Travel (and Read) with Lani

I was surprised to I discover there are actual names and definitions for different types of readers. Who knew that my crazy way of deciding to read a book makes me a “mood reader”? I didn’t know there were others like me and certainly not enough others like me to require an actual definition.

A quick Google search of the different types of readers provided with the list below (copy and pasted from Google).

• The Heavy Reader: Buys numerous books, often converting to e-books, and maintains a massive “to-read” list.
• The Mood Reader: Selects books based on their current emotional state or the season rather than a set plan.
• The Fad/Mob Reader: Reads popular bestsellers that everyone else is reading, often enthusiastic about trending, well-known texts.
• The Vacation Reader: Only finds time to read while on holiday, preferring page-turners to unwind.
• The Note-Taker (Annotator): Actively engages with the text by writing in the margins to process information.
• The “Finishes Every Book” Reader: A perfectionist who refuses to abandon a book, seeing it through to the end regardless of enjoyment.
• The Genre Reader: Specializes in one genre (e.g., romance, thriller, fantasy) and rarely deviates from it.
• The Audiobook Devotee: Integrates reading into a busy life by listening to audiobooks. 

As a recovering “Finishes Every Book Reader”, I believed I owed it to the author to read every book all the way through. Then I realized how short life was and how many books there are in the world (over 1 million are published in the US every year). I will never read all the books I want to read so I definitely don’t want to waste my time on books I don’t enjoy.

This new perspective has changed my reading life. I know that sounds really dramatic, but stick with me for a moment and I’ll explain. What changed was that now I wasn’t spending a month (or more) trying to make my way through a book that was incredibly boring or had characters that were unlikable or had awful writing. Or that wasn’t in a genre I enjoyed.

I tried to like psychological thrillers. I read best selling books in the genre like Gone Girl, Girl on a Train, and Verity. You know what I don’t like? Unreliable narrators. They irritate me and pull me completely out of the book. Instead, I view the entire book unreliable and I don’t enjoy the journey. This genre is loved by many but isn’t for me. And that’s okay.

I spent too long trying to make my way through books that I started or “should” like. Now I no longer feel the need to finish books AND I no longer feel the to read genres that just aren’t for me. A best selling book doesn’t mean I need to read it.

My 2026 goal for books to read is currently at 150 books and I do have an massive TBR list, however, I can’t call myself a heavy reader. I’m sensitive about my weight and I hate the word heavy even if it is referring to number of books and not weight. I prefer Avid Reader (sounds so much better) and I will read e-books, but prefer physical books. For me, there’s something about physically holding a book in your hand that an e-book can’t compare with.

The library is one of my favorite places of all. All those books that I can pick from for FREE! Libraries offer an amazing collection of services to their communities and it saves money, shows my local government they should keep investing in the library, and controls the book clutter in my home.

So tell me, how do you read? What are you reading now?