The Reader Problems Book Tag

“The way I figure it, everyone gets a miracle.”
First line in Paper Towns by John Green

Hi, guys. I wanted to do a get-to-know-me kind of tag and had seen this one being done quite often. It was originally created by the BookTube channel About To Read a long time ago but it’s still a great tag if you ask me. So let’s just jump into the questions so that I can tell you how I deal with typical reader problems.

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

First of all, I’m pretty good at keeping my TBR fairly short (currently at 88) so I can easily go through it and pick whatever peaks my interest at the time. Second of all, I read a lot of series. That means there’s always a sequel I need to read and I usual jump to another series after reading just one book in a series. I like to switch it up.

2. You’re halfway through a book and you’re just not loving it. Do you quit or are you committed?

I can’t quit on a book, and I hate myself for not being able to. But for some reason I can’t help but think “What if the ending is so good, it changes what I thought about the beginning?” I must admit that right now I can’t think of a book where that actually happened. It’s more common for me to not like the first book in a series but then loving the sequels. Then I’m glad I ended up pushing through that first one.

3. 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 never not met my Goodreads goal because I always set it to something I know I can manage. Maybe that defeats the purpose of it being a goal but I like that satisfying feeling of Goodreads telling me that I’m ahead of schedule. Don’t judge me. So in the case that I for some reason can’t reach my goal… then I’ll just lower it. I don’t want to stress about it.

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

I haven’t encountered this problem as I don’t buy very many books and once I do, they are often completed series that I know I love. Then I can just buy the covers that match because that does matter to me for some reason. Not enough though that I would go out and buy several copies of the same book just to get the covers to match.

5. Every one and their mother loves a book you really don’t like. Who do you bond with over shared feelings?

…No one. I don’t have any friends who read the kind of books that I do or the amount of books I read. I feel like that’s quite common for people here in the online book community. We’re here because we don’t have anyone else to talk to. So I guess I’ll talk to whatever book blogger or BookTuber I can find who shares my unpopular opinion which is just as great!

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

I do a lot of reading in public as a I have a long commute to work so this is a very relevant question. I very rarely cry when reading and when I do, it’s often a book I know will make me cry. So I just don’t read that one on the bus. My problem in public is that I can sometimes react in other ways than crying when I’m reading. It is no less embarrasing but I try to be as subtle as possible. If I can’t then too bad. I’m not too worried about something like that.

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?

Occasionally, I will reread the previous book. Mainly if it was one that I really, really loved and would reread in the future anyway. Normally I skip the reread because it’s just too time consuming and sequels tend to recap the important stuff anyway.

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

Nobody has ever wanted to borrow my books, so if anybody ever asked I would likely answer with a “YES, please take them!”. Just so I can get more people to read my favorite books. The only exception would be my Harry Potter books. They are old and have great sentimental value so I’m expecting people to be understanding.

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

Luckily, I rarely get hit very hard by reading slumps. I very much appreciate my time on the bus to and from work in that regard because that really helps. Like when your options are reading or looking out the window for 45 minutes, you might as well read. I manage to get through the less good books that way and get to the amazing ones that often are the cure to a reading slump.

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

Extremely few. I only buy new books it’s a book I’m sure I’ll love. That often means that I have to know the author and/or it’s a sequel to an all-time favorite of mine that I can’t wait for library version of. I might also buy some of them later on if it turns out that my library won’t get them.

11. 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?

The few times I do buy the new books, they don’t even hit my shelf before I start them. Sometimes, I will even start reading them on the bus on the way home from the bookstore.