Let’s Talk Bookish: A Change in Bookish Opinions

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme that was originally created and hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books starting in August 2019, and was then cohosted with Dani @ Literary Lion from May 2020 to March 2022. Book Nook Bits has hosted since April 2022, with Dini at Dini Panda Reads as co-host from February 2025.

Let’s Talk Bookish 15th August:
A Change in Bookish Opinions

 Prompts: Have your bookish opinions changed over the years, and if so, in what ways have they changed? Do you think your bookish opinions have changed because of being part of the bookish community (including on social media), reading more books, or book blogging? Have your bookish opinions changed in ways you didn’t expect?

I think they have, or at least my opinions have gone through a process of both becoming more open and more fixed. It sounds contradictory, doesn’t it? By that, I mean I feel like I’ve learned a lot over the years, and learned to be more open to different views and opinions, yet at the same time, where my opinions align with my values, I’ve become more confident in holding onto them. I think being part of the community has definitely influenced this, but so have reading more books and book blogging!

When I first started blogging, I was in a bit of a reading rut, kind of picking up similar types of books. Joining the community, finding out how to get arcs, seeing a wider range of opinions really helped me in reading more varied and definitely reading more diversely. I never set out to not read diversely, but I soon learned quite quickly that it’s something you have to – at least to start with – be very proactive with. As I sought out more diverse books, it feels like picking up diverse books has come more naturally.

I think, as well, reading more broadly in general allows you to more easily identify good and bad writing. I definitely think if I went back and picked up some books I read 10-15 years ago that I really liked back then, I’d notice more – more of the way men write women, or more of the way people write outside their own experience. I don’t think writers should limit themselves to only writing from their own viewpoint, but I definitely think one opinion I now hold is the importance of research and the huge value in feedback, with both editors and sensitivity readers.

Which is another thing that’s definitely influenced my opinions – editing. I’ve been working as a freelance editor for 5 years now, and it’s shaped me as both a reader and writer. Before that, I critiqued on Scrib, but editing directly has taught me so much, and it’s such a pleasure to see a book go from pre to post-edit, to help an author polish up their work. There’s definitely a circular relationship to it all – being a reader makes me a better writer and editor, and both, in turn, shape me as a reader! There’s so much I appreciate about the writing process, and I think especially with the writers I’ve been honoured to work with, I can see the ‘process’ behind the words that little bit more.

The more I’ve read and the more I’ve been blogging, the more open I’ve been in my reading choices – it helps that being part of the book community allows you access to free books, and definitely picking up a Kindle had a massive impact on this, but whereas before I wouldn’t often dive into romance, or wasn’t keen on historical fiction, now, I’ll happily pick up almost anything I haven’t tried before! Yet, the other side of the coin is that I know more now of what I do like, so if I see something I think won’t really keep my interest, I know to avoid it.

So, yes – my bookish opinions have changed, been shaped, and been reformed by being part of the bookish community, by being exposed to different people’s opinions, by reading and writing and editing. I firmly believe in always being open to other ideas and POVs, too, so I think changing your opinions over time, changing your mind or even ‘settling’ on an opinion is good, as it means you’re listening and learning. And, really, isn’t that how we want things to be?