Am I A Reader?

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amiareader

Recently there was a lot of drama going around the book community, mostly on the Booktube community, where a content creator made a video belittling Booktubers because they “wear makeup” and that they go to events like Book Expo America (BEA) and Bookcon, and that they don’t read certain kinds of books or book titles, or that all of them only go to get the same eight books. I’ve seen a lot of rebuttle going around, as well as some positive vibe hashtags floating around Twitter, but I watched a video by JBookLover who touched on this topic of am I a reader?

So, let’s start with the basics of what makes a reader:

  • You read books.

That’s it. Quite simply put in the very basic scope of things, this is what makes you a reader. You read books. Many of us in the book community are extremely passionate about books and, yes, it can and often does become more than just a hobby for some of us.

Some people get it in their minds that you have to read a certain amount of books to be declared a reader, or that you have to have read all of the great classics, or that you have to own a certain number of books, or only read a certain genre, or any number of things.

But really, you don’t. You can do whatever you want when it comes to being a reader.

You only like to read mystery books because you love the thrill and trying to figure out who did what on your own? Awesome!

You like to organize your shelves by color and even double stack because, let’s be honest, you don’t have shelf space and you need to fit them somehow? Do it!

You prefer to read eBooks and listen to audiobooks over reading physical books because of the ease of space and the convenience of carrying around a device that can hold thousands of books? Super!

You enjoy going to book signings, book events, wearing makeup (or not), doing Booktube, Bookstagram, Booklr, tweet about books, AND you have a book blog? Great!

All of these things do make you a reader, but also so, so, SO many other things make you a reader. It doesn’t matter if you’re male, female, or however you identify yourself. It doesn’t matter if you like wearing makeup or not or whether or not you read a lot or a little.

The fact that you read is enough to call yourself a reader.

I know that sometimes you may feel pressured to read certain books because everyone seems to be reading the same books, or to read a certain number of books to keep up with everything being published that you’re interested in, or that you need to have already read and liked every classic ever, but really?

What you read is enough.

So am I a reader? Hell yeah I am. I’ve always loved to read. I love Young Adult, adult, fantasy, sci-fi, contemporary, first person perspective and third person perspective, and more, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I meant to discuss this earlier this week, but I’ve been crazy busy, so I apologize that this post is so late and that I’ve barely posted all week. But I thought that this topic was important to discuss, so here we are!

Let’s Chat! ≧◡≦

What do you think about this topic? Did you ever assume that you needed to read certain books or have certain requirements in order to call yourself a reader? Have you ever been to BEA or BookCon or any kind of book event? How were they?

14 thoughts on “Am I A Reader?”

  1. I agree that the only thing that makes a reader a reader is reading (the same thing goes for writing, in my opinion). I do wonder sometimes at the number of books one ought to read (and are we right to limit it to books? Is a reader of newspapers or magazines or online manga or fanfiction still a reader?) to be called a reader. Is a book a year enough?

    I don’t see why not.

    I’ve never been to a bookish event–until about a year ago, I didn’t know they were a thing, really, and I’ve neither the time nor the funds to go. I don’t know whether I’d want to: I suspect it would be incredibly overwhelming.

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    • Ooh, that’s a good question about limiting to books and not branching to newspapers and magazines. I personally think that, yes, if you’re reading the content of your choice, whether it be manga, magazines, webcomics, etc, that you are a reader. Everyone’s tastes differ, so to just say that you’re a reader because you read books (novels) then that limits people.
      I’ve been to three book signings in the last month and a half, and they’re super fun, but they can get overwhelming if you’re the kind of person that gets overwhelmed easily. I think it would be fun to go to at least one just for the experience of it.

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  2. A part of me can’t even believe this is a thing people are saying? Of course booktubers are readers? So what if they wear makeup, so what if people enjoy going to bookish events – it gives them a wider exposure to different sort of books as well?

    As long as you read, imo, you’re a reader.

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  3. I 1000% agree with this post. I heard about the person who called girls who wore makeup “non-readers” but I didn’t hear that people were discussing how to classify a reader. That’s ridiculous. Who cares if you go to book events or not? If you enjoy reading, you’re a reader. That’s enough. Ugh. It bothers me that you even have to say that- do people just not get it? Anyways, thank you for writing this post. It’s important.

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  4. My husband and I were just discussing this, because he saw an article that was saying adults shouldn’t be reading young adult books. Definitely ruffled my feathers. I 100% agree with your sentiments – a reader is a reader is a reader. And it doesn’t freaking matter what we read! We read because we want to read, and we should only read what we want. PERIOD!

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