It’s another Thursday and that means time for another book tag! This week I’m taking on the Reader Problems book tag which I saw on Frappes and Fiction.
1. You have 20,000 books in your TBR, how in the world do you decide what to read next?
Firstly, I do not have that many books on my TBR. How rude. I’ve worked very hard to get down to double figures.
I actually do have a (somewhat random) system for this. I get a friend to choose me six books from my TBR this month. I still have no idea why people like doing this but I asked the question back in January and in the first hour of tweeting, managed to get people covering me until October. I also have my challenge reads each month, which accounts for four more. So I pick from those first. They sit in a pile on my desk so I just grab whichever one is at the top. And then after that, if I need more to fill my month, it’s just * vibes * I’m not much of a mood reader so I’ll just randomly pull something off the shelf and go for it.
2. You’re halfway through a book and you’re just not loving it. Do you put it down or are you committed?
I rarely get that far into a book before putting it down if I don’t enjoy it. I am a ruthless DNFer. I don’t have time for books I’m not enjoying. I struggled through that enough at school and uni and it’s not the life for me.
3. The end of the year is coming and you’re behind on your reading challenge, do you try to catch up? And if so, how?
Oooh. I want to say no, it’s an arbitrary goal I set myself and I don’t care. But that would be a lie. I usually sort my TBR by books with the lowest page count and work from there. I also try to make more time to listen to my audiobooks when I’m doing housework and things like that.
4. The covers of a series you love do not match, how do you cope?
I just have to get on with it I guess. I don’t love it when the covers don’t match but it’s not the end of the world for me. If I really love it enough, I might try to get a matching set, but I can’t think of many books I’ve done that with.
5. Everyone and their mother loves a book that you do not. Who do you bond with over your shared feelings?
Usually Steph. I can’t think of many books that we disagree over. But also, I don’t really talk about books I don’t enjoy, and if I really didn’t like a book that much, I would have finished reading it.
6. You’re reading a book in public and you’re about to start crying. How do you deal?
Oh my sweet summer child. I can list on one hand the books that have made me cry at all, and the books that made me cry in public on one finger. I’m not a big crier at fictional things. If I did feel like I was about to cry, I’d probably just put the book down and not read on until I got home.
7. The sequel to a book you loved just came out but you’ve forgotten a lot of what happens. Are you going to reread it?
It depends. Often I just ask someone who’s read the sequel to tell me what’s important to know or if I need to reread (hi Martha, and thanks for all the Cassie Clare updates). If that’s not an option, I will read over a couple of reviews and see if that jogs my mind. Or I reread. As an aside, authors who put the “previously in this series” notes at the start of sequels, I love you.
8. You do not want anyone to borrow your books, how do you politely say no when someone asks?
I have no issue lending books out to my friends. Although, I did lose a few when a friendship ended and she didn’t send them back as promised, so I guess I’m slightly more cautious now. But the people I lend my books to love books as much as I do, and I usually have a few of theirs I can hold hostage until I get my own back.
9. You have picked up and put down 5 books in the last month. How do you get over this reading slump?
Pick up the next one and hope it’s better? That’s my usual strategy. If I’m really struggling then I will read first chapters of things on my shelf until something catches my interest. Or I might reread an old favourite. I studied English for a long time though and I still have the mindset of just picking the next book up to read, so I don’t really get reading slumps.
10. There are so many books coming out that you are dying to read, how many do you end up buying?
All of them. Every single last one. Maybe not all at once, but if I’m desperate to read them, they’re coming to love with me.
11. After you purchase all of these books that you’re dying to read how long do they sit on your shelves before you get to them?
HA. Rude. I did not ask to be dragged on the internet today, thank you very much. Currently the oldest book on my shelf that I was desperate to read has been there since October, so about four months. Sometimes it’s longer. Everything on my TBR currently has been there less than a year though.
I really enjoyed answering the questions to this tag. Let me know if you do it too, I’d love to see your answers.
Charlotte, Somewhere 
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