How each of us approaches reading has a direct impact on how efficient we are, how many benefits we manage to take advantage of through our reading, and how much joy it brings us. While some people see it as a chore, others enjoy it and try to make the best of the experience.
The important thing to remember is that regardless of the type of reader you are, whether you approach it professionally and allow yourself no slip-ups or if you are a dreamy mood reader, there’s a lot to gain from each.
What is a mood reader?
The mood reading definition states that this type of reading is a process determined by the person’s mood rather than other criteria. In other words, a mood reader is a person who follows their own instincts and their mood in order to choose what to read, when to read it and when to stop reading.
A mood reader doesn’t follow the same guidelines as other people and allows themselves to simply read whatever they like.
The mood reader meaning applies to unfinished books as well. While most people will diligently try to finish all the books they start, even those they don’t like, a mood reader will have no problem giving up on a book at any point if reading it brings them no joy or pleasure.
As you would expect, mood reading comes with a series of benefits, but also with a series of disadvantages. It’s only natural to consider them both if you’re thinking maybe becoming a mood reader would be a good idea for you.
What are the Pros Of Being A Mood Reader?
Despite the fact that mood readers get a pretty bad rep in the readers’ community, there are several positive aspects of mood reading most people don’t think about.
You read what brings you joy
The first advantage of being a mood reader that comes to mind is the obvious fact that one of the effects of mood reading is that you would always read things you like, things that bring you joy. Making the realization that the school years are over, that you are now an adult and you can do whatever you please is refreshing.
You no longer need to force yourself to read things you dislike, you can leave books unfinished if they are no longer of interest to you, and you are the one calling all the shots in regards to the reading you do. Imagine that, an adult reader with complete freedom to choose what to read and what not to read.
There is also an underlying effect of this approach: you will probably end up reading a lot more this way. Never having to go through books you hate is going to change your mindset about reading and you will end up doing it with a lot more joy, which will have an effect on the amount of reading you do.
If you’re curious about this theory, here’s an interesting way to experiment and see the results for yourself. Using Basmo, the best reading tracking app out there comes with the benefit of having all kinds of interesting statistics about your reading habits available in just a couple of taps.
Some of the insightful stats that are available within the app take your reading speed into account, the number of pages you go through, and the amount of reading you do within a certain timeframe. Read a book you don’t like using the app and check your stats. Then read a book you just can’t seem to put down and check your stats again. Comparing the results is almost guaranteed to reveal that you read a lot more and have a much better efficiency when you read things you enjoy.
Reading never feels like a chore
Do what you love and you won’t have to work a day in your life, right? It’s as true for reading as it is for your career. Being a mood reader completely changes your mindset about reading and removes the feeling that reading is a chore. Reading only the books you like will probably have the unexpected effect of making you want to read more and more, even though you will also have a pile of unfinished books as well.
You will probably read more genres
Chances are that mood reading will transform you into a more complex reader in regards to the genres you go through. The feeling of freedom you get when you realize you’re a mood reader and you accept yourself for what you are also coming with the benefit of allowing you to explore as much as you possibly can.
If you eliminate the pressure of knowing that once you start reading a book, you absolutely have to finish it even if you don’t like it, allows you to make more liberal choices and try new things all the time. This will result in you reading a more varied array of genres and you will probably discover things you love even though you never thought you would.
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What are the cons Of Being A Mood Reader?
Now, for the bad news. Being a mood reader obviously comes with some negative aspects and you need to be made aware of all of them. Here’s what disadvantages you will have to deal with if you are or if you become a mood reader.
You will probably have more unfinished books or books you read at the same time
As a mood reader, your TBR list is probably going to be constantly huge. That’s because of all the freedom of choice you allow yourself to have and the wide array of unexpectedly fun genres you will have to cover in order to read everything you like.
And, on top of this, your unfinished pile will be just as big. While that is not necessarily a tragedy, it can become frustrating at one point. Constantly trying out books just to realize they are not your cup of tea is not going to be pleasant after a while.
A good way to manage both your TBR list and your unfinished pile is to use Basmo. While being a reading tracking app, it also comes with additional features to help readers regardless of their style.
You can create countless reading lists and customize them as you see fit. Whether you want to have separate lists for different genres or just a simple TBR list, a finished and an unfinished book collection, Basmo makes creating and managing them extremely easy.
Adding or removing books from one list to another is either done automatically (once you finish reading a book, for example, it gets moved automatically to the list of finished books) or in just a couple of taps.
Book clubs are not going to be your cup of tea
Being part of a book club comes with mandatory reading lists and weekly or bi-weekly meetings where the books are being discussed. It’s a fun and rewarding activity, but one you will have to pass on if you are a mood reader.
You have no power over the books you’re supposed to read within a specified timeframe (between meetings), and that is not going to work well for your reading style. If you only read what you like, chances are that you will find lots of titles on the mandatory reading list you will decide are not worth reading.
Finding the right book will be time-consuming
Being a mood reader means you are usually particularly picky when choosing a book to read. You will probably try out several books before deciding on one that you will actually finish. This unfavorable ratio between books started and books finished is going to take its toll on you after a while once you will realize how much time and money you are wasting on books you will probably never finish reading.
You’ll find it hard to stick to a reading schedule or meet reading goals
A mood reader usually has pretty inconsistent reading habits. You can easily finish a book you love in a couple of hours or days and then go through a two-week book slump that is hard to get out of. Setting a reading schedule, building healthy reading habits, and meeting your personal reading goals is going to be challenging to say the least.
One way to overcome this, or at least to make things easier for you as a mood reader, is to use Basmo. The app comes with special features that help you develop healthy reading habits.
It gives you the option to set a reading schedule that is completely customizable to meet every single one of your needs and you will also get gentle notifications to remind you of the upcoming reading sessions.
Setting goals is also extremely easy and you can choose from two options: daily or yearly goals.
Once you set either of them or both, you will be able to track your progress towards meeting them, as the app will analyze your reading and will provide you with interesting statistics.
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What are the signs That You Are a Mood Reader?
Are you wondering about yourself if you fall under the criteria that would define you as a mood reader? Here are a couple of signs that you might be a mood reader, if some of the statements below seem to describe you, chances are you are a mood reader.
- Your TBR list is huge but you are currently reading something that’s not on the list at all.
- You are reading more books at once
- You have an impressive pile of unfinished books you never get around to read
- You know what a reader burnout feels like
- You’re no stranger to reading slumps
- Book hangovers are a relatively common occurrence
- You can’t follow through on reading challenges
- You tried being part of a book club and failed
- You spend more time deciding on the next book to read than it takes you to actually read it
Do you feel like I’m describing you with some of the statements below? In that case, you might be a mood reader. It’s probably time to learn to adapt to your style and make the best of it.
How To Read More As A Mood Reader?
One possible effect of mood reading is the fact that you could end up reading less than you would actually want. Spending too much time in between books, and trying to decide what your next read should be usually translated into a lot of wasted time. Here are a couple of tips and tricks on how you can become a more efficient reader even if you let your mood dictate your reading habits.
Start more books at once
While reading more books at once is not something that can work well for everyone, mood readers could benefit from this habit. If you read more than one book at a time, your chances of actually finishing one increase. Not only that but if your mood changes from one day to another, it’s always nice to know that regardless of your mood you have a book to read that matches your needs.
Learn to understand your mood and adapt to it quickly
One quick way to exploit your mood reading habits is to be one step ahead at all times. That requires a certain level of mindfulness and a good understanding of your own moods and emotions. Knowing to read your own mood and adapting your reading to maximize your results is a great way to read more as a mood reader.
Here at Basmo, we understand the importance of your emotions. That is why we decided to offer you a feature no other reading tracking app can offer you. Our app comes with an emotion tracker integrated.
How does it work? It’s quite simple really. Basmo helps you track your emotions and you can use the information however you see fit.
After each reading session within the app, you are prompted to choose the emoji that best describes how your reading session made you feel. Basmo records all of this and provides you with an interesting weekly feelings report.
Analyzing this data will give you great insights and a chance to learn how your mood affects your reading and how your reading affects your mood. If you notice certain emotional patterns that you would like to break or change, the feelings report will provide you valuable insights and will give you a great starting point.
On top of this, Basmo also offers you a chance to keep a reading journal. That means you can write your own thoughts and feelings while reading or during reading sessions, and going over your more detailed description of the things you went through will also help you learn to understand your mood and adapt your reading to it.
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Final thoughts on mood reading
Being a mood reader is no walk in the park, despite what most people might think. It takes some courage and determination to free your mind enough to allow yourself to follow your instincts and mood and apply this mindset to your reading habits. Basmo makes things easier for you though, so you should give it a try.
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