The Reader Problems Book Tag

We readers face a lot of hardship…

Hello, it’s Friday, and I am doing another book tag for which I was not tagged. Why? Because the mood strikes me.

I saw the Reader Problems Book Tag on Bookspiration By Sarah and decided to go ahead and do it.

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

Well, I am a mood reader to my very core. Usually I just hop on Libby and download whatever book to my Kindle I feel like reading, or grab one of the library books I got on my most recent trip to the library. My Goodreads “Want-to-read” list is hundreds of books long, and that’s on purpose, because when I don’t know what to read I can just scroll through it until I find something that I’m in the mood for and go try to get my hands on a copy.

It’s less of a TBR and more of a General List Of Books I Will Maybe Read Someday.

2) You’re halfway through a book and you’re just not loving it. Do you quit or are you committed?

A year ago, back when I used to pride myself on never DNFing, I would have been unequivocally committed. But now, it depends. If it’s truly awful and adding no value to my life, I probably wouldn’t have made it all the way to halfway through.

If, on the other hand, my mood reading is coming back to haunt me and I’m just not in the mood for the book, I’ll go read something else and probably come back to it in a few days… or a few weeks… or a few months, but I’ll finish it eventually.

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?

Pro tip: When you can see you’re not going to make your Goodreads goal, just change the goal to something lower so you don’t see the “you did not make your goal” words of shame at the end of the year. No one actually cares about your Goodreads goal. Or better yet, just aim low to begin with and gradually raise your goal as you get a better idea of how the year is going.

In 2020 my original goal was 50 books. Thanks to quarantine and the inception of this blog, I passed that in like May. So I upped it to 75. Finally I made it 100 when I realized I would be able to do it.

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

Honestly, I don’t care. I don’t buy that many books, but to me a book is a book. If I can read it, I don’t care about the aesthetic. (The only exception is those hideous mass market paperbacks with the disgusting small typeface)

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

Well, I’ll probably write a really mean Goodreads review and then later delete it because it’s too mean and if I ever write a book I won’t be able to handle criticism so why dish out what you can’t take?

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

Usually I don’t full-on cry about books, but I sometimes get teary-eyed if the book is really sad. Solution: put on sunglasses.

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?!?!?!?

Easy: Look up the Wikipedia summary.

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

Hmm…… my sister does this and the books are always returned with BENT covers because she puts them face down and doesn’t use real bookmarks (she uses pencils!) So I usually just tell her she cannot borrow any more if she ruins the one she’s currently trying to borrow. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t.

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

I think the best solution to this problem is just to purposefully NOT read for a few days. You’ll start to miss it. Poof! Slump gone.

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

Unless I find a deal, probably none. It’s just not practical. Why spend a ridiculous amount of money on books when you can just wait a few weeks for them to become available at the library? I don’t buy many books in general.

Admittedly, sometimes this is torturous (Ex: I waited three months for Project Hail Mary but hey, I ain’t spending $30 on a new hardcover book. I’m a stingy high school student with no real job and I don’t even like hardcovers)

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?

Again, it depends on my mood. If I feel like reading them, not long. If I’m not in the mood to read them, well, it could take months. But I will read them at some point in my hopefully long life.

I’m not going to tag anyone for this tag since I wasn’t tagged myself, but if you want to do it, feel free!

How do you solve these bookish problems? Do you agree with my strategies? Let me know in the comments!

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Classical music piece of the day: Chopin- Nocturne in F Minor (Yes, another nocturne. Yes, Chopin is my favorite composer)