Rabid Reads

Pre-blogging I probably would have been more open to this idea because if the 'surprise' turned out to be an unpleasant one—no big loss. Or, if this idea would have come to me back when I was a student, and I had TONS of free time, why not!? However, now that I'm a responsible adult (*BARF*), and that practically every single second of every day is already spoken for well, I don't exactly feel like taking a shot in the dark. I have a massive TBR pile, ARCs that I've already committed to reviewing, and I read to 'escape' not to experiment. So, I have no patience for mysterious books. When the end of my shift rolls around, the dogs have been walked, #1 has given me permission to ignore him for the rest of the evening, and I can finally settle down to a good novel, the last thing I want to do is unwrap that nondescript package, and go WTF! I can't tell you how many times just the mere thought of what's waiting for me on my eReader has helped get me through the day.

Part of the thrill of being a bookworm is swooning over the covers, getting psyched from the blurb and counting down the days until the next release from my favourite author, or the latest installment in a beloved series. Let's call it reading foreplay. LOL Half of the excitement comes from selecting which titles are going to make the cut, and end up on my coveted to-read shelf. All of my pretties go through a rigorous vetting process where I look them up on GoodReads, ask for fellow blogger recommendations, and my mood is usually a factor as well. Oh, and if there's a wolf on the cover, that helps too. Haha! How can I form an initial emotional attachment to a blank paper bag? I can't. The only time that I even come close to buying a novel blindly is when an author I already follow branches out into a new genre; I sometimes put my faith in their writing abilities, and hope for the best without doing my standard legwork. I can be adventurous in certain aspects of my life (cue dirty comments...), but when it comes to reading I like to play it safe.