Discussion Post: Does blogging make you feel like you should read faster?

On By whitreadslitIn Books

color books on grey wooden background

I have had something on my mind for a few months, and I decided to write up a discussion post. Since I have begun blogging, I have felt the need to read extremely quickly.

Now, I am generally a pretty fast reader as it is. It is not unusual of me to finish a book within one or two days time. However, since I started blogging, I feel like I just can’t keep up with how much other bloggers read. I almost feel like I will be judged if I read too slowly.

Even with my quick pace (I’m averaging around 12 books per month right now), there are still other bloggers who are reading more books per month than I am. I know that this has nothing to do with me, and that there are other bloggers out there who are reading less than I am. But, for some reason, I have felt a lot of pressure to read more and more books each month, to the point where I feel sometimes feel guilty if I have had a slower reading week.

Does anyone else ever feel this way? If so, how do you combat this feeling? I would love to hear your thoughts down in the comments!! 

Love and happy reading,

27 thoughts on “Discussion Post: Does blogging make you feel like you should read faster?”

  1. Blogging doesn’t make me feel like that but Instagram does. I also felt guilty for buying ebooks instead of DTB’s (dead tree books, aka hardback and paperbacks) but I was like…. read the format you like to please yourself not Instagram. Nobody is shaming you on Instagram for liking ebooks!

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    1. Ooh, yes, I also get that feeling from Instagram. I agree that you should read the book format that you enjoy. I tend to have one book in each format going at the same time, that way I always have a book with me 😊

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  2. Shawna @ bacchusvines

    Yesss. My reading is so frustrating because even if I’m enjoying a book, I feel discontent with how slowly I’m enjoying it! I would think being happy that I’m able to read should be enough. I wish there wasn’t so much pressure to read so much in a month, esp if you’re interested in other thing besides reading. Blogging is fun, but still a hobby to most :<

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  4. Jenna

    I definitely feel this way. I feel like lately I’ve only been managing 1-2 books per week, and not always reading ones that I talk about on my blog (like if I read a really old book that most people have already read). I just try to remind myself to read what I want to read and enjoy it. Doesn’t always work, but it’s a start.

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  5. Oh my gosh I definitely feel like I hurry up on reading so that I can show a book i finished for WWW Wednesday or so that I can have a bigger wrap up. I’m honestly just happy that I’m reading and 5 books a month is a lot for me but a lot of bloggers have read that many in a week and I feel bellow average even though I am reading a lot and it really is hard sometimes 😬

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  6. Oh, I love the topic of this discussion! I definitely feel pressure to read as much as possible, and at least as many books as everyone’s been used to seeing me read (which has been around 20-30 books/month).

    I try to remind myself that what’s important is enjoying my reading time, and not care about numbers, which has helped a lot. 🙂

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  7. I don’t think that blogging makes me feel like I need to read more and faster; I think it actually pushes me to do it. I was in kind of a rut with reading, probably because I didn’t really feel like I could talk about my books as much as I wanted. Now, I want to read all the time, and I want to share what I’m thinking. Maybe I’m just choosing to put a positive spin on it.

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  8. Yup. I totally think blogging makes me want to just devour as many books as I can. Although, due to life, I am unable to do so. I changed my mindset and just fill in my blog with tags/memes and such when I don’t have a ton of book reviews. I think realizing that I can’t do anything but read at a slower pace, really let the pressure off. This is just a hobby and it’s so hard to remember that sometimes! When I feel like I have to read a lot, it starts to feel like a job and I don’t want to do it.

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    1. Yes! This perfectly captures how I was feeling/still feel. I am going to try to go easier on myself and give myself a little bit of grace. If I need to skip out on a post or two, it’s okay! If I read half as many books in a month as I have been, it’s okay!

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  9. Yes, I feel this way too! You’re a super fast reader compared to me, though. I usually read 1-2 books a month 🙈 Whenever I feel guilty about not reading more, I remind myself that blogging is a hobby. As bloggers, we need to make time for other things in our lives too. 🙂

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