Paperback's Pondering's is a weekly discussion when I take a topic and well, ponder about it! This week's topic is all about why being a bookworm can sometimes get lonely.
In my opinion, I think that reading as developed sort of a bad rep in the digital age. More teenagers that I know hate it, and are geared towards things like Netflix and Instagram. Now to be honest, I am addicted to these things as well, but sometimes I wonder if there are any bookworms left in the world besides the ones who have blogs?
Out of all the friends I've made throughout high school, none of them have been interested in reading. This makes things awkward when we're looking for things to talk about. I mean, I would LOVE to tell them all of the thoughts I had on my latest dystopia read, but they wouldn't be interested. To be honest, I feel like I'm being judged when I'm the only one reading during a free period.
I feel like a lot of teenagers this age view books as being only for "the nerdy" or "the shy people". It isn't seen as something that is "cool" in my school. Now obviously I am not going to change my hobby for anyone else's opinion, I could care less what anyone thinks, however it would be nice to have a friend who read books.
I think this is one of the main reasons why I started a blog. I really needed to communicate with people who understood me, and who were relatable. I've been loving it so far. I just wish there could be more people in my life who I could share my hobby with as well. Teenagers need to see that so much effort and love goes into books, and that bookworms are a great bunch, always welcome to bring in more members :)
I want to know what you think! Can you share you love of books with other people, or do you feel like it's not something that many people can relate to?
Emily @ Paperback Princess
I love this! My friends barely read. If they ever do read, it's a book that is becoming a movie or already is a movie and they think they are now an expert on reading. It's the most annoying thing ever.
ReplyDeleteI know!! It seems like the only time society is interested in reading is when a blockbuster movie comes out!
DeleteThis is so relatable. I don't have any friends besides the ones I've made online who read. They all hate it with a passion and would rather do other things with their time. It seems that after elementary school everyone lost their love of reading. I can walk around my entire high school and the only books I'll see people reading are the ones they're assigned to read for English classes. It's really a shame.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way! I can honestly say that I haven't seen anyone in my grade read for fun anymore.
DeleteLove this post! I am luck to have two best friends that love reading, although our reading tastes differ sometimes. Sometimes, there are books we can fangirl over, other times we can't. I think that it why I love blogging so much about books because I know there is a community out there like me passionate about books. I know I can find at least one person to talk to. It is so sad that teenagers don't like reading. At my old high school, people would complain about reading all the time and call me a loser for spending my free time reading in class. I don't think they realize how much they miss out. Reading is really fun despite popular beliefs of it being nerdy. I wish more people could see that.
ReplyDeleteI wish that too! People always make it seem like reading is a punishment, and not for fun. Thanks Sierra!
DeleteI totally agree with you here! Teenagers and even many of those in our gifted and talented classes at school (the real nerds) do not read. I am fortunate to have quite a few close friends who read as well, but I generally don't see many young people (except in book communities) getting happy over books. I wish more teenagers would learn to enjoy reading. Great discussion!
ReplyDelete~Chioma @ Blue Books and Butterflies
To be honest I think reading has always been associated with quiet, nerdy people and it has nearly always been 'uncool', although I agree that with technology the gap between people who read and people who don't has gotten bigger.
ReplyDeletePersonally I'm quite lucky because I'm really into music as well, I treat it just as seriously as I do reading, so I do have interests outside books. I just discovered that two of my friends like to read too (one reads literary fiction, the other fantasy and science fiction, I'm the only one who reads both) so I can actually talk about books in real life with people, which is a huge novelty for me. I also managed to get one of my friends into Haruki Murakami, so it's all going well.
I do know how lonely it can feel when you're the only person you know who reads. My advice is to just stick to your passion and eventually you'll meet someone who loves reading too. Even if not that many people read, there's still a lot of us out there.