Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Ten Reasons I Love X — could be a certain book, character, author, your indie bookstore, a fandom, a tv show, reading, a hobby, a genre. Honestly anything you want to gush about.

A couple of months ago, I wrote a post (“DisembARCing”, here) about why I was quitting the ARC merry-go-round and sticking to reading what I want, when I want from here on out. So far, it’s been great! I’ve gotten through the remaining ARCs I’d already committed to, and meanwhile, I’m picking my books based on my whims and fancies.

Here are my ten reasons that I love my new approach to reading:

1) I’m excited about reading again! It’s totally fine to pick something random off my shelf, read a library book, or jump on a brand new release. I can do whatever I want!

2) I’m only reading books that I really want to read. I don’t feel pressured by the calendar or my ARC spreadsheet (yes, I have one) to read a certain book on a certain date.

3) I can change course mid-stream. Maybe I planned to read book X this week… but you know what? Not in the mood so much anymore. And not a problem — it’s on to book Y!

4) I’m enjoying a healthy mix of old and new and everything in between. Sure, I still read new releases, but I’m also much more open to reading books on my shelves.

5) Re-reading? Not a problem. I’m setting the pace here, and if I feel like taking time for an old favorite, I will.

6) I can dive into a series and read straight through, if that’s what I feel like doing. This year, I finally read the Miss Peregrine series (wrap-up post here) and all of Buffy season 9, and it was fun, fun, fun to go on a mad binge with no pressure or deadlines.

7) There’s a lot more spontaneity to my reading, and that’s a good thing. I like wandering by my book piles and picking up whatever catches my eye. And if it doesn’t suit my mood at that moment, I put it back and take something else.

8) Did I mention the lack of pressure? NO PRESSURE! It’s totally up to me and me alone if I want to read a given book during a given week, or if I want to set aside a book I’ve started because it’s just not the right time or I just don’t feel like it right in that moment.

9) I love the idea that I’m not beholden to anyone when it comes to my reading. It’s not like we sign in blood or promise our first-borns in exchange for ARCs, but accepting ARCs does come with an tacit understanding that a review or at least a mention will follow, preferably within a reasonable period of time around the publication date. I still like to read certain books and authors as close to the release date as possible… but no one can make me feel bad if I don’t!

10) Okay, coming up with 10 is actually hard… so I’ll just wrap it up by saying that my new, casual approach to deciding what to read when is putting a new spring in my step! It sounds crazy to even say, but it’s just so liberating to read without worrying about commitments!

Now, this doesn’t mean that I’ll never, ever request another ARC ever again in my entire life. But it does mean that I’m going to be selective, and sparing, and only get back on the ARC roller coaster for books that I know I absolutely want to read.

So that’s my top 10 for this open-ended TTT topic! What’s your list about this week? Share your links and let me know!

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