Most Book Geeks have a significant TBR (to-be-read) pile. They could be stacked up on your bedside table, overflowing from your bookshelves, or just bundled neatly around the floor, either way with SO many amazing books to get through, you would think we do little else except read. Especially if you’re like me, and keep adding to your shelves by accumulating more books than you manage to read each year…
But there comes a time, whether through book burnout, a reading slump, or just because you fancy a change of pace (particularly after a very “heavy” or emotional read), that you need to take a break and do something different. So, what do Book Geeks do when they aren’t reading?
Go To The Cinema
Reading isn’t the only way to enjoy great storytelling. When you want a quick fix, a great way to get it is by going to the cinema, or watching a movie adaptation of a book you’ve read. With new movies being released regularly in a wide variety of genres, there is always something new for you to watch.
Play Video Games
It’s not just movies and books that are packed full of great stories. While some games like Mario Kart or Call of Duty don’t give you the same story-telling vibe, others like the Final Fantasy mobile game or one of the Elder Scroll video games, such as Skyrim, have underlying stories and you get to play the main character. So, it’s kind of like those “you-choose” books we read as kids in the 90’s. This means that you decide how the story plays out.
Get Creative with Writing
Not all readers want to be authors, but just because you don’t want to publish a book doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get creative with writing. Writing creatively, jotting down your thoughts, and putting pen to paper can help you in loads of ways, including helping to develop your own style of writing, which can be useful in both academia and work. If you do decide to work on a story, why not submit it to some online journals to see if you could get it published?
Binge a Great TV Show
Thanks to online streaming services like Netflix, we all now know the joy of binge-watching a TV show, but I don’t think anyone can binge quite as well as a Book Geek. We’re dedicated to character arcs, detailed plots, and great story-lines set over multiple hours – we read entire series of books, and we’re used to waiting (sometimes for ridiculous amounts of time!) between instalments. Give us an entire show to binge, and we’re there!
What are some of the things you like to do when you’re not reading? And do any of those activities tie-in to your reading life? Let me know in the comments!
Confessions of a Book Geek 
Sport! And I walk on the treadmill… while reading 😂
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Ahh I didn’t include any type of exercise! I know some people listen to audiobooks while working out. I haven’t tried that, but I find lyrics and tempo motivational, so I’m not sure I’d enjoy it. I always remember in Legally Blonde she read while walking on a treadmill, and I don’t know how much I’d enjoy that either – do the words not jump around a bit?? Lol and is it an ebook or physical book?? R xx
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These are all so true! I love seeing movies that are a good adaptation of a book. Recently I saw “Murder on the Orient Express” and it was great!
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Ahh I want to see it but I haven’t read the book yet, and where possible I try to read it first. I recently saw The Martian without having read the book though and really enjoyed it. I perversely quite like comparing the two and seeing how well the movie makers adapted the original story! I love nothing more than chatting about whether or not they did a good job, and what was awful or sometimes better about it! R xx
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These probably are the most popular activities I see book bloggers talk about besides books!
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I think so too, probably because they all have story-telling elements of some sort! R xx
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I definitely like binge-watching television shows. It’s kind of like binge-reading a whole series of books. Love the post!
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Thanks, Alicia! I LOVE binge-watching a good TV show. Any recent recs? I became obsessed with Quantico and How To Get Away With Murder! R xx
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I recently binge-watched the first season of The Good Place and am so in love with that show. Still working my way through The Punisher and enjoying it as well. I need to watch both those shows!
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Even though I would rather read, I do enjoy video games like Skyrim. I am a dark elf assassin thief. I love sneakin’ up on people and stabbing them in the back. Of course sometimes it is fun to challenge them in the open and fight to the death with me cutlass . . . Arrr!
x The Captain
PS I occasionally watch movies. I just saw a dark comedy called the dressmaker that stared Kate Winslet among others. Recommended if ye like that sort of thing.
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LOL! I love the “Arrr!” I’m a big movie fan, but I tend to watch much more at home now than at the cinema, and I really like the cinema. I should make an effort to go more often… Thanks for the rec, I’ll check it out. R xx
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Definitely all of the above for me. I mean, it’s been ages since I last went to the cinema but I do love to go. And video games are one of my main sources of time suckage, I simply can’t help but get drawn into some for hours at a time. It’s not a bad thing but I wish I knew how those hours passed so quickly!
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Video games is probably the one I don’t do, but used to when I was younger. I see a lot of book bloggers are also in online gaming communities though, and I did play Heavy Rain for a while a few years ago and thought it was great. Hours fly by doing something you enjoy, shame some other things don’t pass as quickly! Lol R xx
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