The great thing about humankind is that while many of us seem to fall in love with the same habits, on a closer look we are all unique and find different ways of enjoying things in life. Reading is no exception and even though millions of people read every day, there are many different types of readers because so many of us take a hobby and make it our own.
What Are the Different Types of Readers?
While it’s already known that we all enjoy books and reading in different ways, we did our research and tried to identify all the different kinds of readers. Here are the most popular types of readers we were able to identify. What kind of reader are you?
1. The Literary Snob
We all know the type of reader who would never start reading a book unless it’s a classic. Being a literary snob implies that one would rather read nothing at all than pick up a trivial, funny book.
Being sophisticated in their taste in literature is a life goal for the literary snob and she will stop at nothing when it comes to judging others for their poorer taste. She will blatantly show off his special edition classics and will always try to convince others of his superiority.
2. The Habitual Book Clubber
Book clubs have been around for centuries and their appeal is undeniable. Being able to discuss books with others who share the same interests as you is a great feeling and it’s a good way of cementing your love for reading and taking it to the next level.
Speaking of taking things to the next level, that is exactly what the habitual book clubber is doing. This type of reader is usually a part of more than one book club and more often than not, the book clubs she joins are a bit more complex than one might think.
Dressing up for the meetings according to the time when the week’s book was written in or serving themed food is not uncommon and the habitual book clubber will always try to convince friends and family to join the book clubs he’s a part of.
3. The Partial Reader
While it did happen to all of us to abandon a book after starting it, for different reasons, the partial reader has simply made a habit out of not finishing a book.
The partial reader’s nightstand is overflowing with books she started but never finished and is constantly lying to himself that she is going to get around to all of them. The truth is though, that once he’s lost interest in a book (and it happens with most of them for different reasons), that book will just gather dust until she decides to put it back on the bookshelf.
4. The Series Junky
On the opposite side of the spectrum, we find the series junky. This type of reader not only finishes every book she lays his hands on, she can’t even stand the thought of reading a standalone book.
He needs to know there’s at least a second volume for each book she starts reading and will often spend night after night binge-reading. A common treat of the series junky is that she would rather re-read a series she loved rather than read a standalone book.
5. The Polygamist Reader
This type of reader doesn’t discriminate. She will read everything and anything, regardless of genre or author. As long as she sparks an interest for a certain book, she will pick it up and read it.
It’s not uncommon for the polygamist reader to even read multiple books at once just because she can’t decide which one she likes better.
6. The Re-Reader
We all love our comfort zone, but the re-readers take things a bit further. The prospect of trying out new things (and by that I mean a new book) is not something they look forward to.
Once they fall in love with a book or a series, it will take a lot to get them to move on and try something else. Rather than trying a new book or author, they will just re-read the same thing over and over.
7. The Physical Book Loyalist
There’s a whole debate among book lovers about e-books and regular, paper books. While some are excited about the idea of being able to use an e-book, storing and reading hundreds or thousands of books without cluttering their apartments, others swear that anything slipping outside the conventional idea of a physical novel can’t even be called a book.
These book lovers are addicted to the smell of old books, to the rustling sound of pages turned and feel like nothing can ever replace the classical book, regardless of the benefits that come from modern technology.
8. The Digital Reader
Like with anything, the exact opposite of the physical book loyalist does exist. The digital reader has a completely different approach to reading than the aforementioned type.
You won’t be able to find a single paper book in a digital reader’s house and that is because they embrace technology to the fullest. They will own e-readers, e-books, audiobooks and pretty much anything else that isn’t a physical book.
9. The Spoiler Lover
Even though it’s hard to imagine that there actually are people who do this, spoiler lovers have existed for decades.
They are a special group of readers who prefer to find out how the book ends before reading it all. While for most of us this would completely ruin the book and would determine us to stop reading it altogether, for the spoiler lover this is a must.
One possible explanation for this habit was provided by the movie “When Harry met Sally” where one of the characters always read the ending of each book, afraid he might die while reading it and would never find out how it ends.
10. The Movie Adaptation Lover
Speaking of movies, another special kind of reader who likes to swim against the current is the movie adaptation lover. Most readers will agree that the movies never do books justice and rarely rise to expectations.
Others prefer to watch the movie before even reading the book. For them, the visual interpretation of the book gives them extra pleasure when reading it. They can put faces to each name in the book after seeing the movie, they have clear images of the surroundings where the action takes place.
11. The Nonfiction Lover
For some, the reading needs to be grounded in reality. They need facts and make-believe is not an option when it comes to their reading. The nonfiction lover will have a great time reading historical books or other materials most of the other readers would find boring or uninteresting.
12. The Fiction Fanatic
On the other end of the scale, we find those readers who want their books to take them to different universes and see their reading as an escape from reality. They appreciate an author’s imagination and like to recreate in their minds the worlds they read about.
Whether it’s science fiction, fantasy, heroic fantasy or adventure fiction, the fiction fanatic will devour it as long as the story is interesting enough.
13. The Young Adults Lover
Most adults nowadays lead hectic and often overwhelming lives. For some, the greatest escape is reading books that are destined for young adults. These easier books, which were written with young adults or teenagers in mind often have quite interesting stories and the YA lover will never care that she is 10 years older than the target age for that particular book.
14. The Emotional Reader
Whether it’s appreciation for a good love story, a sense of accomplishment whenever the hero in a book manages to achieve his goals or the overwhelming sadness of a tragic event from a drama novel, the emotional reader will resonate and will feel everything with a higher intensity than the average reader would.
15. The Fad Reader
Riding the wave of hype created around a book is something the fad read thrives on. This kind of reader will read anything and everything other people read, simply because she wants to be a part of the hype.
There’s a number of books that succeed through popular magnetism more than literary quality and they have the fad readers to thank for their success.
16. The College Reader
While we don’t encourage this habit, the college reader had to be mentioned in our list simply because of the big number of people who end up being one.
We’ve all heard of people who simply stop reading the second they no longer have to. While they may have read all the books on their reading lists in college or school, that is where their reading journey has ended. Weirdly enough, they even seem to take some pride in that.
17. The Neurotic Reader
One of the most difficult types of readers, the neurotic reader has a rule for every aspect of reading and will not stray from the course under any circumstances.
Each neurotic reader has his own set of rules and whether it’s never leaving anyone touching their books, always reading the introduction or other habits, they will enforce them forever.
18. The Writer-Reader
This kind of reader will take nothing at face value and will critique every aspect of a book he’s reading. She will put himself in the author’s shoes and will state his opinion to anyone who is willing to listen.
Whether it’s the way the book was written, how the story is presented, the way the characters were described or the book altogether, the writer-reader will always find something to critique.
19. The Note Taker
While for most of us reading is a relaxing way of passing the time, others take it a lot more seriously and want more than just to enjoy a book as entertainment. These people are the ones who want to learn everything that can be learned from a book and will make the best of their time spent reading it, by writing down, annotating and making notes of all the information they find interesting.
The most effective note takers are the ones who use reading trackers like Basmo. If you are one of the note-takers who still use pens and paper, you might want to give Basmo a chance and see what’s on the other side of the fence.
With Basmo, you can take digital notes while reading, directly on your phone. While a reading session is ongoing, you can simply start typing your thoughts and they will be automatically saved within the book you are reading.
You can edit your notes, format them however you see fit and you will always have access to them without worrying about losing them.
20. The Vacation Reader
Many people love reading on holidays. Seeing someone by the pool with a cocktail in one hand and a book in the other is not uncommon. The vacation reader only reads on holidays though. Unfortunately, during a two weeks binge-reading session, they will never be able to read as much as they would if they were to read at least 20 minutes per day throughout the year.
If you identify as a vacation reader, we understand that life usually gets in the way of our love for reading. Luckily though, Basmo can help.
In order to incorporate healthy reading habits in your life, you need to be motivated and organized.
Basmo allows you to set realistic reading goals, whether it’s the number of books you want to read in a year or how much time you want to spend reading daily and will help you achieve those goals by showing you the progress you made and interesting reading statistics about your reading habits.
On top of this, you can use Basmo to schedule reading sessions every day or set a custom reading schedule with different times for each day of the week you want to read in.
It will even notify you before each scheduled reading session to ensure that you don’t miss it.
What Type of Reader Are You?
Now that you know all the different types of readers, the only natural question to follow is which one are you? There’s a couple of ways for you to find that out.
1. Online Quizzes
There’s quite a lot of quizzes you can take online in order to find out what type of reader you are. Just answer a couple of questions honestly and the test will reveal your typology.
A simple google search will reveal a lot of quizzes for the reader personality reveals and most of them are quite fun.
2. Introspection
If taking online quizzes is not your cup of tea, you can simply rely on yourself and do a little introspection. Analyze your reading habits, read about all the different types of readers out there and see which type you have most in common with.
Since we as humans are prone to not seeing the forest for the trees, asking a friend to help could lead to a more accurate description of your reading type.
Conclusion
Now you know all the different kinds of readers out there and you have a pretty decent idea of how to go about finding out which one you are. Finding out objectively what type of reader you are can be your first step towards healthier reading habits.
That, if accompanied by the use of a reading app like Basmo can lead to a complete overhaul of your reading and can help you take your hobby to the next level.
Give Your Reading Experience
An Extra Boost With Basmo
Track the books you read, monitor the time you spend reading and keep notes on your reading habits and how it makes you feel. You can set yourself targets for the time you spend reading and you can get notified whenever you’re behind on your reading time.
