75 Books...More or Less! discussion
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How to Decide What to Read Next
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I don't really organize my TBR list... in fact, in spirit it's more of a 'pile' than a 'list' ;) I like to kind of sift through my books when picking something to read and wait for that 'A-Ha! That one! That one!' moment. I used to physically shuffle through my books, feeling their covers, their weight, wondering about their covers and titles... I always knew the right one. It's taken a little bit of adjustment since I've gotten my Nook and that method doesn't work any more- now I switch to cover view and flip through them that way until I see something that grabs me. I used to feel bad when things had been in my TBR pile for a long time but then I decided that books, in essence, are patient... waiting for the right reader to come along... and perhaps I'm just not the right reader for a particular book yet :)
My crazy organization comes once the books are read and applies mostly to the physical copies. Don't get me started on how I organize my bookshelves...! LOL
I do something like what Stacie does. I look all over my bookcases and on top of my dresser (the three main places that I keep books). I scan them, looking for the book that I feel that I should read now. Often, I take out a few books to consider and think about them. Then, I pick one and put the rest back for another day.
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Great question! Whenever I come across a book I want to read (which happens often when I look at posts in this group), I add it to my Goodreads To Read list. That list keeps getting longer . . . so I tried making a concerted effort to reduce it. I made a "plan to read in 2010" list that had 50 or 60 books from the To Read list, I think. I've read some of them, but the trouble is that I keep coming across books I want to read everywhere I turn! Usually when I take a book back to the library, I "just have to" browse - and come home with two more. Which of course I have to read before the due date.(Sigh)
I think what I really need is to be paid to read, and then be given about a 32 hour day!
Usually I just look at my books and pick one that looks good.. or order a bunch from the library and the first one to come in I'll read. This time however I was having a heck of a time deciding, and I wanted to read books that I already own.. so I wrote out 10 books and told my hubby to give me a number between 1 and 10. lol! of course he ended up picking the fatest book on there. =)not really the ideal way of picking, but it worked for me this time.
I use Booksfree and I have a list of books I would like to read and whichever is available first and highest on the list is what I read. It sure makes choosing easier. Unfortunately, I also frequent the bookstore so the Booksfree membership cuts down on the volume of books sitting around my house.
I let my husband decide. Mostly he picks a number (my to read list here in GR is numbered) and I read the book he picks by just saying a number. I've read books that way that would've collected dust otherwise and that have been major good reads.
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Husbands can have peculiar choices, books we would rather leave a little longer untouched are the ones they undoubtedly will pick. :) He's made me read The Caine Mutiny, and all I can say is that I was astonished at how great it was! The thing that does help with him picking, is that he doesn't read much himself so he is completely unbiased in his choice.
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I do essentially all of my "recreational" reading on my Kindle and found that there were so many good book recommendations that I downloaded samples for that my TBR list became unwieldy. I now keep track of books that I want to read sooner rather than later using the collections feature on Kindle. It makes it a lot easier for me to keep the books I want to consider next visible, plus I can continue downloading samples of books that sound interesting but that I don't need to read that soon.
Andrea, my husband has the habit of constantly interrupting me when I'm cosily on the couch reading. When I'm reading, to him it's that I'm doing nothing. :)
I've learned to live with it, he doesn't mean no harm with it, he just doesn't get it.
And I got the same response, when he's older. I think we better get that in writing.
Although I did manage to make him read The Road by McCarthy, The Long Walk by Stephen King and at the moment Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton. He's getting there.
His revenge? He chose a book for me this morning. The Divine Comedy by Dante. Yep, there are those days I wonder if he does it on purpose. :)
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My husband is a reader. For which I am completely grateful. BUT, he reads the WEIRDEST stuff. Stuff I would never read (OR want to read for that matter). And he is always trying to get me to read his stuff (NO honey, for the 20 millionth time, I DO NOT want to read Star Wars. The movie was good enough for me). So letting him PICK my books would NOT be cool for me. :-) But in general, that is a GREAT idea!!! And if could just be from MY list, then I would be willing to try it. But he is sneaky..I am sure he would sneak some of his stuff onto the list somehow!!! LOL.I need to hold the book. Look at it for awhile and then I either put it back or I read it. Something just clicks in me and I know. Though, I HAVE been wrong. And those books were a HUGE struggle to get through.
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By the way, I like your new pic! :)
Thanks. Thats one of those spur of the moment "Oh I have the camera in my hand I wonder what I can do" jobs! :-)I actually have read books the DH has recommended. Which is why I usually steer clear LOL!!!
@ Dawn Michelle: Do you also read books beginning to end, even though you don't actually like the book very much? I do that, I always try to be optimistic in thinking it might get better, but usually it doesn't.
Now I've got a system that I read about a quarter and if I still don't like it, I'm giving up. Luckily that doesn't happen very often.
Oh my gosh yes. I have read SO much crap because of it too. I just keep thinking "Its GOT to get better" and most of the time, it never does. That is how "The Good German" was for me. The husband LOVES that book. And I just kept waiting for it to get better. I LEARNED a lot from it, but it never really caught my full attention. Maybe someday I will be able to just put a book down and let it go. There are like 3 books I have never finished and they are quite often at the back of my mind, WHICH, btw, is also annoying! LOL.
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I used to HAVE to finish a book I started, no matter what. Now, I'll let myself put it down if I'm not enjoying it, but I'll keep it on a list to go back to one day.
Andrea wrote: "I have the annoying habit of not being able to put down a book once I start it even if it is crappy. I am getting better at this though and almost came close with two bad books recently. However, I..."I'm the same way! I can't stop reading a book no matter how bad it is. I always feel the need to finish it because otherwise, what was the point of starting it? I have put a bad book down and come back to it later in hopes of it being better, but it usually doesn't happen...
I have read SO many books so far this year that I just DID not like. And yet I read them all the way through. I must like to torture myself and those around me as I complain how CRAPPY the book is that I am reading. LOL!And I find that if its a book that someone has recommended to me (especially if its one of their FAV's)I want to keep reading to TRY TRY TRY to find something redeeming about it so I don't feel stupid for saying "Thanks for the recommendation, but that book just SUCKED big time". Which, usually never happens (finding something redeeming that is!).
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I started doing it this way, in an Excel file, because just keeping one big TBR list here on GR got to be so overwhelming. Now I just keep the short list on here; makes it much easier to shuffle books around as my mood changes, without feeling guilty for ignoring something that's been sitting there for months and months in favor of newer additions.
Am I the only one who puts this much thought into my TBR? How do other people decide what to read next, and what to put off till later?