There are a lot of readers in the world. Probably so many that I could just make up a number and you'd probably believe me. Maybe. Recently I got to thinking that there are so many different types of people who love books and how the way we all enjoy books differs from one another. And that's more than okay because being different from one another makes the world a more interesting place to live in which it's not being a flaming pile of garbage, that is.
I thought that to amuse myself and hopefully other people, I would categorise the different types of readers and bookworms that I've personally met and other people have probably met too. I was going to add in a quiz at the end to make it even more fun, but then I realised that I don't know how to do that. Oops 🙈
Mini disclaimer: this post all in good fun. I don't mean to insult anybody because these "types" are merely exaggerated caricatures.
This reader is your average reader. They like books, but books aren't their entire life because there are plenty of other things they like to do. They may read on their commute to work or school or for ten minutes before they go to sleep. Their bank accounts are usually pretty healthy because they don't spend all their money on books. They haven't read every great book ever written, or even those that make it to the top of the NYT Bestseller List, but that's okay because there are plenty of books to read and plenty of time.
This reader is completely fanatical about books. All books all the time because there is nothing better in the world. Well, maybe food, but those two things are equals and should not be pitted against one another. Books nerds do not want to be disturbed when they are reading, so don't even try it, friendo. As a child, their favourite Disney princess was most likely Belle because they got to have the giant library in the Beast's castle. Never mind the Beast himself, they wanted that library. They both get excited and dread when books are adapted for film because while it is exciting to see another person's take on a story, they usually hold the belief that the book is always better with no exceptions. i humbly disagree, but that's me.
This reader is always full of emotions. Like, a lot of emotions. However, their common emotions include flailing, screaming, crying, and swooning. They have about five OTPs and a million book boy/girlfriends and if you dare say anything bad about them, prepare to meet the daggers. Fangirls/boys/bys have more than likely read their favourite book a million times, have tons of headcanons for the characters, and may even get creative by writing fanfiction or drawing fan art.
This reader can always be seen with a giant bag of books and props, and a camera to get those gorgeous aesthetically pleasing #bookstagram photos. They probably own five bookshelves overflowing with books arranged by colour, or if they're really lucky, their own library just for reading. Most of their money goes towards more books to photograph and candles inspired by book characters, unless they're a rep for companies which is probably my dream. Bookstagrammers are very likely to buy books for their covers because prettier books make for prettier photos.
This reader is probably one of the friendliest you'll ever meet. maybe i'm biased, but shh. Even though they more than likely read YA books, they're open to other books too and are incredibly welcoming of people with different tastes in books because discussions are good things. They've probably insisted that they are a "book dragon" and not a bookworm because dragons are just cooler, and may even have a mug that says so. They will very likely flail with you if you love the same books.
I happen to live with one of these kinds of readers and they just confuse me. This reader is just so busy with everything that's going on in their life that they just have no time in the world to read. None. Zilch. Nada. But what are they doing that's so busy? Working? Studying? That's understandable because those are important things. Watching TV? Scrolling through Facebook? Now I don't understand. There's always time to read, you just have to find it and make it. But trying telling that to this reader. Oh nooo. They don't have time to make time they're just that busy.
There are two kinds of academic readers: the student and the teacher. Students have a love/hate relationship with books that they have to study. Sometimes they're given a book that they absolutely love and that makes studying it enjoyable. Other times, the book is just the worst thing they've ever read and studying becomes a chore. It's a game of chance discovering which one it's going to be. Students have two paths once they reach the end of student life: they could be turned off of academic books and studying for life, or they could love it and be passionate about it and end up becoming a Teacher.
Teachers are people who live and breathe to study and pick apart books. And that's not a bad thing because you can find meaning in anything. They don't mind discussing the same book over and over and over again for years because they get to have new discussions about it every single time. They even go out of their way to dig into the lives of authors and know all sorts of theories to help them back up what they say. Basically, a Teacher is a very smart reader.
Hoo boy. We've all met at least one of these readers at some point. This reader is renowned for having a large extensive collection of classic novels and will refuse to read anything that hasn't been met with acclaim at some point. They refuse to own an e-reader of any kind because "it's not really reading if you're reading it off of a screen" and tend to look down their noses at non-literary books as not being "real literature". They may have a degree in literature but even if they don't, they feel an extreme need to tell everyone what a book really means. Even when they're wrong. But they're not wrong because they're just so gosh darn smart.
Have you ever met any of these readers? Which one do you think you are? Apart from the Book Blogger. That's cheating.
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