This is something I have been thinking about a lot lately. So much of my reading is frontlist, which is incredible and I am so grateful to have access to new releases; however, I often wonder if I am missing out on potential favourites by not giving more time to backlist. I am excited to explore this topic more by answering the questions posed in this week’s Let’s Talk Bookish prompt.
How current is your reading?
As of writing, I have read 122 books so far in 2021, and, of those, 73 of them were published this year. That is 60% of my reading, which seems rather high.
Do you tend to read recently published books or pick from the publishing backlog, and why?
Looking at my stats, it seems to be a mix; however, I think a decent percentage of the backlist books I read this year were published in 2020.
Is there any particular merit to keeping up with current releases, or is it all hype?
There is definitely merit to keeping up with current releases, especially as a book blogger and booktuber. Sure, some of the books are overhyped, but that can be true for backlist titles as well. I love to read current releases so I can give you my thoughts on what’s new while also supporting authors and publishing in general.
How has book blogging changed your habits on this front?
Book blogging has completely changed my habits in terms of reading new releases! Before I started this blog I was not part of the bookish community in any way. I had no idea what was new or what was popular and would simply walk into a bookstore and pick out something based on the synopsis. In some ways, I miss the simplicity of that, but I love being so connected to the community!
And, in the future, are you thinking you want your reading to shift either way?
Ideally, my reading would be closer to 50/50 where I read an equal amount of new releases and backlist. I think this could be difficult for me between ARCs and ALCs, but I have some fun goals for 2022 that I think will help me to focus on backlist. I am excited to share more about those with you closer to the end of the year!
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