Do we do books a disservice in their reading order? - Claudia @ Pen Markings

Hey guys! 

Say hi to Claudia, from PenMarkings, who is stopping by to talk about the impact, the order we read books in might have on our opinion of them.

First of all, three cheers to Mishma for tolerating my horribly late guest post and allowing me to be a guest on the fabulous blog that is Chasing Faerytales. Second of all… well, there’s nothing really. Yeah.

Some days, you’re lucky and you fly through books like they were cake. It’s Christmas for the reader in you and you can see stars flying out of the pages.

Other days, you’re not so lucky, and you DNF five books in a row or books because they cause you more frustration than mis-matching covers and you want to scream, scream, scream.

But then a book comes along and shatters this cycle of tears feels and you go oh, yes.

Or oh, no, depending.

Now, I don’t know your reading pattern (or maybe I do, but I’m trying to keep the creeper side of me in the down low, so let’s just say I don’t) but I like to read books one after another. This, then this, then that, then this, on and on and on because we both know my TBR doesn’t have a “finish point.” Last book? What’s that?

But when I read books that way, I can’t help but feel guilty. I mean, after reading fantastic books that made me go OMGALLTHESTARSSSS and picking up a book that was…. not, I probably give it a lower rating than what it’d normally warrant if I read it some time separate from those books, and vice versa. After ripping my teeth out reading books that were grade-A shit, you bet your bookshelves that I’d praise the next book that didn’t make me wish I was blind.

Does this seem really fair? I’m having mixed opinions on this. You can’t always tell how well books compare to the recent ones you’ve read so it’s not your fault if book one was the bomb and book two was like your first-grade journal entry, but then again, do you think it’s a book’s job to hold its own against all the other books in the world? I’m pretty sure that if I read all the books I’ve given lower ratings after reading fantastic books previous to it, they’d probably score higher because the bar has settled down to more manageable heights.

I guess it boils down to how well you manage your expectations, really. I know some people surf the book high while it lasts and get pulled down fast because a book was a couple of stars short than what they were used to, and other people always set book expectations accordingly to what they’ve read/heard. I’m a bit of both. I sway between those two points.

But now I’m curious: what do you think of this? Do I make any sense in what I’m saying? And how do you manage your expectations when it comes to reading?