Reader stereotypes: Myths vs. Reality

Hey everyone! Today I’m bringing you another discussion post because apparently ranting is what I love to do here in this blog. But before, I wanted to catch up on what’s going on in my reading life lately… since I know not everyone is going to be interested, if you couldn’t care less about that just scroll down until you see the “reader stereotypes” banner, lol.

You’ve probably noticed that I haven’t been as consistent with posting as I usually am. I tend to post all Sundays and Wednesdays, but during recent times I have been posting outside schedule and even not posting at all on a certain week. I blame it on a smallish reading slump that I have. It has made me distance myself a bit from my reading life and therefore, from my blog as well. My personal life is a little messy at the moment and it’s hard to focus on reading, but I hope I can be back on track soon because there’s soooo many great books out there I can’t wait to pick up.

One that I actually read and enjoyed this month was (for the Spanish-speaking readers) Las Alas de Sophie by Alice Kellen (Sophie’s Wings in English, but the book is only available in Spanish) a bittersweet story about grief, friendship and personal growth. Alice is my favorite romance author so make sure to check her books if you read in Spanish!

Okay, catching up is over. Let’s begin with the discussion!

READER STEREOTYPES: A SELF-IMPOSED HEADACHE

Yes, you heard that right… you know who are the ones responsible for all those stereotypes about us?? Well, US.

Around 2012-2015, viral memes about how we’d rather die than watch the movie without picking up the book first were all over the internet. They were made by readers, of course, and most of us were like “hahaha that’s so funny lemme retweet”. This has made many people think things about us that aren’t true so yeah… I wanted to address that most of us are to blame by people believing certain things of us, that example I just said being one of those things.

Let’s move on.

Stereotype #1: We’d rather die than watching the movie adaptation without reading the book first

We better begin by the example I stated earlier on. Many people think that we have a sort of obsession with reading the book first (damn those memes).

In my case, I used to be like that for… well, a year or two. The internet made me feel as if it was wrong to watch the TV/movie adaptation before reading the book, so that’s what I used to do. But then I thought about all those movies I’ve seen based on books I HAVEN’T READ (Matilda is a great example… I only found out there’s a Matilda book like a month ago) and said to myself: it’s not that deep, dumbass.

Of course, if you ask me what I prefer to do now, I’ll say that reading the book first is better and gives you a way better perspective on whether it was a good adaptation or not. But this only applies to me if I’m REALLY interested in the story. Otherwise… just play the freaking movie.

Stereotype #2: Your dream job is at a bookstore or library

I’d love to have a bookstore/coffee shop. It’d be a cozy, aesthetically pleasing little place where I’d be very happy. But that doesn’t mean it’s my ultimate dream job, and OBVIOUSLY it’s not the dream job of millions of readers all over the world.

I want to be a successful accountant and have my own enterprise. I’d also like to be a writer and publish my own books. I’d like to be a professional translator. There are many, many things I’d like to do (and be) in this life than just assuming that being a librarian or bookstore owner is my ultimate dream is not it. Main point of this discussion: not all readers are the same.

Stereotype #3: All readers are classic experts

Let me tell you how many classic books I’ve read: ONE.

That’s right. I have read just one classic (good ol’ Pride and Prejudice), and many readers out there haven’t read a single one. And that’s okay. Not everyone is going to like the writing style pertaining to the 1800s and even before that. You’re not obliged to read the big, popular classic books and not reading them doesn’t make you less of a reader.

I’ve also seen that some readers make others feel bad and even call them “illiterate” by not reading those books. Here’s a secret: having read the big classics doesn’t make you automatically smarter, but putting down others for their reading taste DOES makes you automatically a trashy person 🙂

Stereotype #4: All readers are grammar obsessed

Reading DOES improve your grammar. And having perfect grammar is great (and my aesthetic lol… but just in my native language, mind your business if you catch me slipping here). But not all readers have a perfect grammar and no, we don’t die when we see a grammar error (though I’m always very close)

And yes, you can say that in my case (in serious situations) I’m a bit grammar obsessed. We’re just not all like that, obviously. (Fun fact: at five years old, I corrected my first grade teacher on the word construction because she forgot the s. My momma raised me to hate those grammar errors haha)

Stereotype #5: All readers are nerds with perfect grades

It makes me really happy when I see someone on the reading community graduate high school/college with incredibly high grades. Personally, I’ve always worked hard to keep mine as perfect as they can be. But I hate when people think that just because you read for pleasure then automatically you’re some kind of genius.

Many things make a valedictorian student. Reading improves your grammar and ability to analyze things, but there’s so much more than that. To have good grades you need a good mental health, and the support from your loved ones is very important. You need to value consistency, responsibility and dedication. Not just having “reading” among your hobbies.

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That’s all for this post! I hope you enjoyed it. There are obviously many other stereotypes but I didn’t want to make post that’s way too long. What other stereotypes came to your mind while reading this? Do you agree with the ones I mentioned? Let’s talk in the comments!