I have the bad habit of being a completist and will buy the whole thing before I even read the first book. Some series that I’m not as sure about I may get as ebooks as they go on sale.

It doesn’t happen very often but it happened twice this month. First was Cinder Nanny by Sariah Wilson. It shattered my expectations and is now my second all time favorite. The other is 7th Time Loop by Tokyo Amekawa. I was on the fence about starting this series as it isn’t complete but gave it a go. I’m still feeling sad and want more.

My favorite audiobook is Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern. Very hilarious narration. I have listened to that so many times when I’m feeling down.

I buy mostly so I can control my reading experience. Read books when I want to read them. Everything has a long waitlist and as a mood reader that doesn’t work very well with my reading habits.

I probably go for the library if it’s something I’m really hesitant about or if it’s hard to get my own copy of but the library has it.

It’s not big anymore as I had to get rid of most of my books. But romance makes up the majority.

Maybe one option can be a classic, another can be the Holocaust and the third can be a graphic novel dealing with a historical topic in general like March, Persepolis, They Called Us Enemy or the Holocaust graphic novel Maus. I find sometimes heavy subjects are easier to read in graphic novel form.

I definitely think life experiences can change your tastes. While I’ve never loved grim stuff I was much heavier into superheroes/action stuff, historical fiction and crime TV growing up and into my 20s too. But after some personal struggles I veer largely towards humor and romance now and can only enjoy those other things under certain conditions. I think it’s because I need to feel some sense of hope as my everyday living experience is full of hopelessness and powerlessness.

I prefer Holmes especially since I enjoy the Stephen Fry narration but even without I still prefer it to Poirot. Not really a fan of Agatha Christie.

Well currently I have 3 books going. One memoir, a Golden Age murder mystery, and a children’s mystery because autumn and winter make me want mysteries. Usually I try to totally different genres but in situations like this where the genre is the same I go for different age ranges and/or time periods or different subgenre.

Elizabeth Peters. I was reading some Pink Carnations books from Lauren Willig and Emmeline Truelove books by Beatriz Williams and read somewhere that both authors loved Elizabeth Peters specifically her Amelia Peabody books and I can totally see in what ways the authors were inspired now.

I love the escapism and calming qualities of reading. I love leaving my own crappy life behind to experience another. Or sometimes enjoying wish fulfillment. The only guilt I experience is how I turn to books to cope rather than try and figure out ways to make my real life better. I’ve just sort of given up.