Reader Problems Tag

I thought I would do this for fun on my blog while I still debate whether or not I am going to start a booktube channel or not. I was inspired by pocketghost doing this tag. You can see it here or you can watch the original tag by 'About to Read' here.

1) You have 20 000 books on your TBR, how in the world do you decide what to read next.

Twenty THOUSAND books. Well, clearly I would be stinking rich at this point in time - or, perhaps more aptly, apparently I WAS stinking rich at one point and I completely lost my mind. I hope that I would have a book about how to gain control of myself, and read that first!

More seriously, I choose my books from my TBR according to my mood. My TBR is a reasonable amount with a wide variety of genres. My only problem really is that I usually want to read many of them next and the selection process usually get hindered by procrastination. I have found that starting one, with the excuse of seeing if it is what I am after, works like a charm. I never put that book down and usually end up ploughing through.

2) You are half way through a book and you are just not loving it. Do you quit or are you committed?

Tough one. With the price of books in my country I feel awful if I find I am not loving a book I am reading. I tend to push through, but I will start reading something else in the meantime, just to give me something I enjoy to break my disappointment. I find reading books that I am not enjoying is the only way I ever get into reading slumps - although they are not really reading slumps, it is more like a long term procrastination session over a book I am not liking but feel obliged to finish.

3) The end of the year is coming and you’re so close, but so far away on your Goodreads reading challenge. Do you try to catch up and how?

I hate not reaching goals, so I tend to start each year with a crazy burst of speed to almost guarantee that I will not fail. I also make sure that I have a reasonable goal. Honestly, if I ever were to get to the end of the year and not be near my total, I will marathon books - but that would be a bit disappointing, as I don't think I would enjoy what I was reading as much. Nothing beats savouring lines and passages!

4) The covers of a series you love do. not. match. How do you cope?

It is called 'grin and bear it'. I think it is almost impossible to follow a series in my country and actually get all the books to match. In all my reading years, the only way I have ever achieved that is if I have started the series after the entire thing has been released. Otherwise, not a chance in hell. The question is, how badly do I want the book? If I am desperate enough for a sequel, the cover is just going to have to make do.

But I wish all my covers matched... It would be so nice.

5) Every one and their mother loves a book you really don’t like. Who do you bond with over shared feelings?

I would talk to MY mother. She and I have similar ideas on things, so if I really don't like something, I know she would be more than happy to hear me complain and rant about it. I have also been know to completely ignore my friends' opinions on books and give them mine, whether they like it or not. It is the nice thing with my friends; we are all readers and appreciate differing opinions.

6) You’re reading a book and you are about to start crying in public. How do you deal?

I don't. It is extremely rare for me to cry over a book, to start with. Secondly, I hate showing emotion in public, so I would bottle it and pretend everything is fine.

7) A sequel of a book you loved just came out, but you’ve forgotten a lot from the prior novel. Will you re-read the book? Skip the sequel? Try to find a synopsis on Goodreads? Cry in frustration?!?!?!?

Shew! It depends on which book it is and how much I have forgotten. I completed the Power of Five series by Anthony Horowitz many, many years after I had read the penultimate book. For that one, I read a summary of the books on wiki (I think it was). For something like Game of Thrones, I will dive right in because I am not rereading book 5 - even if you pay me. There are loads of spoilers out there, and basically, I just need a refresher on the main points. The smaller details will come as I read.

8) You do not want anyone. ANYONE. borrowing your books. How do you politely tell people nope when they ask?

Politely? Sorry. I just say no, apologise for saying no, but explain that my books are precious to me and that I do not loan them out. I will offer to assist to help them find a ebook copy of the book, but my hard copies are out of bounds. Now try this when someone else suggests to another person that they should ask for books from me. Awkward!

9) Reading ADD. You’ve picked up and put down 5 books in the last month. How do you get over your reading slump?

This has never happened. As I said above, the only time I experience something like a reading slump is when I am not enjoying what I am reading. If I had 5 books that I did not enjoy reading, I would probably hope there would be luck with the sixth and try that.

I do, however, go through phases where I pick up a different hobby of mine for a change and where I do not read copious amounts. I am fine with this. I will still read, but I don't always have to pursue numbers and page counts.

10) There are so many new books coming out that you’re dying to read! How many do you actually buy?

This one is not a problem. I don't buy them when they are new releases, because they are R100 more than they will be in a few months. This makes avoiding spoilers a bit more difficult, but it also gives the hype a chance to fade and for me to get differing reviews on books. Sometimes a little time is the difference between me absolutely needing to have a book now, and deciding that there are other things out there that I would rather read.

I do, though, have three typed pages of books (in size 9 font) that I want to read in my handbag. I do not live in a country with massive bookshops with huge selections. I keep the list on me and when I finally manage to find a book on it, I snatch it up and feel delighted about life.

11) After you’ve bought the new books you can’t wait to get to, how long do they sit on your shelf before you get to them?

Not very long, usually. If it is a classic, it will sit a couple of months. I need a rather specific mood for classics - and it usually arrives during the school holidays. With the others, so long as I haven't gone completely nuts, they move on and off my shelves like the tides. Books with heavier content tend to sit a bit longer; huge books that are a part of trilogies wait until decent school holidays. There is a certain amount of logic to it.