To Binge or Not To Binge? | Bookish Musings

I'm ashamed to say that it's been almost a month since my last post. But hey, I had a MEGA book haul with three trilogy sets. So far I finished the Blood of Eden Trilogy, The Grisha Trilogy, and 2/3 of The Inheritance Trilogy. I'm so glad I found these trilogies because they're amazing stories. So amazing that I've been spacing out at work thinking of vampire apocalypses, villainous love interests, and tempestuous gods. But after three weeks of intense reading, I've come to question the concept of binge reading, especially for the sake of reading X amount of books during a certain period of time.

The onslaught of reading five books in one week has prevented me from actually soaking up each story. Although, I'm gobbling books like Patrick up there, I'm not really savoring them. Sure, I finally know the fate of the world after a vampire apocalypse or Darkling takeover, but I'm not halting my breaks to ask questions of morality and other symbolic issues related to the hefty plot. Binge reading has caused my reading experience to become more plot driven and usually that's not all there is to a novel. Under the artistic frothing of each latte is the rich and complex flavor of coffee. Coffee gurus, anyone? 

I think there's been too much hype for finishing X amount of books during a certain period of time, usually a month. I've been watching a lot of "Monthly Wrap-Up" videos on Youtube and the sheer number of books finished by some Book-tubers is clearly admirable. I mean, I even got motivated, put on my speed-reading pants, and finished ten books last month. Unfortunately, I realized I've been reading for the sake of finishing books on my TBR shelf, rather than actually reading for pleasure.

So back to the initial question, To Binge or Not To Binge?  In short, that's up to you. Who am I to tell you how many books you should or shouldn't read in a month? As a reader, one thing I hate above all is book snobbery and bookators (book-dictators), who are disillusioned to think that they have the right to dictate reading practices. Just throwin' that out there. But once you set yourself to these reading goals/marathons, remember it's alright to halt the breaks. It's not a race y'all, it's reading.