Guest Post: Reader Problems

These questions were created by About to Read on Youtube!

Katherine's Reader Problems

• You have 20,000 books on your TBR. How in the world do you decide what to read next?

Well, I'm kind of a "I read what I want" type of person, so I'd probably read the book that captured my interest first. Or I'd just pick a book from the ginormous pile and give it a try. While I don't have 20,000 books no my TBR, it sometimes feels like it. ;-)

• You're halfway through a book, and you're just not loving it. Do you quit or are you committed?

I try really hard not to DNF a book. But if I'm halfway through a book and I'm really not loving it, I do DNF it. Life's too short to read a book you dislike.

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

It depends on how many books behind I am. If it's 5 books or under, I'd try to play catch-up. But if it's 6 or more books, I'd just not worry about meeting my goal. I'd be proud of the books I did read, and there's simply no point in stressing out over doing the thing you love. Reading should be fun, not a chore!

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

I'm not usually one of those people to totally freak out over a cover change, so long as the series is all the same format (all hardcover, all paperback). I do get a little annoying of they change the covers and I happen to like the old covers, but it's not the end of the world.

• Everyone and their mother loves a book that you really don't like. Who do you bond with over shared feelings?

this has happened to me so many times. Everyone seems to love a boot BUT me, and I'm left feeling all awkward about it. I just take comfort in the fact that there's bound to be someone else out there who doesn't love the book as well (unless it's Harry Potter, which everyone universally loves. I have yet to meet a person on this planet who doesn't like Harry Potter).

• You're reading a book and you are about to start crying in public. How do you deal?

This is going to sound really awful. . . .but I never cry during books. EVER. It makes me sound like a Grinch, but it's the truth. I just don't cry while reading. Not during Mockingjay. Not during The Fault in Our Stars. Not during The Book Thief. It just doesn't happen. But if it did happen (by some miracle), I would probably move to a more private location so I could cry in peace, if possible.

To prove my Grinch-ness even more, I rarely cry during movies. But it does happen. I don't cry when humans die, but if an animal dies. . . .I'm a complete puddle. I ran out of my 4th grade classroom sobbing during Prancer because the reindeer got shot and they showed a close up of his bleeding leg. I grieved after an an (an ANT!) died during Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. I can't bring myself to watch Bambi because I know I'll be a complete mess. Weird little tidbit there.

• 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 the sequel? Try to find a synopsis on Goodreads? Cry in frustration?

I have a pretty good memory, so I have a tendency to remember a lot from previous books. I would say if I did forget, it would depend on how long the previous books are. If it's 200-300 page book, I would reread the book. But if we're talking A Game of Thrones length, I would just forget it. I'd probably Wikipedia the entire thing.

• You do not want anyone, ANYONE, borrowing your books. How do you politely tell people nope when they ask?

I never lend out my books, mainly because none of my friends are as avid readers as I am. I did lend out a book one time to my lab partner in science my senior year, and I have yet to see it, three years later, haha!!! If a friend did want to borrow a book, I would just tell them straight up that I don't lend out my books.

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

Like all readers, I do have occasional reading slumps, whether it's because I simply don't have the time to read or because I don't feel like reading in general. If I'm in a reading slump, I just let it take its course, then read a book I know I love. It reminds me why I love to read in the first place.

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

Ah, the tricky question for all book addicts, because we want to buy ALL THE BOOKS!!! I try to limit my book buys to those I absolutely know I MUST have, like a sequel to an anticipated book series I love, of it it's a book in my favorite genre, or if the premise just sounds so interesting I simply can't wait for it to become available in my library.

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

Again, it depends on how excited I am. If it's a book I've been anticipating for a long time (or it's a sequel), then I read it right away. Other times, I wait a little while to read it when I feel like I'm in a mood to read it.

Hazel's Reader Problems

• You have 20,000 books on your TBR. How in the world do you decide what to read next?

Usually I either go with what I feel like reading at the moment, or what I have on my shelf. I go through spurts where I will just read through all the unread books I have bought, or sometimes I'll just read ones I get from the library.

• You're halfway through a book, and you're just not loving it. Do you quit or are you committed?

It depends. Sometimes I just can't make myself finish a book like if it's just too dull and I can't be bothered (it depends on how I'm feeling). But if I hate it for reasons, then I will always finish it so I can explain why in a review.

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

I read as much as possible, even if that means no more Netflix marathoning until I meet the goal. :P

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

I don't. Just kidding; this is a huge pet peeve of mine, though. I guess you just have to live with it. Sometimes it's not a bad thing.

• Everyone and their mother loves a book that you really don't like. Who do you bond with over shared feelings?

My Goodreads friends of the same opinion - usually Mara, since we have many of the same likes and dislikes. ;-)

• You're reading a book and you are about to start crying in public. How do you deal?

Try to be brave. Usually I have to stop and save it for later, but sometimes it's too late.

• 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 the sequel? Try to find a synopsis on Goodreads? Cry in frustration?

If I have time, I love to re-read the previous book in a series before the new one comes out. I usually make a spot for it on my monthly TBR, but sometimes I just can't and then I will just either hope I remember things, or do a quick flip through the book to hit the high points.

• You do not want anyone, ANYONE, borrowing your books. How do you politely tell people nope when they ask?

I do lend out some of my paperbacks, depending on who it is who is asking, but usually I will not lend books (had bad experiences with that). I usually say that I just don't lend books and it's a blanket policy, no offense. ;P

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

Ugh, hate it when that happens. This usually happens to me when I finish an awesome series and can't find anything new to replace it. Sometimes it's the kind of thing that you just have to wait out. Usually I personally start writing when this happens, because I won't have anything to distract me. But other than that, forcing myself to finish a book usually helps.

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

I always buy ones from continued series or authors I love. I sometimes will do a faith buy on a couple brand new ones if I have it on good authority I will like them, and provided I haven't gone over my budget with others. Sometimes waiting for my library to get things is just too annoying. :P

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

Depends. If I have nothing better to read, they go fast, but sometimes series books that aren't my top, top faves will sit for a few months, or I might just not feel like reading a certain book at the moment.

Cayla's Reader Problems

• You have 20,000 books on your TBR. How in the world do you decide what to read next?

The sad part is that this is semi-realistic of my current situation (once you count all the books in the series I've started). The method I currently use isn't very impressive and usually consists of scrolling through my To-Read list and finding one that catches my fancy to request at the library. Or, if I happen to see a book that looks interesting at the library, I'll grab it there.

• You're halfway through a book, and you're just not loving it. Do you quit or are you committed?

Ugh. I fatal flaw. Unless there is a content issue, nine times out of ten I bite the bullet and just finish the thing. If it's just AWFUL I may abandon it, but usually I feel a twisted sort of duty that requires I get through it. I suppose I just don't like leaving things unfinished.

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

Again, sadly accurate to last year's circumstance. Whether or not I try to catch up really depends on the situation. I don't have as much time to read as I'd like these days, so often it just isn't possible to catch up. However, when I do decide to try, I usually tackle several books at once (which I don't do under normal circumstances). Honestly, though, I'm not too competitive about finishing on time.

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

That would definitely irritate me. However, this isn't too much of an issue simply because, being a broke college student I buy close to no new books (yay for libraries!). So I rarely actually see all the books in a series together.

• Everyone and their mother loves a book that you really don't like. Who do you bond with over shared feelings?

This happen to be fairly often, oddly enough. Thankfully, I have plenty of people to rant to (whether or not they're particularly willing :P). My brother makes a very good sounding board and, since I work at a library, my co-workers are good to talk with as well.

• You're reading a book and you are about to start crying in public. How do you deal?

I'll be honest, this RARELY happens. Maybe I have a heart of stone, but I've only actually cried over a book once or twice. I've gotten emotional plenty of times, sure, but actual tears are very rare. This did happen to me recently when reading the end of Return of the King (that last line, especially, gets me every time). In that situation, I put the book down for a couple of minutes to collect myself. This usually isn't a problem, though.

• 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 the sequel? Try to find a synopsis on Goodreads? Cry in frustration?

Depends on the situation and how long the first book was. Before I read the second Enola Holmes book, I re-read the first. Ditto with the Lady Ilena books. Sometimes I just don't have time to re-read the first one, however, in which case I look over my review and read as detailed a synopsis as possible. Usually I start remembering stuff within the first couple of chapters.

• You do not want anyone, ANYONE, borrowing your books. How do you politely tell people nope when they ask?

I'm assuming this is a rhetorical question because I normally don't mind when people borrow my books (as long as I'm not in the middle of reading them - which has happened a time or two. . . .). I suppose if I was in this situation I'd explain that I'm afraid of forgetting which books I lent to who and just keep it at that.

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

We already know I'm a bit stubborn when it comes to finishing books, so this isn't a huge problem for me. However, I do have reading slumps when nothing sounds interesting. When that's the case I might do a couple of things: 1) take a break from reading and let the slump run its course. 2) Do some writing of my own to job my creativity. 3) Read Lord of the Rings (yes, I'm a die-hard fan of this book and I've honestly never been bored while reading it.) One of those three usually does the trick! :D

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

A rough estimate would be. . . .zero. See above for the 'broke college student' comment. ;)

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

Depends on life, obviously. However, I will admit that I'm not usually good at getting to books that I actually own. Library books always get read first. I guess I take the ones I own for granted. :P So it really could be a couple weeks to a couple of years before I read them. I know, terrible.

The Reading Hedgehog's Reader Problems

• You have 20,000 books on your TBR. How in the world do you decide what to read next?

I start with a gameplan! In some ways, I'm a mood reader; I can force my way through a book even if I'm not feeling it, but let's be honest: forcing your way through a book when you're not in the mood isn't doing anyone any favors. I'm not enjoying the book as much as I might, and therefore I'm less likely to give it a fair review. So each month, I look through my TBR shelf and pick out what I imagine I'll enjoy. And I don't deviate from that stack unless I really need to.

• You're halfway through a book, and you're just not loving it. Do you quit or are you committed?

If I'm halfway through a book, I'm usually committed by that point. Otherwise, I just wasted my time that I could have used for a better book, and I need to feel like I got something out of it. Like writing a review.

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

I've done two things in this situation: I've tried to catch up (and failed), or I cheat and lower my challenge quota. Or I read a bunch of kids' books that take less than an hour to get through - which is also cheating, in my opinion.

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

I close my eyes whenever I have to look at them. I REALLY hate it when a series doesn't match, but I also get over it and it eventually becomes a minor annoyance that I might gripe about once a month and move on.

• Everyone and their mother loves a book that you really don't like. Who do you bond with over shared feelings?

Myself. Or my sister, who has very similar reading tastes; we rarely disagree on a book (or bad) book. Sometimes, depending on how much I hate the book, I'll go find the negative reviews on Goodreads, and post my "thank god, I'm not alone in hating this book!" comments.

• You're reading a book and you are about to start crying in public. How do you deal?

Grab a tissue and announce to no one in particular, "Ugh, allergies!" Honestly, though, I'm not a very emotional reader. Oh, I get the feels - don't at all mistake me. But apparently my expression says everything my mouth does not; I don't exclaim out loud, but my face certainly does. Apparently. I've never actually seen myself read, so I'm trusting what my friends have told me. ;-)

• 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 the sequel? Try to find a synopsis on Goodreads? Cry in frustration?

If I can, I'll find a synopsis on Goodreads or a blog, or I'll email a friend and ask them. But in general, I'll just delve into the sequel and my memory of the previous book will usually come back as I read. Thank you, photographic memory! ;-)

• You do not want anyone, ANYONE, borrowing your books. How do you politely tell people nope when they ask?

I just tell them: "Hey, I would love to, but I just don't loan my books out. I can see if the library has a copy!" If they insist: "Look, I don't trust anyone with my books. Sorry." If they still don't get a hint? "No! I'm not letting you borrow my books! And you are forthwith banned from my collection, because I don't trust that you won't borrow one without asking!" However, my friends are sneaky; they know to ask when I'm caught off guard. So then I get a panicked look on my face and blurt out "Sure!" And then have them sign a waver.

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

Do something else for a while. Binge-watch a show, do some beadwork, cleaning, writing. Usually if I'm in a reading slump, it means that I need a break. So I take it, rather than fighting it. I used to fight it, and that's just miserable.

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

All of them. It's bad. It's awful. It's a habit I'm trying to break this year. I'm trying to limit my buying to sequels and stand-alones that just completely, totally grab my attention (or stand-alones that are written by authors I love). Guess what - it's not working.

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

Depends on the book. A lot of them do tend to set on my TBR for several months before I get to them. But there's also new releases that are on my priority list for several reasons, and those will get read generally with my next TBR. But it also largely depends on mood.