Bad Reviews - Why I Never Read Anything Below 3 Stars.

1-2 Star Books

       This past week has been a little crazy for me. Next week school starts, so everything has resumed at once, which hasn't allowed me to post anything blog related this past week. (No need to fear though. Once school starts, I will have a solid scheduling base around which to plan my posts.) The point is that I've had a bit of time to reflect on my blog and realized something strange. I haven't read a single book below three stars since March of 2016. That was before my blogging days. And since that two star book, I hadn't read one below three since April of 2015. (I'm looking at you, The Kill Order.)
       As you can imagine, upon this realization, I started to panic. Do my readers think I don't ever read a bad book? Am I too nice with the books I read and review? Why do all the book I read end up being my favorite? And with these questions came some very surprising answers...

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I'm Easy to Please.

       I'm picky about only a handful of things. I'm a picky eater, and I like all of my belongings to be organized. Guess what. That's about it. At my school, I play every sport I can. I'm involved in the music, art, and drama departments. I'm in multiple clubs. And I love it. All of it. With that being said, I realized that maybe as a person, it's hard to find a book I don't like because overall, it's a very small collection. There isn't a genre I don't like. (Okay, not 100% true. I'm not a big fan of historical fiction, but there are a few that I like. It just isn't my first choice.)
       Usually, when I do find a book that I don't enjoy, it's usually because either the writing style just wasn't for me, or there is a lot of exposition. I have read a few books that I can't get into because the first 100 pages are a long, winding road of slow exposition.

Everything Is Relatable

       As authors, the people who write the books we love are in the business of making money. So, to get their books on your shelves, they have to find a way to appeal to us as readers. If the characters in their books are people who only a small percentage of the population can relate to, then they aren't going to be successful. It's a proven fact. As a result, most authors write about either people or scenarios to whom lots of people can relate. On the other hand, I find that I personally, as a reader, am easily to relatable. I have numerous interests and hobbies. I've traveled to lots of different locations in the country, and I am the same age as most of the characters in the books I read. In a lot of my reviews, you will find that I usually mention something about the book being relatable and as silly as it may sound, if you can't connect with the book, you aren't going to enjoy it as much.

The People Who RECOMMEND Books to Me.

       I think one of the biggest secrets to my reading success is being part of a community that shares the books they love with the rest of the group. Every time I log onto my bookstagram I am swarmed by people recommending the books they love. The people I connect with online have only a couple of goals. One being to have fun and two is to get others to enjoy something you enjoy. The other great thing about being involved in an online community is when I can see totally different people both recommending the same book. I follow almost every type of book lover between Twitter, Instagram, and my blog that when I see lots of people saying they loved a book, I can trust that I will enjoy it too.

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       I am so glad I've had time to reflect on my life as both a reader and a blogger. I really hope this helps with future posts and reviews.

Until next time,
Ashton

The best books, they don't talk about things you never thought about before. They talk about things you'd always thought about, but that you didn't think anyone else had thought about. You read them, and suddenly you're a little bit less alone in the world. You're part of this cosmic community of people who've thought about this thing, whatever it happens to be.

— Tommy Wallach, We All Looked Up