Alli the Book Giraffe

Hello readers! It’s time for another Let’s Talk Bookish post. I really love the topics this month. My mental health was recently impacted quite badly by reading, so I love this topic in particular.

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme that was originated by Eternity Books and is currently hosted by Book Nook Bits. The accompanying thumbnail was also designed by Book Nook Bits. Each Friday, bloggers craft posts where they engage in discussions centered around the designated topic for the week.

Prompts: How does reading impact your mental health? If you’re feeling sad, do you read certain types of books, or reread old favorites? If you don’t read for a while, do you notice that impacting your overall well being? Do you ever take reading breaks?

Recently I read this book called Good Different. I talked about it in my wrap up earlier this week. It centers a young girl with autism and it was quite triggering for me. I read a lot of literary/realistic fiction recently and that didn’t help.

Don’t get me wrong, if you have ever wondered about the autistic experience, that is a great book. It was just hard to read as someone who has experienced all of those things. I wasn’t self aware enough to put a word to it at that age, though.

It was also paired with having read Maame just a few books before. It also centers an autistic MC, but she is an adult.

When I read this one, I decided to take a giant step away from literary fiction for a while. I have read other books with autistic MC’s, but none hit me quite as much as Good Different and Maame did.

After that, I decided to go to a genre the farthest away, which is fantasy. I have read a book since then that I believe had an autistic character, but it was in a fantasy setting, being Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries. It wasn’t quite so hard to read her experience. Then there was Holly in the Bill Hodges trilogy back in June, which was also fine.

When it comes to reading, you know I am doing well mentally when I am doing it. I swear, if I’m inconvenienced in any way, I’m not reading that day. Back when my power went out late in June, I didn’t read a book the entire time. I just felt so terrible from the heat and I knew my brain would associate the way I felt with the book I tried to read, thus ruining the book for me.

Lastly, I do take reading breaks all the time. Some days, I just decide it’s not a reading day. When I finish a book, I might skip a day or two before I start another. I just don’t want to overwhelm myself! Reading is supposed to be a hobby for fun, right? We can’t put so much pressure on ourselves to do it!

Where to find me: https://linktr.ee/Allithebookgiraffe

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