The Reader Problems Tag

/ saraletourneau

Reader Problems Tag

Thanks to Michelle at The Writing Hufflepuff for tagging me on this! This is a more wacky and humorous “blog hop” than other ones I’ve done, so I knew I had to join in. Each question delves into different “problems” readers can experience because of their love of books and reading. So, here we go!

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

I wish I could say that I have a system for choosing which book to read next – but I don’t. 😉 This year, I actually have a reading plan to help me prioritize what books to read. Otherwise, I try to read newly published / recently published books as soon as I buy them, and older books whenever they “call” to me, if that makes sense.

Q: You’re halfway through a book and you’re just not loving it. Do you quit or commit?

Ohhhhhhhh I commit. Even if a book makes me want to rip my hair out, I try my best to finish it. Maybe I carry an unconscious hope that things will improve before the end…? Otherwise, something reeeeealllly has to grate on me to compel me to DNF it.

Q: The end of the year is coming and you’re so close yet so far away on your GoodReads challenge. Do you quit or commit?

I tend not to do GoodReads challenges. If I set a high reading goal, I know I’d end up pushing myself, and making reading less enjoyable. I’d rather see how many books I can read in a year and surprise myself by meeting or exceeding the previous year’s total.

That said, I read 21 books last year, and right now I’m already on my 14th book for this year. So, I’m on track to read more books in 2015 than I did in 2014. 😀

Q: The covers of a series you love DO. NOT. MATCH. How do you cope?

It’s not a big deal to me. I have series where all the covers match. And then I have series where one of the covers differs from the others, or series where one book is either paperback or hardcover and the others are the opposite. I don’t have a preference either way. Life’s too short to be fussy about matching book covers, IMO. 😉

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

Hmmmmmm. I think I’ve always found at least one person who shared my thoughts about a particular book. If I didn’t, it wouldn’t change my opinion – but it would make me wonder what I missed, or whether I was too critical.

Q: You’re reading a book and you’re about start crying in public. How do you deal?

Well… I’ve read books that have made me cry, but the “reading parts of a book that make me cry in public” scenario hasn’t happened to me yet. If I had to imagine it… I don’t know. I’d probably stop reading and leave wherever I was so no one would see me upset.

Q: 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 summary on GoodReads? Cry in frustration?

This is what book bloggers call “book amnesia,” right? *lol* Not to make anyone jealous, but I don’t have that problem. If I enjoy a book enough, I usually remember it well enough that I don’t feel the need to catch up before the sequel comes out. If I don’t remember the first book, chances are I didn’t like it and won’t bother with the sequel.

Q: You don’t want ANYONE borrowing your books. How do you politely tell people “nope” when they ask?

Hey! I let people borrow my books. And the borrowers always return those books, and in the same condition those books were in when I last had them. That’s why I like to call my book collection “my library.” 🙂

Q: You’ve picked up and put down five different books in the past month. How do you get over the reading slump?

I don’t take breaks from books unless it’s going to be a permanent break – in other words, unless I’ve decided to DNF them. My list of unread books on my shelves at home is long enough that I put down a particular book to read something else, I won’t pick it up again. So I try my best to power through what I’m reading and hope I pull out of my slump soon. (I’m actually going through that right now with the book I’m reading…)

Q: There are so many new books coming out that you are dying to read! How many do you actually buy?

ALL OF THEM! *lol* Kidding. If the cover, blurb, and genre snare my attention right away, I’ll pre-order the book before it comes out. Otherwise, I wait for book reviews to start surfacing (especially from the blogs I follow, since I trust their reviewers most *winks*) and then buy the book if the general consensus is encouraging / positive.

Q: After you’ve bought a new book you want to get to, how long do they sit on your shelf until you actually read them?

Depends on what you mean by “new.” If it’s newly or recently published, I’ll start it as soon as I finish the book I’m currently reading. If I just purchased the book but it’s been out for a while, I often let it sit for a few months… or a year… or longer.  *face reddens*

Nomination Time!

Here are my nominees for the Reader Problems Tag. If you don’t normally particular in tags or blog hops, or you don’t have the time to participate, that’s perfectly OK. Just know that I was thinking of you. 🙂 Also, if you’re not nominated but would like to join in on the tag, you’re more than welcome to! Just link your post to mine once it’s online. (Hey, that rhymes! *lol*)

E. Rawls

Alex Hurst

Sarah J. Higbee

Christina @ Christina Writes

Yvonne @ It’s All About Books

How about you? Do you share any of the same reading habits – or problems? Or any that are different? Share your answers by commenting below.

35 thoughts on “The Reader Problems Tag”

  1. Ooooo~! Tagged! (I didn’t get a notif though… 😦 You can tag people by linking to a specific page or post on their blog, just as an FYI, in case you didn’t know.)

    I’ll have to consider these questions. I’m having the opposite problem as you. I was overambitious this year and started the year with The Arabian Nights, so I’m 12 books behind my reading goal for 2015. Hahaha…. I always set a goal of 50. But I’m not hard on myself if I don’t finish it.

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  2. Interesting answers. 🙂 I also find it hard to abandon a book half way through even if it’s a struggle to read. I’m not sure why. I have conflicting thoughts. On the one hand, I think, reading a book that I’m not enjoying is a waste of time, on the other, I think it’s a case of I don’t like quitting/giving in. I’m quite a stubborn person. :. 🙂

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  4. Great answers. I have trouble deciding what to read next too…mostly it’s based on mood, but so many other variables factor in – like, is like to mix up my genres, authors, publishers, and with review books there’s also the release date to think of. Very complicated choosing system here! 😛

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  5. I’m so doing this tag when I get a slot open on my blog. Too many tags so little time lol. Thanks for opening it to the public. I’m with you. I rarely put a book down even if I don’t like it. I did have to do that last year with two books thought because they were just. So. Awful. I only got five pages in with each and I couldn’t take it.

    storitorigrace.blogspot.com

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    • You’re welcome, Tori! And no worries, take your time. 😉

      Five pages?? Yikes! You’re a tougher reader than I am. I try to give a book at least 100 pages or the halfway point before I give up on it.

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      • I just am such a slow reader that I can’t take the time. The two books were presents and gosh …. one was selfpublished and it was so so bad … After your eyes are opened to writing done write it’s hard to stomach less lol.

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      • “After your eyes are opened to writing done write it’s hard to stomach less lol.”

        Very, very true. And it sometimes convinces you not to read that author’s work again, too. That’s happened to me before – as recently as last month, too!

        Like

      • And there’s a type in there. *right XD

        I hear ya. It feels really awkward since one of those people I’m like thirty years younger than and I can school that person in writing lol. Not to brag, but it’s a face … ^ ^’

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    • Thanks, Christina! 🙂 Yeah, with all the books I need or want to read for different reasons, the best way to tackle it all in some kind of organized fashion was to create a reading plan. The trick will be whether I can stick to it! 😉

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  7. Ooo – thank you Sara! You certainly know how to cheer up a grumpy writer who isn’t getting enough. Writing, that is! But I AM enjoying my reading this year, so I’ll be delighted to answer the questions and therefore am very grateful to have been tagged:))

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  8. Pingback: Problems Every Reader Can Relate To | christina writes

  10. I think most of my answers would completely differ from yours, that is pretty interesting! 🙂 I don’t think I’ve ever pre-ordered a book, I’m more of a go out on release day and buy it kind of person. I hate waiting for shipping, aha. I’m pretty lax with my DNFs, if I’m not feeling it I’ll put it down and forget about it, maybe go back to it someday. I have unread books on my shelves from 2009 D:

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    • That’s what makes this tag so interesting: Everyone’s answers can be so different! 🙂

      For some reason, I have a lot of trouble finding the books I want to buy in stores, so I end up buying a lot of them online. Hence the pre-ordering. So I don’t have much of a choice there…

      Ha ha, I think I have a few books I bought back in 2009 that I haven’t read yet, either. 😉

      Thanks for stopping by, Alise!

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  11. Reblogged this on Brainfluff and commented:
    Many thanks to Sara for thinking of me – I’ll be responding in due course. In the meantime, I thought you might like to consider your own replies to these questions about your reading habits…

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    Reply

  14. Pingback: The Reader Problems Tag | It's All About Books

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