SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion
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Are your eyes bigger than your reading capacity?
Okay, I'll try thisHow many books do you have right now on your “Want to Read” shelf?
I have 754 books on my tbr shelf, but that doesn't include the photos of books I want to read on my phone, manual lists, and those books that is on my bookshelves and e-reader that I have yet to read
How many on your scifi shelves?
102 books, not including manga, comics, graphic novels, and books in my tbr list. It also doesn't include the books I put under a different shelf since it's a sub-genre of scifi eg. Steampunk, Scifi Romance, Dystopia/Utopia etc.
How many on your fantasy shelves?
323 books, not including manga, comics, graphic novels, and books in my tbr list. It also doesn't include the books I put under a different shelf since it's a sub-genre of fantasy eg. Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Fairytale, Fantasy Romance etc.
Now the hard one: What percentage of your “Want to Read” list do you think you’ll actually read?
Probably around 85-90%, since some books are unavailable, while others are books that I added a long time ago and unlikely to read now
I rarely add something to my tbr list until I'm absolutely sure that I would want to read it, though that doesn't really help in decreasing the size since I just add more and more
But I will try to read all of them. The only problem is, so many books, so little time!
I don't have that problem.I've got 9 on my "to read" list here and most of those I added just so I remember the books exist and to keep an eye out for them.
All the rest of my 249 on goodreads are books I've read.
I didn't bother to put most if my read books on a shelf other than "read" when I first added them, but almost all of them are sci-fi...maybe 4 or 5 fantasy, I'm just not interested in much fantasy.
I buy most of my books used so when I hit the used bookstore, I generally stock up on 3 to 5 books and then work my way through them. I think I may only have one or two in that pile right now. I've got one old Russian SF paperback that I've just not been in the mood to read but eventually I'll get to it.
I have hundreds of books on my various virtual to-read lists, from Amazon to the library.In real life I have a giant stack of books that I keep adding to because I am clearly an addict.
Trike wrote: "I have hundreds of books on my various virtual to-read lists, from Amazon to the library.In real life I have a giant stack of books that I keep adding to because I am clearly an addict.
"
I have one like that as well! Every time I pass by it, I'm scared that it'll all fall down on me...
It fell on me twice while I was stacking it. Ouch.
I have a problem. Yes, I do.
A three-ish number of bookcases
I fool myself into thinking, it's okay, in a year I read +100 books, in 10 years I'll still be alive here and have read likely over 1000 books, so....long term goals, okay?
Arielle Rae wrote: "Okay, I'll try thisHow many books do you have right now on your “Want to Read” shelf?
I have 754 books on my tbr shelf, but that doesn't include the photos of books I want to read on my phone, ma..."
Wow!
Your numbers make me feel better about my own--but your estimate is both humbling and impressive.
I confess that I use my WTR shelf the way I use my Amazon book wishlist.
Micah wrote: "I don't have that problem.I've got 9 on my "to read" list here and most of those I added just so I remember the books exist and to keep an eye out for them.
All the rest of my 249 on goodreads a..."
You appear to be a man in control--and an exception.
Trike wrote: "I have hundreds of books on my various virtual to-read lists, from Amazon to the library.In real life I have a giant stack of books that I keep adding to because I am clearly an addict.
"
That looks eerily familiar.
I finally did man up a few years ago and send 16 boxes of books I had already read to a reading program in Samoa.
Arielle Rae wrote: "Trike wrote: "I have hundreds of books on my various virtual to-read lists, from Amazon to the library.In real life I have a giant stack of books that I keep adding to because I am clearly an add..."
The road goes ever on and on.
Doc wrote: "Trike wrote: "I have hundreds of books on my various virtual to-read lists, from Amazon to the library.In real life I have a giant stack of books that I keep adding to because I am clearly an add..."
I admire you. It's so hard to let go of books
Rena wrote: "I have a problem. Yes, I do.
A three-ish number of bookcases
I fool myself into thinking, it's okay, in a year I read +100 books, in 10 years I'll still be alive here and have read likely over 10..."
When, in those thrilling days of yesteryear, I was working in a rock band at night and free during the day, I read between 200 and 300 books a year--and my stack never got significantly smaller.
Micah wrote: "I don't have that problem.I've got 9 on my "to read" list here and most of those I added just so I remember the books exist and to keep an eye out for them.
All the rest of my 249 on goodreads a..."
At least part of your secret, I surmise, is recycling your books through used bookstores. Economical and practical. Should I also surmise that you don't do e-readers?
Arielle Rae wrote: "Okay, I'll try thisHow many books do you have right now on your “Want to Read” shelf?
I have 754 books on my tbr shelf, but that doesn't include the photos of books I want to read on my phone, ma..."
Good idea, taking pictures of the covers of books you want to read, although it means going to the bookstore, which many e-reading types don't do any more.
I read almost everything on a Kindle now, which leaches out the appeal of color graphic novels. Sometimes I read one over a venti cup of something nice in the Starbucks inside my local B&N.
Yes, i downloaded two more from the library, because I could (both available at the same time), but mow have a 2-week limit to read them, plus the 14 others I've got going (mostly physical vs ebooks, this week). I finished 3 today, so it's dwindling a bit, then had the book club copy dropped in around midnight by another night owl, so increasing again. Thank goodness I'm "retired" or I wouldn't be able to read as much.
My wife was supposed to have been visiting our son this weekend, but the flight was cancelled due to fog. The 10-12 books I was hoping to read over the 4 days are impossible, since I need quietness to read. It's 2:45 am now, and she's (finally) gone to bed, so I'll start the new one.
LOL,fortunately my TBR lists are saved in email drafts after creating them in Notepad.I then c & p them into an email draft that is categorized such as Suspense-Thriller/ Historical Fiction/Nonfiction/Cozy Mystery/Mystery/Horror or whatever. So no actual stack of books except a small continually changing one with library books that are being read,if they are not on my Kindle.Now since getting my Kindle 10/11 I have managed to hoard 800+ Kindle Freebies on it,but I do select books on it to read in between reading paper library books.
As Jonathan posted above, I am doomed. I have four bookcases (and I live in a 1 bedroom apartment). And on the floor of my walk in closet, I have about 300+ books in boxes.My TBR list is 208 as of today. That is mostly books I have not got around to buying yet; the bookcases contain a mixture of TBr and already read.
Our monthly library book sale has paperbacks for $1; so when I go there, I really pick up used books. I have been collecting books for 48 years!
Should I join one of those organizations---"My name is Mary and I'm a bookaholic?"
Nope, too late to quit now.
I would point you to the last photo in my profile, the chart. That pretty much sums up most of us, I think.
Doc wrote: "You appear to be a man in control--and an exception..."Fooled you! I have well probably 150+ printed circuit boards for electronic music projects waiting to be completed.
I'm out of control, but I do control the WAY I'm out of control ];P
Also, to all you bookaholics, take heart. You're just looking at your unread book piles in the wrong way:http://ruchir75.blogspot.com/2008/01/...
"The writer Umberto Eco belongs to that small class of scholars who are encylopedic, insightful, and nondull. He is the owner of a large personal library (containing thirty thousand books), and separates visitors into two categories: those who react with “Wow! Signore professore dottore Eco, what a library you have! How many of these books have you read?” and the others - a very small minority - who get the point that a private library is not an ego-boosting appendage but a research tool. Read books are far less valuable than unread ones. The library should contain as much of what you do not know as your financial means, mortgage rates, and the currently tight read-estate market allows you to put there..."
Before switching to e-books, I never had trouble with backlogs of physical books. I’m not much of a collector, and I hate clutter, so I’m not normally one to amass overwhelming quantities of anything. I would buy a few books, read them, and then buy a few more. If I bought it, I read it. Back then, I lived in a small apartment. I had three bookcases and no more wall space. Once those bookcases were full, I would give books away to make room for more and/or check out books from the public library.When I switched to e-books, I didn't have too much trouble at first. I would download a book, read it, then download another book. But, once the Kindle came out, e-books finally gained some popularity with the general public. Publishers were giving away free e-books left and right as a promotional tactic. Free e-books seemed like the coolest thing ever, and I downloaded them with wild abandon. I amassed quite a backlog before I realized the situation was growing out of control and slammed on the brakes. Now I’m pretty strict about sticking with books I already own, or books that are sequels to books I’ve already read.
I use my “to-read” shelf a little differently than the way I think most people use it. Mine only contains the next dozen or so books from my backlog that I plan to read after my current book. If I read a book from a series and I like it, then I'll insert the rest of the books from that series in there even if I don't own them yet. But mostly my to-read shelf is a small portion of the books I already own and want to read next. I don’t adhere to my list too rigidly, but I like to choose my books in advance so that, by the time I read them, I remember as little as possible about the book’s synopsis. To me, a synopsis often gives away too much information about a book, making it too predictable and less fun.
I haven’t bothered to add all my books to Goodreads. I already have them in an Access database that I was using before I joined Goodreads. When I read a book, then I add it to Goodreads and review it. So my Goodreads shelves only contain the books I’ve read since joining, along with the aforementioned dozen or so to-be-read books. So my numbers below won’t be an apples-to-apples comparison with other people’s responses -- my “want to read” list only contains books I already own and it’s based on my database, not my Goodreads shelves.
Total # of want-to-read books: 223
Total # of want-to-read science fiction books: 92 (41%)
Total # of want-to-read fantasy books: 67 (30%)
Since these are books I already own, I expect the percentage of books I actually read to be pretty high. I’ll guess 95%. If I read a book by an author and I hate it, I’ll probably delete any other books I have by the same author. But my books are written by a wide variety of authors, so I don’t expect to get rid of too many books that way.
I am the worst....addiction-wise anyway. I have 468 on my tbr, and 384 on my tbr are on my I own it list. So I have 2 book shelves full of things waiting to read, but every month theres SOMETHING I have to buy for a read, so book shopping I go again. I am ridiculous!
I've currently got 361 books on my tbr list, but that's really only the tip of the iceberg. As crazy as this sounds I actually have a backlog of books that I need to organize and add to my tbr list. I'm sure there are hundreds more that I haven't added yet.There are only 58 books on my read shelf but this is because I didn't start consistently tracking my reading until 2012 and did not add any books as read if I read them before 2012. There are actually quite a few books in my tbr pile that I have read, but it was so long ago that I don't remember them well enough to rate or review them accurately and I want to reread them.
I can't really answer the questions about the percentages on my sci-fi and fantasy shelves because I really don't bother to tag books before I've read them. I would guess though that between 80 and 90 percent of my books fit into either sci-fi or fantasy.
I'd like to think that I'll read the majority of my tbr books eventually, if I live long enough, but like lots of bookworms I keep adding them faster than I can read them. What makes matters worse is that I do like to reread certain books from time to time so that really adds to the tbr pile.
I usually don't have a lot of books in my TBR stack ... pre-Kindle, if I bought books, I read them soon after purchase. I do have more unread books now, as I am now a Kindle owner and a faithful follower of several "free Kindle downloads" lists. Currently I have 66 books on my Kindle, unread ... all from the free downloads, but quite a few of those will end up DNFs for me. This is not necessarily a criticism of self-publishing, eBooks and free downloads, as I will often bring home a dozen books from the library from new-to-me authors and may finish less than half of those hardback books as well. While I do read fast, I don't have a lot of patience for a book that doesn't grab me quickly.
My to-be-read pile has about 97 books on it as of today (not counting my ebooks, which probably adds another 20 or so), and I will read 100% of it, as of today. Every few months, I go through and get rid of all the books I know I won't read, so that I have room for the books I buy and get from the library. I tend to buy somewhere between 5-10 books a month, so my tbr pile stays around the same number. There comes a point, usually in the fall, where I stop buying books because I know with Christmas coming, I'll get a lot, and then my tbr numbers dwindle.I would guess, roughly, that 25% of my books are sci-fi or some sub-genre (steampunk, dystopia/utopia, etc.), and about 50% are fantasy.
Doc wrote: "How many books do you have right now on your “Want to Read” shelf?Now the hard one: What percentage of your “Want to Read” list do you think you’ll actually read?..."
I've got 265 books on my TBR list, mostly SFF. I'll probably never read them all, as many are out of print and not available as e-books yet.
I joined GR almost 6 years ago, and have been adding to my TBR lists pretty continuously since then. I am mostly a library reader, so I use my list on GR as a 'slush pile' - anything that looked or sounded good to me at the time, usually pulled from suggestions in groups I belong to. If I'm looking for something to read, I surf my TBR in one window, while I have the library catalogue open in another.Also, my DH and I easily have over 3,000 books in the house, most of them read, but I think about 100 of those are waiting to be read. I haven't bothered to put them on GR yet, will have to do that one day. I'm not particularly an ebook reader person, I prefer DTBs, but I do have about 25 books on my iPad, most of which I have read.
So, the numbers:
Want to read someday list ALL = 3,553 books
WTR SF= 818. (23%)
WTR Fantasy= 784. (22%)
I average about 100 books a year, so, if I don't add any more books (unlikely), and I read them all, it will take me about 16 years to read all my SF/F books. :)
I use my want to read shelf mainly to catalog books I own and are either physically sitting on a shelf or waiting digitally in an ereader. The small subset of want to read books that I don't possess are on my wishlist which is only about 70. My SF and Fantasy shelves contain both read and unread.Want to read: 1230 books
SF: 760
Fantasy: 496
Percentage I think I'll actually read: 80 percent
Jonathan wrote: "I'm not going to make any attempt to count. I noticed when I bought the Kindle that the new books were pouring in daily, while my reading time supports no more than one a week depending on length a..."I hear you. This has become more of a situation for me since I subscribed to a couple of sites that e-mail me about free or bargain books on Amazon. I find it hard to resist the temptation to download every free Kindle book that interests me.
Micah wrote: "Also, to all you bookaholics, take heart. You're just looking at your unread book piles in the wrong way:http://ruchir75.blogspot.com/2008/01/...
"The writer Umberto E..."
I agree, with respect to research-type books and many kinds of nonfiction--but not so much with fiction books meant for reading cover to cover.
I do appreciate, however, enjoying the first book in a series and knowing that I have struck a vein I can look forward to mining.
YouKneeK wrote: "Before switching to e-books, I never had trouble with backlogs of physical books. I’m not much of a collector, and I hate clutter, so I’m not normally one to amass overwhelming quantities of anyth..."I have 3 GR shelves--"Priority 1," "Priority 2," and "Priority 3"-- that I use to track the books I most want to buy and/or read.
When I was starting this thread, I could not figure out a way to sort or search for books on a shelf such as scifi that re also WTR. Did you do that in your other database, or can you enlighten me?
Kythe42 wrote: "I've currently got 361 books on my tbr list, but that's really only the tip of the iceberg. As crazy as this sounds I actually have a backlog of books that I need to organize and add to my tbr list..."I used to reread books, but now, with my backlog, I resist the temptation.
Sharon wrote: "I usually don't have a lot of books in my TBR stack ... pre-Kindle, if I bought books, I read them soon after purchase. I do have more unread books now, as I am now a Kindle owner and a faithful ..."
In pre-ebook days, I found it almost impossible to quit even bad books. Now that I own a Kindle and the books have no paper presence, I am much more willing to move on. My Kindle collections include one called "Set Aside," and it ain't empty.
Jes wrote: "My to-be-read pile has about 97 books on it as of today (not counting my ebooks, which probably adds another 20 or so), and I will read 100% of it, as of today. Every few months, I go through and g..."Egad! Organized and resolute!
I just keep telling myself that I will get to all those books one day.
Doc wrote: "When I was starting this thread, I could not figure out a way to sort or search for books on a shelf such as scifi that re also WTR. Did you do that in your other database, or can you enlighten me?"I used my database since I don’t have all of my want-to-read books on Goodreads. I’ve noticed the same thing -- that it doesn’t seem to be possible to filter on the intersection of multiple shelves on Goodreads. If there’s a way to do it, maybe somebody else will enlighten both of us.
I never really got into using Shelfari, but I had tried that site before I came to Goodreads. One of the things I liked best about Shelfari was that the tag/shelf selections were stackable. You could click on more than one tag and only get books back that were flagged with all of the selected tags. For example, if I clicked on my “standalone” tag and my “fantasy” tag, I would get a result back that only displayed my standalone fantasy books. I could, of course, create a separate “standalone – fantasy” tag and use that, but I don’t want to create a bunch of superfluous tags and have to remember to select them when I add new books. I prefer to keep it simple.
It’s one reason why I still rely on my Access database for general book organization. It isn’t fancy, but it’s under my own control so I can customize it however I want.
Doc wrote: "Micah wrote: "Also, to all you bookaholics, take heart. You're just looking at your unread book piles in the wrong way..."I agree, with respect to research-type books and many kinds of nonfiction--but not so much with fiction books..."
I look at it like this: a library full of unread books is a resource of untapped potential...whereas a library full of read books is a dead monument to past achievement. A resource of what? Cultural research/experience...or just plain entertainment. Think of it as inspiration, rather than as an encyclopedia.
Yes. But it's better to be over ambitious than otherwise, is it not?
I've got 109 books on my GR list. Probably 60% SF, 10% Fantasy and the rest various genres. No idea how many I'll actually read - if come across a book that looks interesting, I add it as a reminder. There are certain authors that I read as and when new stuff comes out & the rest of the time I go for whatever takes my fancy from the list.
I actually have 1,275 books on my TBR shelf - not sure how much is SF/F though as I don't put them in genre shelves until I have read them.How many shall I read? Unsure - though being retired I can read up to 250 books a year so if I don't buy or borrow any more I'll clear the pile in 5 years - like that will happen as I am addicted to books.
How many books do you have right now on your “Want to Read” shelf?:: A great deal, about 100 or so.
How many on your scifi shelves (mine includes read books)?
:: Not sure without checking.
How many on your fantasy shelves (mine includes read books)?
:: Not sure without checking. I read a variety of stuff.
Now the hard one: What percentage of your “Want to Read” list do you think you’ll actually read?
:: 100% of them. I am determined and I love reading. I have no intention of letting a good story slip my grasp.
I have over 100 right now many of them the first book in a series. I think I will read 90% of them eventually, a few I know the low priority ones will keep getting pushed down the stack as I find better things to read.I have a churn rate of over 100 a year but considering like 30 of those books will be current year books, and about 20-30 more will be recommendations or this looked cool in the book store. It only really leaves about 50ish to books on my too read not to mention that one book can become 4-5 if I liked it because it's part of a series.
Aaron wrote: "not to mention that one book can become 4-5 if I liked it because it's part of a series."That’s my biggest hindrance to getting through my to-be-read list... the series books. Especially since I prefer to read a series all at once. So I’ll knock out one book from my to-be-read list and, if I like it, I then get side tracked by reading the rest of the series.
This has the weird result of making me equally ecstatic whether I like a book or hate a book. When I like it, I’m happy because I get enjoyment out of it and (usually) out of the rest of the series. When I hate it, I’m happy because I can just cross it off my list and move on to the next to-be-read book without getting side tracked.
The worst is when a book series falls under promising, so you keep reading only to find the whole series was just aggressivly mediocre.
Aaron I find myself doing the same thing - and it also applies to TV series. Can be hard to walk away just in case it improves.
I have lots and lots of unread books: DTBs, ebooks and freebies. I don't really know how many books (physical or digital) are in my library. Over 1,000 at least. Past that and everything is fuzzy. I have at least 300 books in my "TBR-Owned" pile.I enjoy having a curated library of unread books. I know everything there was picked with my (or hubby's) taste in mind.
I have far too many books on my Kindle waiting for me. It's exciting, thinking about all the awesomeness waiting for me!
Total 770
SF 162
Fantasy 214
Total 770
SF 162
Fantasy 214
Don't have my breakdown of books since I have many lists including a wishlist on amazon. However i am always adding books, and I try not for every new title that is not on a list to read 2 off my list. I am lucky if at the end of the month the list hasn't grown by 10+ items.
My biggest issue are the authors and groups. It seems that no one can write a standalone today - everything is a 15 book magus opus. O_o So I pick up a group read and suddenly I need to read 14 books to finish off a series. :-(That's just a little annoying. I was fine with trilogies but the rest are starting to make me irritated.
On Goodreads, I add books to my “Want to Read” shelf far faster than I buy them, so . . .
Time to fess up:
How many books do you have right now on your “Want to Read” shelf?
How many on your scifi shelves (mine includes read books)?
How many on your fantasy shelves (mine includes read books)?
Now the hard one: What percentage of your “Want to Read” list do you think you’ll actually read?
Truly is it spoken: The road to incompletion is paved with “Want to Read” intentions.
I’ll go first.
As of 18 May, 2014, I have 463 books on my “Want to Read”shelf, 54% of my total of 862 books. (Note: When I joined Goodreads, I did not bother to enter all the books I have read. Even if I could remember all of them I wouldn’t be able to rate many of them.)
My scifi shelves: About 243 (there may be some duplication), or 28% of my total.
My fantasy shelf: 141, or 16% of my total.
Since I continue adding to the list, and some of those books will take priority—and knowing that the list does not include bought but unread books—I think 15% is a generous guess for how many current WTR books I will actually read.