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I received this book for free from ARC from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. If you've read my other reviews, you'll know that if it's bad, I'll say so, regardless of how I received the book.

Or as I call it, all readers are different.

This review of I’d Rather Be Reading by Anne Bogel is my first ever blog tour. A few months ago I decided I had to engage with more book bloggers and Anne accepted me into her new book’s launch team. THEN, she announced a blog tour. Today is my day.

I’d Rather Be Reading is a collection of essays from blogger, third-time author, and life-long reader about her love of reading and how books have formed her life. After all, I’d Rather Be Reading is a state of mind, and part of many reader’s identities, so she wrote her story because it’s many readers’ story.

What I got from this book is that all readers are different. Anne and I are about the same age, both female, both live in the United States and love some of the same books, but we’ll never be, as she calls it, book twins. We are too different, and that’s why I’d Rather Be Reading didn’t resonate with me. Others on the blog tour feel I’d Rather Be Reading is Anne inside their head’s so it’s not the book, it’s just I’m not them, and they aren’t me.

Before I realized it’s simply not a book for me, I was going to recommending reading it in bite-sized sessions. There are 21 essays and each only a few pages. I’m not sure if others could binge it (as I prefer reading) or if it does need breaks between each essay. The essays are very reflective of Anne’s upbringing and her parents each teaching her different ideas about books, her first home (next two a public library), then making the second home bookish (which wasn’t next to a public library). More ardent followers of her blog love the stories. I appreciated the essay (or should we call it Anne’s confession?) about not reading books you’re loaned, gifted, or have forced on you by a well-meaning fan. As this book shows, no two people read the same book. That’s actually a good thing, but something we all must acknowledge.

It’s released today, and I don’t know if the pre-order perks will be extended, but I recommend checking out IdRatherBeReading.com to see. From there you can get links to Anne’s blog, Modern Mrs Darcy too.

I’d Rather Be Reading is an adorable gift book for a reader with the spouse, kids, and picket fence. It’s a small sized hardcover, looking very pretty and floral. See, a perfect gift for the right reader. I’m just not that right reader.

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash