Tuesday, February 17, 2015

4 Bookish Problems + 3 I Solved


It's Tuesday -- time for Top Ten Tuesday with The Broke and the Bookish. This week we're talking about book-related problems -- serious or not -- that we as bookworms have. Here goes:

1. The biggie -- too many books, not enough time. I have 317 books on my Goodreads to-read list, and that's after recently deleting a few that I'd lost interest in. Last year I read 61 books, so by that average it would take me over five years to read all the books on my list -- not including all the books I'm inevitably going to add to it!

2. I work at a library. That might sound like a great job for a book-lover, but the workplace hazard is that I'm always finding new books to read. When I'm bored at work I'll peruse the new releases shelf under the guise of putting a basket away or shelving holds, look at the latest issues of BookPage or Library Journal, browse Goodreads or my favorite book blogs, or chat with my co-workers about what they're reading. Plus, I'm surrounded on every side by books and I just want to READ ALL OF THEM!

3. Another problem with being a very frequent library patron/employee -- I always put reading library books above reading my own books. Why? I really can't say. But I do know that it is 100% more likely that I will read a book if I check if out from the library rather than buy it. For three years running it's been my New Year's resolution to read at least one of my own books every month. Hahahahaha. Needless to say, it hasn't happened yet. Last year I only read one of my own books, and that's because I signed up to do a buddy read on Goodreads and I just happened to have the book we chose tucked away on one of my overflowing bookshelves!

4. I am super anal-retentive about keeping books in nice condition. I despise spine-creasers and corner-folders and people who eat Doritos while reading and leave orange fingerprints on every page. But -- confession time -- I did something hideously awful a couple weeks ago and it is just killing my conscience. I was reading a brand spankin' new library copy of "The Girl on the Train" while eating leftover lasagna for lunch on my break at work. I'm sure you can see where this is going. I somehow got lasagna sauce on my hand... and smeared it on the page. I am a horrible person.

But we'll finish off on a positive note with some bookish problems I used to suffer but have cured!

1. I used to be among the hordes of people who read a book right before the movie version comes out. I'd even re-read all the Harry Potter books before seeing the films.But then I'd sit and nit-pick every little difference between the two -- and invariably the book would be better. So now? I try not to read books within six months of their movie release. And I remind myself to view the movie as a completely separate entity -- allowed some creative license and to be appreciated as its own tale. This leads to a lot more enjoyment and a lot less frustration on my part. (What a crazy phenomenon this is! Working at the library it cracks me up. Up 'til a couple months before the movie release, nobody really cares about the given book. But suddenly "The Giver" or "The Fault in Our Stars" or "Gone Girl" is coming to the theater and everyone and their brother wants to read the novel; the hold list grows from 0 to 100 in a flash!)

2. I used to press on reading a book even if I hated it. I shudder to think of all the time I wasted reading crap or a novel I just wasn't into when there's sooooo much fabulous reading material to devour. Now, if I'm not feeling a book I put it down. I'll give it a fair shot -- just recently I read 100 whole pages of a sleep-inducing "mystery" ("Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman," if you must know) before giving it up. But I no longer feel that compulsion to suffer through to the end. If I don't like it, I remember Bookish Problem #1 and move on to the next story.

3. I used to use library receipts or random pieces of paper to mark my place in books, despite the clutch of beautiful bookmarks in my possession. I solved this by simply reminding myself to get a bookmark! And it's kind of fun to select my place-marker. Do I feel like a Dr. Seuss quote, a scene from the Smoky Mountains, a gorgeous koa wood bookmark from Hawaii, Monet's water lilies?

Ah, it's a tough life being a book-lover! ;) What are your bookish problems?

7 comments:

  1. My TBR pile is ginornormous, so the phrase 'to many books, so little time' really applies to me... I keep wanting to add more books to my TBR as it is!! Here's a link to my TTT for the week: http://captivatedreader.blogspot.com/2015/02/top-ten-tuesday-ten-book-related.html

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  2. I have that same issue of the bookmarks. I have some very nice ones, but I seem to always use that library holds receipt. Going to change that!

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  3. Oh my gosh, #1, yes! It's because they are due. And books we own are never due, so there is no pressure to read them! I hesitate to buy books for this very reason.

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  4. Yup, I've got all of these problems (except for working at a library, which I'm so jealous of). #3 is a big struggle for me. Why don't I read the books I buy?? It doesn't make sense.
    Proud of you for solving a lot of your book problems! You're an inspiration to us all.

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  5. Oh oh I totally understand these! And I don't work in a library (I kind of want to!) but I'm like 10000% more likely to read my library books first too! They have that DUE DATE that is terrifying and inspiring aaaand, I hate sending books back unread. XD
    Thanks for stopping by @ Paper Fury!

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  6. I get myself caught up in library books over books I own too! What is up with that? IDK either... And number 1 is on all of our lists in some way, shape or form I think!
    Here’s My TTT

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  7. For me, it's ARCs that win out over library books or my own books because I feel an obligation to review them, but I know what you mean - I'll usually read a library book over a book I own because the library book has to be returned, while the book I own isn't going anywhere.

    I love your list of problems you've gotten over! I've given myself permission to quit reading if a book doesn't hold my interest, and it helps. And I try to see movies as separate from the book when I can - though sometimes I just can't. As for bookmarks... still working on that one, though with the number of books and ARCs I read on Kindle, it's not as much of an issue anymore. (Except I'm left with pretty bookmarks I'm not using.)

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