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The types of readers

I’ve talked about Goodreads often. Goodreads is a social media site where the only drama is book drama. You post the title of the book you are currently reading, what page you’re on, and your friends “like” or comment accordingly. Your friends can recommend books to you and you can even join online book groups.

I love Goodreads because I love to see what my friends are reading and it suddenly hit me that there are so many different types of readers in the world.

Doing a little research, I’ve identified six and here they are:

• Elitist — These readers only read “literature,” which include Liane Moriarty or Philippa Gregory as well as the classics but never James Patterson, Danielle Steel or books published directly to paperback. Many book groups read this type of book (which is why I don’t belong to any book groups). I would put Delia Owens’ Where the Crawdads Sing in this category as well.

• Series — These readers like to belong to a book-family or group of book-friends that they made and learn more about within the books. I’m a big series reader; I look forward to the next Inspector Gamache or Commissario Brunetti mystery. But sometimes you have to wait a year to rejoin those same old “friends” and find out what’s next in their lives. It’s important to read many series because of the long wait in between titles. That’s why I’ve included this next group.

• Re-readers — Some people will not re-read a book that they’ve already finished, but not the readers in this group. Sometimes, the only way to get through the year is to re-read and visit once again those favorite friends. I have read almost the whole Three Pines series by Louise Penny twice. I noticed things about the characters the second time around that I didn’t notice at first.

• Jugglers — Many readers will read only one book at a time but for many of us, we can’t function unless we have a book. So that means an audio book in the car, a paperback in the purse, a library book by the sofa and another on the cellphone. I, for one, am not the best at juggling books; to be honest, I get too stressed out over the library due date but I am juggling books right now.

• Physical only — Sometimes nothing beats holding a book in your hands. And there’s just something about the smell of a book. I like audiobooks on my phone and the Libby app through the library makes checking out audiobooks very convenient. But readers sometimes have a better chance of getting a physical book sooner than an eBook (depending on the title, the holds list can be lengthy).

• Non-fics — there are several library patrons who love to read nonfiction and biographies, and that’s all they read. These are the readers who want everything off the New York Times best sellers list for nonfiction. Some of us like crafty books. I’m reading Knitted Homestyle edited by Emily Rae. It’s mostly knitting patterns but I’ll be adding this to my Goodreads list anyway.

Now that you’ve seen my list, what type of reader are you?

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Susan Miriello is the Executive Director at the Mifflin County Library. She is currently reading Rising Waters: Agnes, the storm that reshaped the Juniata Valley published by the Lewistown Sentinel.

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