So many books and nothing to read

[Joseph]

Well, that's not quite true, it's just that I have about 12 new books I just got, a combo of books I bought that just came out and holds from the library that just arrived, but I don't feel like reading any of them now! You ever have this happen? What do you do? Read them anyway even if you are not in the mood for those particular new ones, reread an old favorite, get one more new read and let the others sit, what? I've tried to read these new ones but I can't seem to get very far into them before I have to just stop reading. I hate having waited all this time for these books to get here but I can't get into them! I'm currently instead reading yet another new book for me, yet an old publication, it first came out in 1989!

[Bee]

That always happen to me...I have so many books that I have book n.I haven't read yet...but what I do is ... I go.thru my book shelves or I check my Nook to see what get my attention...is hard to pick when u have so many options... hope u find something to read soon ;)

[Paulfozz]

I get the same problem, with books, CDs and DVDs! I won't read a book if I'm not in the mood for it, I'd rather leave it and read something else I feel more like reading. I buy books very often that I won't read for quite some time, but they all go into the to-be-read pile to read when I am in the right mood. I buy a lot of used books and when buying new I very rarely pay full price for that reason though.

[Michelle]

I have the same problem. I have thousands of books here that I haven't read, but just can't find anything to read. Having so many books is a gift and a curse, isn't it?

[sonya]

I borrow from friends and the library. I now have a personal library in my house. I brag about it.

[Colby]

I reread something I loved. But yeah, this happens to me all the time!

[Tee27]

Joseph wrote: "Well, that's not quite true, it's just that I have about 12 new books I just got, a combo of books I bought that just came out and holds from the library that just arrived, but I don't feel like re..."

That (at times) leads to a reading slump. When I feel like I don't have anything to read, I'll buy some new books (which I can't wait to read WHILE I'm in the bookstore), glance at my tbr pile and possibly pull out a book, or I just won't read at that time. I rarely reread a book, no matter how good it is because I hate knowing what's going to happen next.

[RB]

Honestly, not really. I have so many different books that I always have something within my reach that fits any mood. My problem is not knowing which to start reading because I want to read it all at once!

But sometimes, if I read too much and too quickly for my natural pace, then I feel that I have reached a plateau and I just need a break from reading, plain and simple. Maybe that's where you're at at this moment Joseph?

[Karen M]

On a good day I'll just look at a shelf real or vitual and a book will "call" to me or maybe it's been calling to me for a while. On a bad day I can pick out a dozen books and nothing.... I'll use random.org when I'm really at a loss what to read and sometimes I have to go thru dozens of books before I hit the right one. I hate days like that..

[Stefani]

Rita wrote: "Honestly, not really. I have so many different books that I always have something within my reach that fits any mood. My problem is not knowing which to start reading because I want to read it all ..."

This one is my biggest problem. I will sit there with a pile of books on my lap or my bed and think, "but I want to read them all!". So lately I have been trying to switch off, reading one from an existing series I follow, reading something new, reading from an author I know well, reading from someone new.

[Susan]

I do the same thing Stefani!

[Louise]

I'll usually start 4-5 different books, and eventually one of them catches my interest :-)

[Lawrence]

I agree with you Louise. I have 3-4 different books going at the same time and when one of them becomes more exciting than the others, then I would stop reading them and finish the exciting one.

[Paulfozz]

I mainly have that problem when going through dry spells in my reading - have got about six books part-read from my last one, but there were two or three others that I've now finished reading.

I'll often start a technical book and give it a break to read something lighter (am doing that at the moment), but I try not to have many fiction works on the go at the same time because I forget what's going on in the different stories and end up getting rather confused!

Usually if I really cannot settle on a book to read I end up falling back on one of the Terry Pratchett books... I've re-read those so many times they're looking rather tatty!

[[deleted user]]

I can only seem to read one book at a time. Sometimes I have a hard time starting another book when the previous one was so good that my mind hasnt accepted the fact that I am finished with it.

[Kristen]

I have months like this. I have lots of books sitting on my shelves that I 'want' to read but just can't seem to start. And right now I am in the middle of multiple books but can't seem to get the energy to dig into them so I can finish one.

[Joseph]

Tammy wrote: "I can only seem to read one book at a time. Sometimes I have a hard time starting another book when the previous one was so good that my mind hasnt accepted the fact that I am finished with it."

Tammy, that's a called a Book Hangover: Inability to start a new book because you're still living in the last book's world. :-)

[Mary]

Joseph wrote: "Tammy wrote: "I can only seem to read one book at a time. Sometimes I have a hard time starting another book when the previous one was so good that my mind hasnt accepted the fact that I am finishe..."

I like that Joseph - If I concentrate real hard when reading a new book I can usually get into it and leave the "Hangover" behind.

[[deleted user]]

@ Joseph, I'll have to remember that Book Hangover at least it doesnt make you feel bad.

[Janice]

That happens to me too. I'll look through my shelves, and nothing appeals. I'll start to read a book, put it down and begin another, and can't find one that grabs my interest. So it's time to sit at the computer or go to the book store and shop for new books until something grabs me!

[Paulfozz]

I have so many interesting books to read now that I don't really struggle too much to find something to read. It can take a few minutes to make a decision but often I've decided what to read next before I finish the book I'm on (considering how long it takes me to finish a book I have plenty of contemplation time). Finishing The Fry Chronicles on Friday I immediately picked up The Life of Birds as I had already decided that would be my next book... and it's superb! :-D

[Jill H.]

I go through phases of not being able to decide what to read. I mostly read history (and the books are usually huge!), so I need a break with something light, like a good Golden Age mystery. But then when I look at my shelves I draw a blank.......I don't do it very often but it is quite frustrating since I have hundreds of books. But it soon passes, thank heavens.

[Samantha]

I have so many books that I've brought and are in my to be read pile. Like a lot of you have said I start reading a few at the same time until one grabs me. But at the minute I'm struggling to find one even though I know I want to read them all. Or for a few hours the book keeps me entertained and then when I go to pick it back up I'm just not into it any more. Sometimes when I dislike a book I worry that it was because I wasn't in the right frame of mind to read them.

[Zonah]

Oh boy,I really thought I was the only one who had this phobia kind of thing of buying books,decorating my shelf with them,and many of them are the ones that I haven't really read and yea I sometimes get guilty by it,but ITS NATURAL!!

[Sarah]

I usually use it as an excuse to go browse the bookstore which results in me creating an even larger TBR pile. The worse is when I go to the bookstore, find something that is part of a series, fall in love then have to go buy the rest immediately so that I can read the series. Just results in my TBR pile getting bigger. I need a month to do nohting but read and I might make a dent in it then!!

[Janice]

If I have read too many from my TBR pile, I almost panic and have to find more books to buy. The whole point of my book shelves is so that I will always have something there to read. If I loved a book, I keep it, even though I rarely re-read. I MIGHT decide to re-read it someday. I also like to loan them to other readers if I know they will treat the book kindly.

If I can't find anything I want to read on my shelves, then that is another excuse to go to the book store.

[RB]

I have a good suggestion for you all:
In another group I'm in, a group member suggested to start a "choose for me"-monthly read.
Perhaps it would be an idea to impliment a similar thing here? :)

Basically people that want to participate are set up in pairs, and they choose books for each other from their specified shelve. I know this link is in Danish, but I'm sure that you get the idea:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

In my group we normally choose two books, in case one turns out hard to get hold of.

[Cassie]

I like this idea Rita

[sonya]

Joseph wrote: "Well, that's not quite true, it's just that I have about 12 new books I just got, a combo of books I bought that just came out and holds from the library that just arrived, but I don't feel like re..."

Did you manage to get through your books from the library? You might be overwhelmed.

[sonya]

might make a real dent if not so bored with my tbr piles

[Ottery]

I can honestly say I've never ever had this problem in my entire life. Even as a kid before I built the tiny library I now have in my home . . . this was never a problem. Wow. People can't find stuff to read. Wow.

[RB]

Lol you know what they say - not being able to see the forest for the trees ;-)

[Paulfozz]

I think that when you have a lot of books but can't find anything that grabs you then it usually is because you're having a short period of general dis-interest. I find that sometimes and it happens with movies and tv and with other hobbies too, sometimes you just get a bit restless and nothing seems very compelling. I think it's why you can go through periods where you read voraciously and then at other times only read a little.

[Lára]

All the time.
I´ve just collected George R.R. Martin´s A Song of Ice and Fire series, and after finishing the 1st book, I don´t have a will to finish the others (not because they´re bad but because I lost interest - for I´ve already collected them)

about 75% of the books I bought I do not want to read. They're waiting on my shelves, and most´ll wait for a quite a time, and some I´ll probably never read.

[Samantha A]

I literally have hundreds of unread books that I am not motivated to read, and they all come with raving reviews. It's weird.

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder*]

Oh I USED to have this problem a lot. Had a few hundred books then but frankly they were very limited by genre.

Now, on the other hand, I never feel like I can't find something I want to read. I branched out to have plenty in almost every genre, including ones I haven't really tried yet, and with so many un-read books there I can always find something.


When I used to have the issue you're describing, it was maddening.

[Paulfozz]

There's been a change that's occurred recently: I've found that, like Erin, I don't now ever find myself unable to find something to read… the problem is the opposite; that there are too many books on my shelves that I want to read right now! It's in some ways a little stressful (all those books clamouring to be read!) but it's a fantastic situation to be in, that there are so many great books all lined up on the shelf for me to absorb and enjoy!