I have always felt that I owe it to my readers to be honest about the books I read. It’s the reason I started this blog in the first place.

I have absolutely no problem sharing my opinions on a book’s flaws and informing readers what books they should avoid altogether. Yet, there are words I’ve never spoken.

And, they are: “I hated this book.” They’re so harsh and unforgiving. There’s no room for excuses or explanations.

This idea got me thinking about recent bookish confessions and a few I may have left out…

I Hated This Book & Other Reluctant Confessions

I Hated This Book

It’s true. I’ve hated books before. I’m reluctant to admit it, but I have definitely said this out loud and openly to other people when the book’s come up.

I’m shy about admitting this because I’m not a mean girl (just stop trying to make fetch happen, ok?!). I “see” and interact with YA authors on Twitter, and I can’t imagine reading a reader’s mega brutal review. I know it’s something that comes with being an author, but DANG. That’s gotta hurt.

Indie Books Scare Me A Little

When I see some of the book descriptions of indie books (sometimes filled with typos), it makes me want to avoid the whole thing. BUT, I know that indie authors are trying to make a living too. I mean, look at Amanda Hocking. She made fetch self-publishing happen.

I think it comes down to the fact that no one is “endorsing” the book, like a publisher, so I’m left to rely on Amazon reviews alone. And since there’s been recent awareness about the prevalence of fake reviews, I don’t know who to trust other than my blog friends, ie YOU.

Always the Last One to Know

So many killer books come out every month, and I just can’t keep up. I average reading about a book a week, which is fairly slow in the blogging world. Even then, I seem to hear about new releases and actually read them later than most people. I hate that!

Even so, it’s tough to remember what books are coming out when and reading them before “scheduling” them in my blogging routine.

Struggle with Finding Balance

I have a full-time job (that also involves blogging!) and make time every week to spend time with friends and family. Plus I have this blog and, you know, actually reading books.

It’s such a hard balance keeping everything nice and tidy in my life. I often feel like I’m neglecting one thing or another. I don’t like to admit that I don’t have it all together, but I’d rather be honest.

Keeping up with this blog is hard work. Plus, I put tons of pressure on myself to make my blog stand out and be original. But, I’ve been telling myself, it’s ok if I dont’ blog every day. And, it’s ok if I read slowly. This is supposed to be for FUN, and if it stops being fun what am I really doing it for?

Have you also said “I hated this book” or do you have another reluctant confession?

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