The 52 Book Club: 2026 Challenge discussion

WEEKLY CHECK-IN
July 2, 2025 -- Week 27

For this week's discussion, we want to hear your WORST book habit.
Dog ears, spine cracking, accidentally dropping books in the tub, choosing books over sleep, forever buying books and never reading them. Let's hear it! What do you think is your "worst" bookish habit? (Or a habit that makes other bookworms cringe?)

I am a massive spine cracker, I roll that cover right around. I love to dog-ear my page too. I have so many book marks, but can never find them. My daughter only lets me borrow a book from her if I promise not to vandalise it.

I can’t say I buy books and never read them, but I do buy a lot of books, knowing that my physical & virtual bookshelves are already stuffed.
I am, however, a compulsive bookmark-user & I never write in books, so there’s that in my favor.

Buying too many books, mostly used. "Unfortunately" there are multiple $1 bookstores near me so its easy to leave with 15 new books at a time. My daughter says I could open a used book shop and already have plenty of stock. And she doesn't even know how many books are on my Kindle as well...

Definitely buying books. Though this year I've gotten slightly better when it comes to placing the books I buy into my monthly reading goals. Whatever vibe I get from a book will be the particular month it gets set in.

Though my worst bookish habit this year has been pre-ordering. There are so many amazing nonfiction books this year that I keep pre-ordering left and right.

Probably my worst habit is I eat and drink with my books and sometimes will get something in the pages.
I also stalk the library catalogue to see what new books they get in constantly. Not sure if that’s a bad habit haha.

Lindsey wrote: "WEEKLY CHECK-IN
July 2, 2025 -- Week 27

For this week's discussion, we want to hear your WORST book habit.
Dog ears, spine cracking, accidentally dropping books in the tub, choosing books over sl..."

No problem in this group, but I am obsessed with the Main Challenge and Connections. I participate in some groups and listen to a lot of bookish podcasts. Every time I see a book I immediately want to shout out the prompt it fits. Also when I hear about a reading slump, I want to scream-try the 52 Book Club Reading Challenges. I am able to control myself sometimes, but I am sure people are tired of me recommend this challenge. I have gotten a few people interested though.

Lindsey wrote: "WEEKLY CHECK-IN
July 2, 2025 -- Week 27

For this week's discussion, we want to hear your WORST book habit.
Dog ears, spine cracking, accidentally dropping books in the tub, choosing books over sl..."

My worst habit is that I write in books - I highlight bits I like and scribble in the margins. Then I don’t keep most of them anyway. But who wants to have a used copy of a book that’s been written in ?

I use Libby to check out audiobooks and ebooks from my library. It has become a (welcomed) chore to coordinate when to checkout, when to delay, when to put on hold, when to tag. As for tagging, it is a (welcomed) chore to decide on what “shelf” to put each newly found title.
I currently have 8 books checked out, 35 audiobooks and 3 ebooks on hold, and 29 tags (shelves) with over 2400 books as TBR. Since I read over 275 books per year, that’s almost 9 years worth, not including all the new ones I “discover” along the way AND all the new releases.
📚I like books in all formats a whole lot. 🎧📱📖

I dog ear my pages. I started as a kid and didn't know it was something people didn't like until I was an adult.

I never used to use a bookmark. It felt like something else to remember to hold onto or worry about losing. A dog eared page marks that page and you know right away where you are.

I don't have as much time to reread now, but when I was younger and would reread books, I loved to see where I put a dog ear, how far it was from the previous, and how far to the next. Did I stop reading after a certain big moment? Did I stop reading because the story became boring?

My spouse would say that my bad habit is that I don't read the books I already have. I am trying! but sometimes a library book or audio book is what I am in the mood for or fits a prompt.
I tend to check out travel guidebooks from the library and will dog ear and write (in pencil) in these books, I often think of it as leaving clues for the next person on the things I enjoyed.

Ooh, that's a good one. I definitely don't read the books I own and only read library books.

I don't think I have any super bad bookish habits. I do dog ear on occasion, but only on my owned books. I do have a problem with starting more series then I finish, which I'm trying to work on

For a book lover, I doubt this is a bad habit, but to other people …

I choose as many books as I can for this challenge from my own shelves of yet-to-read books, and I continue to buy books on impulse when there is a great sale I happen upon. Still, how can that be a bad habit? HmmmMMM??
I read too long at a time (binge reader?) and sometimes there seems to be no good or just-right time to lay a book down. Is that bad?
Oh, I know! My bad habit would be books over sleep so that the next book time I’m nodding off while reading. Yeah, that.

The book habit I am least proud of is that I am stingy with my personal library. I purchase many previously owned books and am VERY picky about their condition, and prefer not to loan them out because they often come back in much worse condition than when I received them. So, not a book loaner.

I have long admired those of you who freely share the books you have loved with others, and do try to accommodate guests who request books from my shelves. However, if it's a beautiful edition of a beloved book, I will offer to buy them their own copy.