Challenge: 50 Books discussion
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Question #22: Method of Madness
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Danine
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Jan 02, 2009 10:02PM

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I have grand dreams of finishing the 1,000 Book lists, but I somehow doubt I'll every be disciplined enough to disregard books that pique my interest.

Most of my decisions are spur of the moment. I love going into my personal library and choosing something off of the shelf that I've been meaning to read for years.
I also had a scary thought recently. Maybe I shouldn't purchase any books this year at all and read the books I have. I could do it but I don't know if I could actually go through with it. What dark thoughts plague my mind!

Natasha




Typically though, I just choose whatever genre I feel like reading, sometimes it's a classic and at other times it is a young adult novel, sometimes it's in Norwegian... Whatever I want to read right then really.




It would make sense if I read those first, wouldn't it! I do grab one off the shelf every now and then, but mostly lately I've been reading new YA fiction. I just went to a conference, so it got me all excited about the new books that are out there. And that's the way it works for me usually--I go through phases. About 2 years ago I went through a Georgette Heyer phase, so I now have about 10 of her books on my bought-but-haven't-read shelf. It's the same with lots of other authors...

I also will stop my plan if a friend wants to read a book together. I love having someone with whom I can read a book.

Though there's definite time constraints on this this year (work, school), I'm a little worried that constraining myself to a list will make my progress slower than if I just picked up something that piques my interest at the time being rather than picking up something I "have" to read, especially considering I've abandoned a lot of these books previously. We'll just have to wait and see. Right now I'm actually excited about quite a number of the books on my shelves at home and had trouble picking just one. Let's hope that by the time I finish this particular one, I'll still be just as excited about the others.

This is a much better way as otherwise I get excited and check out too many & lost track and have overdue fines, lol.
Outside of goodreads, this year I chose some books from "Oregon reads" promotional.
I also do searches at the library site, online.
I have certain authors I will always read for fun.
The other books are specialty areas I am interested in/studying on my own.
Finally, I try to find a new book or author regularly to "stretch myself" and not get into a "reading rut."

I did get a GC to the bookshop for christmas, so some NEW books are going to be in order. I can't wait to pick up a few new ones.
Plus I have a little "books to read" journal that I make notes in and will pick some from that list as well.


Seriously though... I tend to just pick and choose based on mood and availability. I have a couple of books on hold at the library so when they come in they get priority over anything else that might be on the go at the moment (hence why I'm still listed as 'reading' Night of Many Dreams).



But I think it's part of some literary inter-connected life force. I shit you not. For example: whenever I lend out a Kerouac book, I get one from an unexpected place. I lent a friend On the Road, and there was a random copy of The Portable Jack Kerouac lying in a classroom that my teacher said had been there for ages, and I could have. OR! The second time I loaned out On the Road, I found a copy of Visions of Gerard at a used book sale (in the travel section no less!) and bought it for a quarter.
I think there's a paraliterary world out there.


On the one hand, I actually read everything I buy because I can't turn to the larger selection of a library. On the other, I can't get everything that strikes my fancy. But it does look like there will be a lot more classic books on my reading list this year because that's what's cheapest and most easily available over here.

Same boat. Except I'm sailing in Korea. But I was actually able to find a small library at an International Club in my city (which is surprising because I live in a smaller city in South Korea), I've also found two book stores that have a well...meager selection of books to be honest, but hey it's books nonetheless.
I hear you about reading lots of classics.
Have you heard of bookswaps? There are a few websites that alert you to when someone "dropped" a book in a public place, and you can pick it up. Or you can arrange to swap with a person from some of the websites. It works pretty well if you're in a bigger city.





I do a bit of both. I'm a real anorak (ie nerd) and keep a list of books in my purse by favorite authors. When I find used books somewhere, I check them against my list to see if I own it or not so I don't buy duplicates. I have enough though that I recently realized I'd read less than half of what I have. So in my list, I started checking off which ones I've read. So I'd like to read a few more books by favorite authors I already have instead of rereading some favorites they've written.
But I also read on spur of the moment on what appeals to me. I saw the complete four season set of brit tv series "P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster" DVDs at the library. I'm checking them out and enjoying them, so am now checking out the actual P.G. Wodehouse stories. However, with 25 short stories and 12 novels, I won't get through them all as the library only has about 5.
If I start a series of something, then I like to finish the series when possible. And I try to throw in at least a few classics every year to go along with my romance and mystery novels. Since I can read a romance novel in about 5-6 hours, I also try to have a non-fiction book on the go that I can read a bit at a time while in the car waiting for the kids to get out of school, etc. Right now that's a Jermey Clarkson book. I'm also reading the companion book to the James Bond movies, and watching each movie since I have it after reading the chapter on each one.
My to-read list on Goodreads isn't really accurate. All books must be checked off as Read, Currently-Reading, or To-Read. If I can't remember if I read it or not, and I'm not currently reading it, then it's marked as to-read. That's the hazard of uploading and entering your home library into Goodreads. lol

There always has to be an exception to the rule however, and if I've previously started a series or have just finished a book with a sequel, then I usually like to finish those up, and...well I hate to say get it out of the way since I enjoy reading so much, but I can't seem to think of a better term at the moment.






i have about 10 books in my personal library i haven't read yet though.

- The TBR list here on GoodReads is a great help. Generally, I read whatever is chosen for my book club, then just look at my TBR list and compare it to what I already own. I'm trying to make it through the ones I own and have not read first.




So with all that, I just pick a book that I have that tickles my fancy at the time and read it. Sometimes I will go for all the unread books by a particular author and get on a kick. I recently joined the Goodreads group "Pick a Shelf" and that is helping me focus on a theme each month. Basically, I don't usually know what I am going to be reading next and that's half the fun. My friends and family will tell you that I am always reading.

I also read a lot of book reviews and get updates about new books that are out so I also get books from the library to read on top of the books I already own. Right now I had to add about 8 books that I got from the library into my list, so I know exactly what books I am reading from now until the end of the year. (Hopefully I can get through all 11).