate a book I definitely keep going and enjoy hating it while getting myself in the mood for a really nasty review ;D
I’m determined to turn you into a book DNF’er. Even if I have to donate the books while you’re at work. ;P Although to be fair, it’s a lot harder if you bought the book, and I might not be as good at that as I am at DNF’ing library books. Continuing a series you don’t like is harder for me to understand if you’re buying books you know you won’t like, haha. I guess I used to continue crappy series back when I didn’t have Goodreads or a million books to read, but now that I do, I would always rather read a book someone recommended than one I’m not enjoying.
I still can’t believe you review every single book. I could never do that, but I do understand the need to keep it up now that you have the idea in your head.
I loved writing in school books, and I have one book that I wrote notes to Mary in, but other than that, I’m also afraid to write in my books because I just KNOW I’ll make a mistake and then never want to look at the book again. Being a perfectionist is hard work. XD
I usually think it’s entertaining when publishers change the look of a series and everyone in the book community flips out. But I also know that I would have been really upset if Harry Potter had changed partway through. I’m already upset because I’m missing two of the original U.S. hardcovers. And I would probably find it less amusing if I owned more books and didn’t get them from the library. But I do have series that are a mix of HCs and PBs, and it doesn’t bother me.
Good luck trying to make me DNF books, that probably won’t be a very successful mission. And I’m not sure I can let you live with me when you plan to secretly give away my books ;P
I wish I could say that I’m only having problems DNFing the books that I’ve BOUGHT, but I have that problem with ALL the books, whether it’s one I’ve bought, a review copy, a gift or even a free download XD
When it comes to series I guess it’s more of a collecting mania thing XD
You should focus on stopping me from wanting to review every book. That would save me lots of work and give us more time for each other XD
I’m glad we agree about not writing in our books though ;D
Publishers changing the look of the series is only funny when it’s a series I’m not interested in, otherwise it’s TORTURE. I always wonder what authors think about cover changes, I would totally freak out and want to punch someone if they changed the look of my books mid-series XD
Man, would you have a fit if you ever saw my bookshelves. Not only are the editions all mismatched (not only different paperbacks for a series, but a combination of everything – I buy what is cheapest unless I’m super eager to read a book and I buy the hardback), I also break almost all my spines. I like to read at breakfast, for example, and it’s hard to keep the book lying flat on the table if the spine is unbroken! 🙂
Gaaah, why did you tell me about this, now I’m going to have nightmares tonight about chaotic bookshelves and books that don’t match XD
AND WHY DO YOU HURT YOUR BOOKS? D:
I have been working on #1, I hate DNFing books but there is too little time and too many books to read to stick with ones you don’t enjoy!
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2016/08/10/top-ten-tuesday-69/
I know! I’m telling myself the exact same things when I think about DNFing a book but in the end I always fight through it, even when I’m sure it won’t get much better.
But I kinda hate unfinished stories, especially because most of the books I read are crime novels and thrillers and not getting to find out about the killer would drive me crazy XD
I’m a total book hoarder, too! 🙂
Check out my TTT.
Oh, I absolutely cannot DNF books, either and I don’t even want to (I mean, I do want to but I’m unable to). It’s just that it’s a book and DNF-ign seems like giving up and I don’t ever want to be defeated by a book even if I’m miserable af reading said book. Also, your point about not being able to honestly review (rant, rant, rant haha) is part of the reason as well and then categorizing the DNF-ed book would be a nightmare for me. In all, better to just read it all the way through. XD
I had a similar experience with reading secondhand books and now I mostly cannot.
Do people actually read blurbs before reading a book? That doesn’t fun at all to me. =/
Yes, there’s nothing worse than a broken spine. I’m sometimes tempted to buy an eBook edition of the paperback I’m reading and fear that the spine might break. XD
I also never write in my books. I don’t even use those tab things (mostly because knowing me, I’ll screw them up and then hate myself for tearing up a page in the process).
Hate cover changes, too but yeah, it’s fun to see other people’s reactions when it’s a series that I’m not interested in. XD
I got a ‚have to read the whole book‘ vibe from you back when we were reading Night Film and you wanted to know if there was a shape on one of the black pages. LOL that was fun. But yeah, I do read the whole book, probably just not as obsessively as you do. Reading acknowledgements can be fun to read sometimes.
Wow, that sure turned into a mini essay. XD