I saw that Aimee from To the Barricade did this tag, and it looked pretty cool, so I decided to give it a go. 1. You have 20,000...

Reader Problems Tag (Or: Guys, The Struggle is Real!)

Alexa Mintah

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I saw that Aimee from To the Barricade did this tag, and it looked pretty cool, so I decided to give it a go.

1. You have 20,000 books on your TBR. How do you choose what to read next?

Haha, this is so accurate for me right now! I don’t have 20,000, but with all the freebies I’ve downloaded to my Kindle lately, I feel like I’m pretty close.

That said, I have a kind of complicated system, but basically, books from the library take first priority. After that, books I’ve been asked to review, one a week. Then, I add in a title from my shelf, either one I’ve been dying to reread, or one I just got and have been dying to read (Lots of dying going on. Life of a reader, don’t ya know?).

I’m very organized when it comes to my schedules and such, so I set up my reading plan a week in advance, trying to get in about 100 pages a day. Between that and 150 if I’m doing two books at once.

2. You’re halfway through a book and you’re just not loving it. Quit or commit?

I go by my 100-pages rule: if I’ve spent a day’s reading time on this story, I’m around 100 pages in, and nothing about it has me hooked, then I’ll quit and move on. Unless the book is really short, say 200 pages. Then I figure, “Well, I’m only wasting two days, so I’ll go ahead and finish.”

3. The end of the year is coming and you’re so close yet so far away on your Goodreads reading challenge. Do you try to catch up and how?

I’d buckle down and read like all the books will be burned on New Years’ Day. I cannot stand failing a commitment, even if it’s one I made to myself like the Goodreads Challenge. It would kill me to not finish before the 31st, so I’d just read like crazy. I’m homeschooled, so if necessary, school would stop, writing would stop, everything would stop, until I met my goal.

I might even call up this wonderful individual to give me a TARDIS ride so I could be paused in time for a couple days.

4. The covers of a series you love do. not. match. How do you cope?

Honestly, this doesn’t bother me. You’d think it would cuz I can be kind of OCD about a lot of things, but this isn’t one of them. I might notice it, but I’d probably just shrug and move on with my life.

5. Everyone and their mother love a book you really don’t like. How do you cope?

Well, if I can’t find anybody to whatever-the-opposite-of-fangirl is with me, then I will probably have a very long conversation with myself about why I didn’t like it. I may even have more than one conversation, depending on how deep my animosity for the book runs. Once I in general feel better about life, I’ll post my Goodreads review and go on to the next book. Though I’ll definitely think about it from time to time, trying to figure out why in all the worlds the book was such a hit.

6. You’re reading a book and you’re about to start crying in public. How do you deal?

The likelihood of this is very small. I’m the sort of person for whom tearing up pretty much amounts to most people using half a box of Kleenex. Most of the time, I just don’t cry. In fact, the last few times I did cry, I remember in detail, because it just doesn’t happen often.

Now, tearing up will happen, but that can generally be hidden with a covert wipe across the face and “Oh think I’ve got something in my eye.”

From giphy.com

7. A sequel of a book you loved just came out, but you’ve forgotten a lot from the prior novel. Will you re-read the book? Skip to the sequel? Try to find a synopsis on Goodreads? Cry in frustration?!

I might reread the first book. If that’s not an option, I’d skip to the sequel, and try to remember things as I go along. Though the “finding the synopsis on Goodreads” is a good idea. I might have to try that.

Though honestly, if I loved the book, I likely won’t forget the major events. Things I love kinda make a huge imprint in my mind.

8. You do not want anyone. ANYONE. Borrowing your books. How do you politely tell people nope when they ask?

I don’t. Politely, I mean.

From degrassi.wikia

Okay honestly, that’s a little exaggerated. I don’t mind my best friends borrowing my books, because 1. I borrow theirs, and 2. I know they’ll be careful with them.

It’s... other people, who get the above gif reaction.

9. Reading ADD. You’ve picked up and put down 5 books in the last month. How do you get over your reading slump?

This has never happened to me. However if I ever ended up like this, I’d probably snag the chance to hole up and reread everything, then see if anything good has come out in my absence.

10. There are so many new books coming out that you’re dying to read! How many do you actually buy?

None if I can help it. As much as I love books, I’m pretty tightfisted with my money. I always check the library first, and even if there’s like 20 people who’ve requested it (true story), I’ll scream in frustration, mentally curse the other readers who intentionally did this just so I couldn’t read the book, and then wait impatiently for my turn.

If it’s not at the library, then it depends on how desperate I am. I recently bought Hunt for Jade Dragon by Richard Paul Evans and Tiger’s Promise by Colleen Houck, because I really really really really really really really desperately wanted to read these books and my library didn’t have them.

11. After you’ve bought the new books you can’t wait to read, how long do they sit on your shelf before you get to them?

Heh, heh, possibly a long time. See, my mentality is, once I’ve bought it, I can read it whenever I want. So it’s not really a priority anymore. 

That said, see my answer to question 1. From there, it depends on how many rereads or other new books are ahead of it.

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And there you go! That was pretty fun! Like Aimee, I’m not going to tag anyone specifically, but if you’d like to do the tag, do it, then let me know so I can see your answers.

Any other bookish habits you lot have? Anything from mine you agree on? And last, but certainly not least, what’s the last book you bought and did you like it? Comment away, lovely people!

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