Your reading rules

[Pixiegirl105]

Allison wrote: "Well now I want to know what the book is, though, Pixiegirl!

Anthony, I also tend to space out series/authors! All good things in moderation and all that."

Lol Allison and Kristen!! It's Seven Deadly Wonders by Matthew Reilly
Seven Deadly Wonders

His books are pretty much not able to be put down in my opinion.

[Pixiegirl105]

Jemppu wrote: "Anthony wrote: "Oh, and I only read one novel at a time. I’m amazed that some folks here are able to bounce around. That would confuse me. I like to be immersed in the author’s voice throughout the..."

I usually have about 5 books going all at the same time. Part of it is that I don't always carry the same book from place to place. I also have friends that are always late so I keep a spare book wherever I go. I think of it this way, when watching TV, I can keep track of the multiple storylines from show to show...should be able to do the same with several books. :) Also addressing the "in the mood" for specific genres, I tend to have about 25 books out at a time so I always have several genres in case one isn't fitting my mood at the time. For instance, the one I'm reading currently didn't fit my mood last week. Now it does. No clue what the difference between last week and this week is for that.

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

Pixiegirl105 wrote: "Lol Allison and Kristen!! It's Seven Deadly Wonders by Matthew Reilly
Seven Deadly Wonders

His books are pretty much not able to be put down in my opinion. "



Did you ever option it in Buddy Reads?

[Pixiegirl105]

Nah, I usually read too fast for things like that. It's hard to have someone keep up with me. By the time someone reads a book I suggest, I'm probably 10 - 15 books past it. I'm slightly addicted to reading. Lol

[Jemppu]

Pixiegirl105 wrote: "I think of it this way, when watching TV, I can keep track of the multiple storylines from show to show......"

This exactly! It's like tuning to a channel according to what ever hits the mood when ever. And indeed, following several series in tandem.

And location does play a slight role too, as you say. Though mine are all e-/audiobooks, some of them are on my laptop, others on my phone. So, if either is more handily available, that might make the determination as well.

[Pixiegirl105]

Jemppu wrote: "Pixiegirl105 wrote: "I think of it this way, when watching TV, I can keep track of the multiple storylines from show to show......"

This exactly! It's like tuning to a channel according to what ev..."

Sometimes I start a book and go "nope, I need a horror book..." Lol. Same with Netflix/Prime. I sometimes think I want to watch something and 20 minutes in I've lost interest. That being said, I understand that not all people can keep the focus on books for multiple books at a time.

[Jacqueline]

Matthew Reilly is great Pixiegirl. I listened to Contest by Matthew Reilly (his debut novel) last year and loved it and bought a copy for $2 for Hubby to read. He won’t listen to a book or read it on a screen. He has to have a dead tree book to read at bedtime every night. He reads Matthew Reilly a fair bit. He asked me to buy him thrilling/exciting books and I bought him some Matthew Reilly books from a second hand bookshop and gave them to him for Christmas two Christmases ago. He whinges if we buy him presents but it quite chuffed when he gets books and fun socks (he has flamingoes, pigs, planets, cherries, The Beatles and a heap of others because if it’s ok for the PM of Canada to wear fun socks it’s OK for a country CEO to do it too).

My son used to read them as they came out when he was younger. He loved them. He hasn’t had time to read them lately. He has started listening to audiobooks a lot so I’m going to make a “mixed tape” for him with a heap of great books on a thumb drive including Matthew Reilly.

[YouKneeK]

On the topic of changing ratings, I’m in the unchanging ratings camp.

I rate a fiction book almost exclusively based on my subjective enjoyment at the time I finished the book. Since I rate on a half-star scale, sometimes I’ll use more objective considerations when deciding which way to round a half-star rating on Goodreads. Once I make that decision, I leave it alone.

My ratings are less influenced by other opinions because I avoid reading other reviews or discussion threads until I’ve finished reading the book, decided on my rating, and written my review. I know that process wouldn’t work well for the many people who participate in ongoing buddy read discussions while they’re reading a book, but I’m very spoiler adverse and I just really like to do things independently and form my own opinions, then read what everybody else had to say and possibly join in the discussion if I have anything to say. I might change my opinions a bit after discussions if people point out things I hadn’t considered, but I let my original ratings stand.

I look at my ratings as a snapshot in time showing how I felt after I read it. Sometimes I’ll keep thinking about a book and start to like it either more or less after certain things sink in more. Also, as the months start to pass, some stories are more forgettable than others. Sometimes I’ll rate a book pretty high based on how I felt at the time I read it, but barely be able to remember the story a few months later and think I probably rated it a little too high. Other times, I find myself still thinking about a book years later and think that I ought to have rated it higher based on the impression it made on me. In any case, I leave my ratings alone. If I start changing my ratings, I’d end up constantly re-evaluating all my ratings and I don’t want to spend my time on it. :)

In the end I feel like my star ratings don’t have much meaning anyway, not even to myself, without at least some words to accompany them. So I try not to debate with myself too much over my ratings and focus more on expressing my thoughts in my review.

[CBRetriever]

since the only times i review a book are if the formatting, spelling/grammar or something else is wrong/really bad. I do go back and change my ratings when the problem is solved. Three cases so far where I've changed it:

Delphi Complete Mark Twain didn't have the ending of one book Huck Finn if I remember rightly) so I rated it low then changed it when the publisher corrected it.

A Licia Troisi book had the text from one chapter repeated in the next chapter and it was obvious that one was missing. This one took at least 9 months to correct Unfortunately, her books are no longer available in English :-(

The Black Unicorn formatting was atrocious with run on words

[Pixiegirl105]

Jacqueline wrote: "Matthew Reilly is great Pixiegirl. I listened to Contest by Matthew Reilly (his debut novel) last year and loved it and bought a copy for $2 for Hubby to read. He won’t listen to a book or read it ..."

Yay for someone else loving it too! Contest was great! The only one I haven't read by him is The Tournament. Though, he put that into one of his other novels so I definitely have to read it how. Do you all like James Rollins as well?

[Donnally]

I also used to be reluctant to recommend books because I was afraid people would read them and think I was nuts for liking them. Then after awhile I realized no one was going to read anything I recommended anyway, so I felt a lot better about doing it.

[Micah]

My rules are few ... and they've changed recently

1) Support the authors and buy it. I pretty much only get ebooks these days 'cause my allotted bookshelf space is way overfull. I used to buy only used copies ... and for some reason I'm averse to going to libraries.

2) ... But if it's an eBook don't buy anything priced over $9 unless you're really, really, really certain you'll love it or if it's a rare thing from an author you adore. Sorry, but ebooks simply cost too much. An ebook that costs as much (or even more in some cases!) than the paperback? It's ridiculous.

3) Finish reading what you bought unless you know it's going to get a 1-star. I've only given a handful of 1-star reviews and most of them I still finished. Perhaps I did so out of a perverse pleasure at my righteous indignation at the books atrocities? Call it a character flaw.

4) There is no 4th rule

5) Review the book if you've got something to add to the discussion/understanding of the work. If I've got nothing really new to say from the other reviews out there I don't bother.

That is all.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

You crack me up haha

[Jan]

Micah I agree with your #1 and #2. We really should be supporting the authors we love by paying for their books.

At the same time, the prices of ebooks sometimes seem to be overly high, especially with high-profile and popular authors. That makes me cross. It's like the prices are inflated by the booksellers or publishers just because they can, and they know people will buy them regardless. Grrrr.

[Beth]

Checking a book out of the library supports the author, too!

[Jan]

Beth wrote: "Checking a book out of the library supports the author, too!"

Yes, that's true.

[CBRetriever]

Jan wrote: "Beth wrote: "Checking a book out of the library supports the author, too!"

Yes, that's true."

Not as much though. For Kindle books it does as libraries have to be more than normal customers for Kindle books. However a best seller in paper might have three copies bought that are read 10 times each thus the author would be out the profit from the other 9 copies of each book. Unless someone is aware of libraries paying higher prices for paper copies than ordinary customers?

[Coralie]

In Australia, I believe, authors get royalties if you borrow their books from the library.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

I think most authors love it if you buy their stuff, but when there was some kerfuffle a few months back (was it about Tor?) about libraries getting books later than release day, most big name authors I follow say that while they love when people buy their books, if you can't buy it for some reason, the library is a great alternative. They're still selling *some* and particularly if you rate/review after, that gets authors word of mouth!

That's part of my "always review" rule. Some books don't need my drop in the bucket but, I think there's always room for more! Plus, my leaky memory requires I have a written record of what the hell I got out of it when I first read it!

I also think libraries are incredible resources, not just as stores of knowledge, but definitely for that. They're often safe places where anyone can go for several hours without having to worry about spending money or getting weird looks, which is huge for some of us. They're staffed with people who love information, and I have several librarians to thank for my love of books and learning.

As long there is a book in your hand paid for by your money either via your personal account or your taxes, everyone is winning!

(I love that monetary support is some of your goals though--putting your money where your (book)mark is!)

[Jan]

Coralie wrote: "In Australia, I believe, authors get royalties if you borrow their books from the library."

Yes, it's my understanding that there is some sort of library royalties system for authors, at least in Australia.

[Micah]

Don't get me wrong, libraries are a vital part of our communities and I support them ... and know a couple librarians ... I just never go to them myself for some reason. Actually I think I do know my problem with them: I'm a lazy reader. I pretty much only read when I'm by myself having coffee or food. As such I'm slow to get through books and don't like having a deadline placed on me. As a kid we'd go to the library all the time and I'd find all these awesome books to read ... and then never make it through any of them and have to return them (Looking at you, The Hobbit .... several times over).

So I guess in a way libraries made me feel like I was failing. Weird, huh?

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Aw! Well then it's wonderful you have the ability and desire to support authors directly! That seems to fit perfectly with your reading style.

[Pixiegirl105]

Lol...I support the library via fines? Is it bad when the librarians know who you are based on how you use the system?

While the idea of ebooks sounds good, this whole fiasco with Microsoft makes me tend to stick to non-digital media.

[Kateb]

I love Pixiegirl ideas and would also like to know the name of the book.

I married a man with dyslexia , our 4 children inherited this, as did 5 of the 6 grandchildren. None like to read !!!!!

I have loved sc fi/ fantasy since the 1950's and still find it difficult to have anyone to discuss fav books with

SO I loved the rule not to tell people of a fav book, and yes I miss having someone to discuss fav books with . I don't tell people which fantasy I like since some are so elitist and "gee it doesn't have depth"

[Trike]

Pixiegirl105 wrote: "While the idea of ebooks sounds good, this whole fiasco with Microsoft makes me tend to stick to non-digital media."

You can always run them through the free program Caliber, which strips the DRM and can convert the book to other formats. That way you can keep them forever on a flash drive or wherever.

[CBRetriever]

Calibre is the name, I think

and that would be a lot of work as I've purchased over 1600 books from Amazon

[Candice]

Most of my rules have already been discussed, but I do have a few more.

1. Don’t buy instructional ebooks because I like to take notes and highlight (cooking, photography tips, etc.).

2. Have one fiction and one non-fiction book going at the same time. My mood changes throughout the day, week, year. I can have multiple nonfiction books going as long as they are different subjects. I can’t do this with fiction, however.

3. Put my favorite books on a wishlist and wait for the price to drop. Break this rule as needed.

4. Try to remember there are other genres besides fantasy and science!

Great thread! I love reading all the different strategies.

Candice

[Trike]

Candice wrote: "

1. Don’t buy instructional ebooks because I like to take notes and highlight (cooking, photography tips, etc.).”

Ebooks and paper books each have their advantages, but you can do both of those things in ebooks. I would argue the ebook versions are superior because it gives you a list of the notes, highlights and bookmarks you’ve made, so you can quickly scan them to find them again. Also the search function.

[Kateb]

I have one worry with totally ebooks. I am nearly 70, I have an uncle who is 90. He has recently found it difficult to use his kindle. He forgets what various buttons etc do. He is still firing in so many other ways ( eg writing articles for the paper, on a few boards)

So I keep my fav books as paper ones since this means if I ever cant use a kindle I still will have something to read. Reading is my main hobby

[Beth]

Pixiegirl105 wrote: "While the idea of ebooks sounds good, this whole fiasco with Microsoft makes me tend to stick to non-digital media. "

I have trouble thinking of any digital media as anything but ephemeral, regardless of if there's DRM nonsense attached to it.

Did you know that back in the early 1900s there was a court case that determined that paper books were not a license granted only to the original buyer? Bobbs-Merrill v Straus

(Note that I am not a lawyer and my legalese is extremely weak. But what I say above is the gist.)

Candice wrote: "2. Have one fiction and one non-fiction book going at the same time. My mood changes throughout the day, week, year."

This, for me, except to have one "b&w" book and one audio going at the same time. Most often that means one fiction and one non-fiction, but at the very least they need to be very different from each other--for example, there's no way poor brain could handle two fantasy doorstoppers at once.

[Anisha Inkspill]

Trike wrote: "Candice wrote: "

1. Don’t buy instructional ebooks because I like to take notes and highlight (cooking, photography tips, etc.).”

Ebooks and paper books each have their advantages, but you can do..."

This is one of the best things I like about kindle, I also like the export function.

[Emma]

Reading rules for me:
1. Review.
2. Rate.
3. Post on my bookstagram.
4. Try very hard to finish, but if it's too boring, let it go.

[Carrie]

Pixiegirl105 wrote: "Lol...I support the library via fines? Is it bad when the librarians know who you are based on how you use the system?

While the idea of ebooks sounds good, this whole fiasco with Microsoft makes..."

The librarians at my library know me too. I actually have my own special bin in the holds section because I'm there weekly with a pile to take out and a pile to return.

[Pixiegirl105]

Carrie wrote: "Pixiegirl105 wrote: "Lol...I support the library via fines? Is it bad when the librarians know who you are based on how you use the system?

While the idea of ebooks sounds good, this whole fiasco..."

Oh that is so awesome! I wish they would do that for me! I'll just live with the fact they are jealous of how much reading I do. Lol!

[Candice]

I do take notes and highlight in my kindle books, but for certain types of books I need paper. I'm a kinesthetic learner and writing with my hands helps me learn things faster. Plus, I don't take my kindle birding. It's nice to have a field guides that can get dirty and withstand extreme heat!

For the novels, the kindle is FAR superior! I love reading in bed when my spouse is sleeping and taking entire libraries with me on trips!

Candice

[Hank]

Gabi wrote: "@Anna, that's a rule I really should be following as well. I always tend towards better ratings than my feelings cause others like the book."

This rule and something that YouKneek mentioned combines into what I think is a bit of a strange behavior on my part. I won't read any of my friends reviews until after I read the book. It makes choosing books a tad challenging and probably makes my Update Feed look stupid when I hit like on 7 different reviews right after I finish but that is the way I roll.

[Kristin B.]

Me too, Hank! I'll sometimes take friends' overall star rating into account when picking something up, but I won't read any of the reviews until I have finished the book.

[Hank]

Kristin B. wrote: "Me too, Hank! I'll sometimes take friends' overall star rating into account when picking something up, but I won't read any of the reviews until I have finished the book."

Do you ever feel like we are doing it wrong? I know, I know, there is no wrong but I laugh at myself frequently when I refuse to read reviews yet came to goodreads to get book suggestions.

[Kristin B.]

I prefer to have almost zero knowledge of the book before I read it. I like going in blind so I can enjoy all possible discoveries and twists.

So I think we're doing just fine. :)

I get all my book suggestions from word of mouth, buddy reads, group reads, and just seeing what friends are adding to their shelves. It's worked for me so far.

[Sarah]

I’m the exact opposite- unless it’s an author or series I trust I have to read reviews. Either that or recommendations from people I trust will get it on my shelf without knowing much. I’m just too picky about what I want to be reading to be going in blind.

[Beth]

I read reviews (sans spoilers) while reading a book! I don't know why, aside from that it's interesting to see what the hivemind feels before diving in and deciding for myself. No matter how many reviews I read, it hasn't replicated or ruined actually reading a book.

Word of mouth "in real life" hasn't been successful for me to any extent, whether giving or receiving recommendations. Good thing the internet exists!

[Kateb]

But reviews are more detailed than a comment on good reads. I love a "wow" comment and will look at the book. Over time you get to recognise people who you seem to like the same books as you do and that adds to the recommendations

I don't like reviews, often they are too much on the negative , or picky on technique , when I just want to enjoy the story

[YouKneeK]

Reviews are dangerous! They carry the TMI plague. And for me, TMI can be as innocent as “this book has people in it”. ;)

Actually, I do read most of the friend reviews that hit my feed, as long as it isn’t for a book that I expect to read within the near future, say within a month or two. If it’s a book I plan to read eventually, even if not very soon, I’ll try not to read any parts that deal specifically with the plot and focus more on the reviewer’s general opinions. After I’ve read the book, I go back and read/re-read all friend reviews more thoroughly.

I find that I read enough random reviews on a daily basis between GR and another site that the details blur together and I don’t usually remember anything significant as long as I let enough time pass before I read the book myself. Sometimes I wonder if my friends think I’m crazy because I may say in a review that “I knew nothing about this book” and yet I liked a review they wrote a few months ago. I swear I did read the review; I only hit “like” on the reviews I actually read. I just intentionally forgot everything I read afterwards! ;)

It helps that I got a late start on my SF&F addiction. When I first joined the group in 2014, I’d only read about 14 of the books on the group shelf. Now I’m up to 146, because that’s how I choose most of my books – I pick them up (metaphorically speaking) off our shelf blind. I too love knowing as little as possible about a book, even its subgenre if I can manage it. Sometimes it makes for some odd coincidences. After having spent my entire 43 years of life reading almost no steampunk, I’m currently on my 6th steampunk book this year. 3 of those were a complete surprise, whereas 3 of them were sequels that I chose to read intentionally when the surprise turned out to be pleasant.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

I generally go in blind, but if I'm starting to wonder if it's a DNF, I'll check a few reviews to see if anyone mentions the thing I'm having a problem with.

The other caveat is I generally read many reviews while I'm selecting books for my curation, and that works well because by the end I've read so many reviews about so many different books, I no longer remember specifics! So I make my selection and then instantly dump any foreknowledge I managed to glean.

[Jan]

I'm often suspicious of super glowing, gushing reviews about new books and cynically suspect they were written by the author's mum LOL. I tend to ignore those kind of reviews, and will hunt out reviews with lower ratings e.g. 3 stars, that may be more honest and tell me some real things rather than lame blanket statements such as 'a million stars' 'best book I've read this year' 'must read' 'the new ---- (fill in author's name)' blah blah blah.

Yeah, whatever. Tell me something real, please, that will help me decide whether I might like to read this book.

But Kateb, I agree reviews can also be too negative. I don't mind that so much, as long as the reviewer is polite and makes valid points. It's annoying when reviewers are needlessly cruel in the name of their own ego or 'point-scoring'. I also dislike too many stupid animated gifs flashing at me when I'm trying to read a review. Use them judiciously, folks. No need to go OTT.

[Sarah]

^^^Totally me as a reviewer (in reference to maybe being too negative). I mean, I give credit where credit is due- I just find negative reviews to be more helpful. If the reviewer gives one star to a book and says I didn’t like this because the main character is a jerk- I’m okay with that (heck I’m probably adding it to the TBR right away). If a negative review says: I didn’t like this because it didn’t make any sense- or says it’s a translated book poorly told, or it’s told from the point of view of a rock... well. Now I’m thinking twice about it.

See- there I go, doing it again.

I will say that I do have a tendency to read reviews first, before I ever add them to the TBR, and then by the time I read it I’ve forgotten them. Much like Beth I’ll go read reviews mid-book if something is disagreeing with me though.

[CBRetriever]

You also have to keep in mind the reviewers "stars" scale. To me (yes, I'm picky), only an absolute classic or future classics or a book amongst the best books of its type rates 5 stars. An excellent book to me is a 4, OK is 3, 2 is somewhat bad and 1 is unreadable.

I get amused at all the books I'd rate as a 2 that have 5 star ratings.

[Jan]

CBRetriever wrote: "You also have to keep in mind the reviewers "stars" scale. To me (yes, I'm picky), only an absolute classic or future classics or a book amongst the best books of its type rates 5 stars. An excelle..."

Yes, I get annoyed by the heavy-handed way some reviewers give out 5 stars. It's a pet peeve of mine. I save five stars for the few, really worthy books. Other 'really good' books might get 4 stars from me.

If you give out 5 stars too easily, you've got nowhere to go when you do strike that incredible, really extraordinary book.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Eh, some folks give 5s whenever they've really enjoyed a book and are quite forgiving of things that might be deal breakers for others. That's another reason why I do reviews, too! The things that make me all spiky might not be issues for others, and the things I love might make other people's eyes roll.

We have a whole thread on how we rate books/select books to read via Hivemind:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Beth]

Yeah, 5-stars are incredibly rare for me, and 1-stars even rarer, because there's no reason to finish what would shake down to a 1-star book. So basically I have a 3-star rating system, with the odd gold or dun medal every two or three years.

When reading reviews, I'll read all friends and follows, and a smattering of 3- and 2- star reviews from the rest of GR. Like others, I find those to be more honest and balanced.