Saturday, August 31, 2013

15-Day Book Blogger Challenge - Day 10: Picking Books

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"How do you choose what book to read next?" 

Well, I read a lot of books because of some obligation. The huge one is school. As an English major, I have a lot of stuff to read during any given semester, so that always gets priority. 

But we all need fun stuff to read too, so even when I should be sticking to literature for classes, I'm usually in the middle of two or three other books. I'm finding it hard to remember the last time that I came up against the problem of having to "choose what book to read next." I'm almost always in the middle of a few books at a time--usually books I picked up on a whim from the library, sometimes books I own that I just decided to read one day, sometimes gifts or borrowed books... There are so many options at almost all times that I'm just never at a loss. It's usually hard for me to whittle down the number of books I'm reading--it's never a problem to add to it! 

But if I do find myself without a book to read, which does happen occasionally (I think), all I do is go to the library and wander. I can guarantee I'll walk out with a stack of books. 

What about you? How do you decide which book you'll read next? 

4 comments:

  1. I have a strange fear that I'll read all the books I want to read and I won't be able to find any good new ones. I don't know where this fear came from! When I go to the library, I usually have trouble limiting the number of books I check out to what I can carry out of the library. (The cargo area of the stroller comes in handy.) Maybe the fear comes from my feeling that I read too quickly. When I get interested in a series, I get through all the books in a rush and then I'm sad that there are no more. I wish I were a slower reader so I could really savor a series.

    But to answer your question, I like to pick books based on recommendations, keeping in mind the sort of books that I like. I'm really enjoying seeing my family's book ratings on Goodreads. If I do run short on recommendations, I just browse my favorite sections of the library and I can always find something.

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    1. I used to worry that I would run out of books, but I find that the more I read, the less sad I am when I finish a really good book. I'm more aware of all the good books that are out there. And social media does help! :)

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  2. I choose books based on what I'm in the mood for. Sometimes I get on a kick and read a whole bunch of similar books, lots of YA or lots of mysteries or lots of literary novels. Sometimes I set goals for myself, like reading all of Jane Austen's books last year, reading the whole Sherlock Holmes canon this year, etc. One rule I have is that I do not read books in a series (or even by the same author, usually) back-to-back. I have to read something different in between so that I can remember the books more distinctly instead of having a whole series mush together in my head.

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    1. That's an interesting rule. I usually have to read the series all together or I forget about it and lose interest. I do like reading different authors, though.

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