Into the Void

I have been reading for longer than I can remember. My sister taught me when I was little and now books are the thing I turn to when I am upset, when I am happy, when I am bored, basically when I am awake. Thankfully there are enough books out there to fill the empty spaces of time in my head. Unfortunately, there are so many out there that I have had to acknowledge that I will (most likely) never read them all. The completionist in my brain had a breakdown about that but this is a problem I feel lucky to have (I guess).

So with all the reading in my life the poor people around me (family, friends, random people on public transport) have had to do with the unsolicited opinions that come with whatever book I am reading at the time. At least with reviews I can pelt people on the internet who are (hopefully) looking for (loud) viewpoints.

This is new for me. As I mentioned before, my review process was railing at anyone who made the mistake of making eye contact with me like a Pokémon NPC. My goal is to one, talk about books. I tend to lean towards fantasy and sci-fi but honestly there aren’t many books I won’t pick up. I am a mood reader which is probably my biggest obstacle but I do have that inherent need to talk about the things. All the things. From character, to plot, to worldbuilding, whatever authors put their time into, I want to talk about it. Some works might trigger a stronger response than others but the good, bad, and bizarre all deserve some focus.

Two, I want to get involved in the book community more and be more involved in the publishing world. Meeting book people is always a joy. There is a language (and frequency) that book people seem to be able to understand inherently and it is like finding a missing family member (probably because it feels like we have experienced similar traumas). This will probably be more of a struggle. I was never really “internet social.” I did have all the social medias growing up but I hardly ever utilized them. I was an outdoor kid with a bag full of books. This is an exercise in “personal growth” and “moving outside my comfort zone” to try and “better myself.” But you know books and people are worth it.

My third goal is to try and make books and reading in general approachable. Like I said, I have been reading since I was little and to be frank I didn’t struggle with it much through school. Older, bitter me realizes that exhausted, over-worked teachers saw a computer with predownloaded programming and moved on to the next student without giving me much to do with what I had. It has also given me several years to see how others didn’t have the same experience. Reading disabilities, accessibility, and the general overwhelming feeling of it being too hard or worse not doing it “right” have stopped so many people from reading. Finding the right books with the right writing, story, and characters to actually be able to enjoy it can be incredibly daunting. I mean there are stacks and stacks and then there are the ones you are “supposed” to read or “have” to read in order to be an acceptable human. But only if you read it the way that everyone else has. Everyone else who also did not pay attention in their high school literature class that likes to tell the world how this one book by a dude who was just trying to get paid is the smartest work in the world. In a very limited English kind of way.

All that to say that everybody is moving around this world in their own cloud of chaos and they all deserve to have an escape, or something to relate to. Books can do a lot for anyone and I want everyone to feel like they have the right to enjoy reading.

Anyway.

So this is me throwing my two cents into the void mostly to feel justified in having something to say. My reviews are my personal opinion but I will try to convey everything I can to the best of my ability. I reserve the right to pick and choose what I read and review (but to be honest my mood holds me hostage despite all the plans I might make) and to change the pattern as I grow and adapt.

So here is to a new year and breaking out of comfort zones!