How Obsessed With Books am I Actually?

Happy Friday, everyone!

I hope you’re all doing great and spending time with some wonderful books! Here, at least, we have perfect reading weather ❄🍵📚 It started snowing again on Easter Monday, and the flakes have been picking up speed ever since. However, instead of nice, beautiful, winter-wonderland snow, we have the disgusting mushy and wet type that has had me avoiding the outdoors like the plague!

Tired Dog GIF by J

Still, I guess it’s a good thing I had a solid reason to return to some of my comfort rereads this week, because the past couple of days have been really rough. One of my close friends is currently in the ICU battling a life-threatening case of COVID, so in case you noticed that I’ve been a bit absent from the blogosphere this past week, you now know the main reason why. [The other reason is my thesis. I have a meeting with my advisor next week, so I’ve been putting in a ton of last-minute work in hopes of making what I’ve already accomplished seem a little less meagre 😅 ] Anyway, I just didn’t have as much energy to put into blogging with everything that’s going on, so I hope you’ll forgive me for missing so many of your posts!

However, in light of how stressful this week was, I thought this would be the perfect time to do something fun and cheer myself up a little! And since Riddhi @ Whispering Stories challenged me to take BuzzFeed’s “How Obsessed With Books Are You Actually” quiz a while ago, I decided to just go ahead and do that today 🤗 After all, which book nerd doesn’t love a good bookish quiz that strokes their ego and confirms that they are just as in love with reading as they think they are? 😁

So, without further ado, let’s get into the questions!! If you’d like to play along, you can find the link to the quiz here.

My answer here isn’t completely accurate, but I suppose it’s the option that’s closest to the truth. I actually have five big bookcases full of books, and over two of them are double stacked 😅 I suppose you could say I’m obsessed. But then again, I’ve basically asked for nothing but books for every single birthday and Christmas as long as I can remember, so they’re bound to pile up, right? Especially since I refuse to part with them once I own them…

Also, I think it’s very telling that four of those five bookcases are for (mostly) English books. Granted, I do read a lot more in English than I do in German, but it’s also way easier to get German books I want from the library than English ones. So I guess I just had to create my own library at home 😉

You’d better savor this peek at my English shelves, because this is the closest you’re probably ever going to get to a bookshelf tour. I actually feel a bit weird showing them, since I know I’m incredibly lucky to have this many books in the first place. Remember, libraries are a great alternative, and if I didn’t live in the middle of nowhere, these shelves would probably be a lot emptier! And I do try to make sure to only buy a book if I’m fairly certain I’m going to reread it.

Hahaha, now we’re spilling the true bookish snob tea 🤣 I am INSANELY critical when it comes to adaptations! I have such vivid imagery in my head when I read a book that I am always severely disappointed when the movie’s interpretation doesn’t live up to what I pictured. Or, even worse, when the movie decides to cut pivotal scenes and characters from the story! Like, c’mon, Harry Potter, how could you not include Peeves? Or transform Ginny into a bumbling idiot, when she’s phenomenal in the books? And why was everyone in Deathly Hallows suddenly flying around with jets of black and white clouds coming out of their butts? I was not a fan 😤

But yes, there are just a handful of movie adaptations that even I find hard to criticize. Like, why can’t more adaptions be like The Hunger Games and The Lord of the Rings? 🥰 I still think the books are better, but you can’t deny the films are pretty epic. And on very rare occasions, I do actually think the adaptations triumphed over the source material. Like The 100, for example. The books are absolute trash, but the show – apart from that mess that was Season 7 and I refuse to accept as canon – is amazing! Or 13 Reasons Why, where the show provided fleshed-out side characters where the book basically just had cardboard cutouts…

And despite my misgivings, I will always get really excited when a favorite of mine is being adopted to screen! I am already really pumped for the Shadow and Bone adaptation, so fingers crossed it will be everything I hope it’s going to be! 🤗

Whoever made this quiz must have included that last option just for people like me 😁 Even though I could technically just download an e-book when I’m craving reading material on vacation, I always go for the option of cramming as many books as possible into any space that is left in my suitcase and/or backpack. After all, who knows what I’ll actually be craving once I get to where I’m going? I need to take options! And besides, there’s something so comforting about having books with you on your travels 😇

Though I’m not gonna lie – the number of books I lug around with me has gotten me some pretty weird stares in the past. For example, when I was flying back home from a three-week stay in England sometime in 2016 (I remember the year very distinctly, because this was just a few weeks before the Brexit referendum and some friends and I may or may not have gotten into a pretty heated discussion with a pro-Brexiteer in a seaside pub 😅), I had at least ten books in my suitcase. The problem was, I had acquired three of those books whilst in England – Those British bookstores were seriously tempting, okay? – and they just didn’t fit into my already bulging suitcase and carry-on! So what did I do? I squeezed half of the books into my laptop case, of course. You should have seen the looks on those Heathrow security people’s faces when they asked me to take out my laptop and all the books tumbled out…

I mean, I’m already at 24 right now, and that’s excluding rereads… I just love reading so much that I’ll usually easily average 100 books a year 😊

Still, I don’t think the amount you read determines your worth as a reader at all! If you only read a handful of books a year and are enjoying the experience, that’s just as valid! This question is already making me very suspicious of this quiz…

I guess this is where I’ll have to admit to having a very messed-up sleep schedule… I have absolutely no self-control when it comes to putting a book I love down, and quite honestly, “past 3 a.m.” is still putting it mildly. I try to restrict myself during the semester, but when I’m on break? Well, let’s just say I have absolutely no qualms about reading through the whole night and then sleeping the entire following day 😂

Of course I have a library card!! In fact, I have multiple ones 😊 However, thanks to COVID, I actually haven’t been to a library in well over a year 😥 I really need things to go back to normal so that I can stock up on books again! I mean, I do have Scribd, which I suppose is kind of like an online library, but I just prefer reading physical books to reading e-books…

And I love the atmosphere of libraries! Unlike bookstores, they don’t kick you out if you sit there for hours and read, and you always find yourself surrounded by wonderful bookish people. In fact, my best library experience might have been when I was studying abroad in Virginia and volunteered at my local library’s Youth Literacy Program. I met so many wonderful people there, and I got to read books with a second grader once a week! He really got me into Elephant and Piggie 😆

Funnily enough, though, I absolutely hate going to libraries to study. I’m the type of person who repeats material out loud in grandiose speeches when trying to memorize it, accompanied by all kinds of grand gestures. Somehow, I don’t think my study techniques would be looked upon most favorably in a library…

I am not. However, I do often buddy read stuff with my friends, so does that count?

And I was a bit of an honorary member of my school’s book club back in the day. My sister and two of my good friends and classmates were proper members, but since the book club always met at the same time as our school orchestra did, I was out. However, I always read the books they picked out, and on the rare occasions that orchestra practice got cancelled, I joined the club at the local café where they held their meetings and made sure to give all my opinions 😁 It was a great time.

You see, this one really depends on the bookshop… If it was a huge shop that also allowed you to stay in there, read, and leave without buying anything, I would probably be able to make it an entire day. But where I live, we have mostly smaller bookstores that don’t really encourage that. Once I’ve made it through about half a tome and still haven’t bought it, I can already feel the employees’ death glares on the back of my neck 😅 Which is another big reason why I prefer libraries!

A couple of years ago, I would have said I would never do this. After all, it’s the story that really matters to me, not the way a book looks.

But then those illustrated Harry Potter editions came out…. And I just needed one! Granted, I didn’t buy myself a copy, but got my siblings to give me one for Christmas, but still. Looking at it logically, my family already had several copies of Harry Potter, since every time the old ones start to fall apart, we buy a new one.

And then, a little later, I saw those US Harry Potter editions whose spines create a picture of Hogwarts on sale at book depository, and I just couldn’t resist. Despite still being upset that some historically uninformed US genius thought it would be a good idea to rename the philosopher’s stone 🙄

So yeah, I guess I wouldn’t do this, with a huge exception when it comes to Harry Potter? 😅 Those books are the only ones I own more than one copy of.

Like, duh.

This has changed drastically over time. Thanks to COVID, it’s been ages since I’ve gone anywhere, let alone a bookshop. I mean, we’ve been under lockdown for months here! And before then, I’d say I usually went about once a month. Basically, whenever I had free time in the city or needed to go shopping for something, I’d eventually end up browsing through a bookstore…

However, while I was still at school, I definitely went several times a week! Because back then, there was a huge bookstore that also let you sit down and read just a few meters away from my bus stop, so I would always stay in there and read while waiting for the bus. The store went bankrupt when I was in about twelfth grade or so, though – I may feel slightly bad about this, since I also ruthlessly exploited them and only bought a miniscule percentage of the books I actually read there 😅 – so now, waiting for the bus has gotten quite boring.

Look, this question is also worded very specifically. Because if you’d asked me whether I would read a book while eating, the answer would be “100% YES”! I do this ALL THE TIME.

But dinners at my house are a family affair, and my parents and siblings would probably think it’d be kind of rude for me to be reading while they were trying to talk to me. Not to mention that I love our mealtime conversations and wouldn’t want to miss out on them in the first place!

It’s not unusual for me to take a book along wherever I ago, but I think the weirdest place out of all of these that I’ve actually read one is probably a concert. Don’t worry, though – I’m not talking about the mosh-pit, screaming, loads of alcohol type of concert, because those are a bit out of my comfort zone 😂 But I do really love classical music, and while you’re sitting in a concert hall, waiting for the music to finally begin, books are a great way to pass the time! (And also to avoid having to talk to the person sitting next to you, which I’m always horribly awkward at 😅)

Of course books have changed my life! I’ve learned something from probably every single one I’ve read, gotten to see so many different perspectives, and gained a wholly new appreciation for language! I couldn’t even imagine my life without reading, so I think it’s safe to say that books have had an enormous impact on me!

AND NOW, THE RESULTS 🥁🥁🥁

I’ll take that, BuzzFeed! Though you know what’s really weird? I took this quiz before, back when Riddhi first posted it, but was too lazy to take screenshots at the time. But now, having replicated it so that you guys could also appreciate my answers, I got 81% instead of my original 82%. And I’m pretty sure my answers haven’t changed. Where did that extra 1% go, huh, BuzzFeed?? Do you have some kind of glitch in your rounding algorithm? It is a mystery 🤔

But anyway, that was it for today! I hope you had fun going through these questions with me, and if you played along and took the quiz yourself, I would love to know your score in the comments! Are you even more book-obsessed than I am, or do you just hide your obsession better? I would love to know!

45 thoughts on “How Obsessed With Books am I Actually?”

  3. Riddhi B. says:
    Reply

    Ooh, this was one good post!!!
    I hope your friend gets well soon and I am sure you will ace your thesis!!
    And yeah, Buzzfeed sometimes gets weird😂, but still 82 %, 81 %, not much difference
    Thanks for doing this though!!!

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Klaus Viedenz says:
    Reply

    ‘Pumped for Shadow & Bone’ bwahaha. I’ve been successfully pumped out for Shadow & Bone by reading Rule of Wolves. If this SoC prestory that they had to write for the show is anything like this books, this will be a complete catastrophe 😦 I expect good visuals, bad writing.

    Liked by 1 person

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      Oh no, you basically just confirmed my worst Rule of Wolves fears 😨 I mean, I was already pretty disappointed by King of Scars, but if Rule of Wolves was terrible enough to scare you out expecting anything great from the show, it must be bad indeed 🙈
      But I’m not giving up hope just yet! Even though I’m not so sure about the whole “The Dregs have to kidnap Alina” plotline that was hinted at in the trailer… 😅

      Liked by 1 person

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      Thank you, Zoë ❤ I really hope so, too. They’ve put him in a medically induced coma for now because he stopped breathing the minute they took the oxygen machine away, which meant he couldn’t eat anymore, but apparently the doctors said he’s doing much better now that he has a feeding tube instead. I’m trying not to get my hopes up too early, but at least that sounds a lot better than things did at the beginning of this week…

      And yay! I guess that means we’re bookish obsession twins 😂 Although those strangely random percentages do have me a bit skeptical as to the accuracy of this quiz 😁

      Liked by 1 person

  9. Abby @ Beyond the Read says:
    Reply

    I’m so sorry to hear about your friend! I hope he gets better soon, keeping him in my prayers ❤️

    I loved reading your answers to this Naemi!! Your bookshelves are GORGEOUS, by the way. I have double-stacked shelves too but they look nowhere near as organized as yours are 😅

    Liked by 2 people

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      Thank you, Abby, that means a lot ❤

      And I’m glad you appreciate the shelves! 😂 Although I’m not so sure about the organization part – I try to keep everything together by genre and author, but when authors start writing in multiple genres, I run into trouble… So I’m not sure whether anyone apart from me would actually find stuff on there 😁
      And it’s nice to know you also double stack your shelves 😄 Somehow, you can just never have enough room for books…

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Jan @ thedoodlecrafter says:
    Reply

    Wow you have so many books I’m jealous😂😂 I took this quiz from the time I saw this tag on Riddhi’s blog and got an 81% too! I’ve brought along books to weird places too, like to a basketball match, a safari trip and parties and so on lol

    Liked by 1 person

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      Trust me – all those books are probably just a sign that I’m getting older and have had more birthdays by now 😉😂 And of our local library not really having that many foreign language books 😪

      And lol, I’ve never even been on a safari trip, so I’d probably be way to excited to take a book on that! I totally feel you on wanting to take one to a basketball game, though 😁🏀😅

      Liked by 1 person

  11. Corrie.S.P. says:
    Reply

    I am really sorry about your friend. 😦 😦 I hope they get better. I thought this quiz was fun. I picked almost the same questions as you and I got 89 % It’s really more like 95% though.

    Liked by 2 people

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      Thanks, Corrie ❤ And I’m glad you enjoyed the quiz! 😄 I do agree with you, though – all us book bloggers are probably way closer to 100%-obsessed than these questions realize!

      Like

  12. Line says:
    Reply

    I am in love with your bookshelves! 😍😍

    I took the test and got 53%… But I feel like it was missing some very essential questions! Something along the lines of “Do you fuck up in life because you’re constantly thinking about the book you’re currently reading?” Because yes! 😂 But I will not sacrifice sleep for a book and I don’t buy a ton either, so I guess by that logic I’m not that obsessed.

    Who reads while eating dinner? I have no idea how I would manage that. Snacks I can do (I’m not a monster), but nothing more complicated than that.

    Your story about transporting all your books home from England was so funny! I can totally picture it! 😂 And security at an airport must have seen weirder things than books come out of bags.

    Liked by 1 person

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      I’m pretty obsessed with them myself, so I’m glad you approve 😂😊

      I do agree that your quiz question is actually a much better indicator of book obsession, though! How many books you buy doesn’t really have anything to do with that at all, but is more of an indicator of our capitalistic habits 😂 If you have a great library near you or prefer e-books, there’s no need to buy them, after all. And what true book nerd’s head isn’t constantly up in the clouds because they’re still thinking about their current read? (Let me tell you, I am SO obsessed with The Betrayals right now. I just got to the scene where Léo and Carfax went up the astronomy tower together, and my heart just can’t take it! 🥰 I’m no longer very convinced of my Dryden is Carfax theory, but she does seem to know a whole lot about the Dance Macabre, so maybe there’s a slimmer of hope? I just don’t want Carfax to be dead! 😭)

      And yeah, I don’t see the point in reading while eating dinner, either. Like, wouldn’t you want to focus on and enjoy your meal??

      Also, yes, the airport security must have seen all kinds of things! So I really don’t know why they had to look at me with such skepticism 😤 It’s not like I was smuggling anything illegal 🤷‍♀️

      Liked by 1 person

      • Line says:
        Reply

        Yeah, the questions were a bit shallow, so I’m not trusting the result too much. Anyone who knows me will say I’m clearly 100% obsessed with books 😄

        And I cannot tell you how happy I am to hear you love The Betrayals so much!! I thought I was so weird for liking it, but that tower scene was also the one where I truly realized that book would become a favorite.

        Liked by 1 person

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      I’m glad you had fun and played along! 😊 Although the fact that it is possible to get 80%, 81% and 82% on this quiz when it has just 14 questions has me very skeptical about how BuzzFeed is calculating all this stuff in the first place 🤣 But I think we can safely say we’re all very book obsessed here!

      Liked by 1 person

  14. Susana @susanalovesbooks says:
    Reply

    I’m so sorry about your friend, I hope they get better soon!
    Okay, I loved your answers so much and I have so much to say so sorry in advance for the long paragraph 😅
    1) Your bookshelves are SO PRETTY!!! Seriously, I love the colour and how you organised them with everything on top!
    2) You described my thought process perfectly when it comes to bringing books on holiday! I know in the back of my mind that I could just download an ebook anytime but then I always end up bringing more books than I need because I might change my mind. I cannot imagine the security people’s faces when they saw all of your books 😂😂😂
    3) I’m the same with reading while eating! I rarely do it because my family wants me to chat with them and they find it rude if I read 😅

    Liked by 1 person

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      Thanks, Susana! ❤ And no worries – I love getting lengthy paragraphs as comments! 😊
      It’s nice to hear you appreciate my shelf aesthetics – it took me forever until I had the stuff on top organized in a way that didn’t just look like I’d dumped a ton of clutter on there, so it’s good to know I apparently succeeded 🤣 And really love how warm the natural wood makes my room feel, so I’d totally recommend shelves like these 😊
      Also, it’s very relieving to hear I’m not alone with the ridiculous amount of books I take on trips 😅😂 I know it’s irrational, but like you said, it’s also necessary to make plans in case we change our minds!
      And seriously, who would eat during mealtimes? Those are always when the best conversations take place!

      Liked by 1 person

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      Hahaha, well, I must admit that I have a pretty messed up sleep schedule as it is 😁 It’s not unusual for me to stay up late in general, and sometimes, when I decide to start a new book right before bed, “just one more chapter” turns into “Well, now that you’re already halfway through the book and it’s already past midnight anyway, you might as well finish it” 😂 I wouldn’t say I necessarily recommend this tactic, but I have no regrets, either! 😊

      Like

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