With such a massive reading list, sometimes I end up spoiled for choice. There’s a gazillion and one books I want to read at once, so how do I choose?
Welp, I’ve found that any kind of constraint tends to just make me contrary. Have to review it by next week because it releases soon? Let me ignore it altogether for at least another month. Planned to read it for a readalong? Often, that just leads to meh as well. In the end, I’ve come to terms with this — I had a really great conversation over on Beeminder’s forum about my attitude to books and goals in general a few weeks ago, which really helped elucidate that I was making it into work, and it really doesn’t need to be.
So yeah, you’ll find that I might miss review deadlines by a mile, but review something that’s been out for five years the day after I got it. Or vice versa. In the end, it comes back to something I’ve said on here a couple of times: this isn’t my job. I do this for fun. This may not always be a winning strategy with publishers (ugh, my Netgalley ratio is appalling) but it works for my brain and keeps the dreaded reading slumps mostly out of my way.
So what’s your strategy? Reading lists, never own so many books you have to make choices, whatever’s got a deadline on it…? And how on earth do you stick to it when there’s such new shinies out there?!
I’m contrary, and a bit of a quiet rebel, so I totally understand where you’re coming from. I stopped offering to review ARCs a long time ago and largely go with whatever I fancy at any given moment (as you probably may remember). But then I’m a much slower reader than you!
I’m very very contrary, too!
I used to try to stick to a rigid reading schedule, but I gradually realized that just makes me miserable especially when a book doesn’t interest me as much anymore. I tend to be more random in my selections now, sticking to a rough reading list as a guideline, but letting my mood have say has certainly injected a lot more fun into the process 🙂
Exaaaactly. I’ve had some success with rough reading lists, but nothing seems to stick for long and then I need a new list!
I no longer read things with a deadline. I used to stress myself out by taking on too much and it led to burnout. Now I generally have a loose plan on what I want to read in the next month but if I deviate from that, it’s ok. It’s more a guide to keep myself motivated than being set in stone.
Sometimes that works for me, too. Other times I rebel against any plan at all. Gah!
I’m very similar, I don’t like my reading or my blogging to feel like homework! I try to give myself seasonal TBRs – I’m very much a mood reader, so I love reading books set in summer or somewhere hot over the summer – but I don’t stick to anything severely and I wouldn’t want to. At the moment I’m very into duologies and I’ve gone straight from reading an entire duology to now being half-way through the second book in another one, which is amazing as someone who’s struggled to finish series for years now, so I’m in the mood for another duology after this one that’s what I’ll be aiming for.
Jess @ Jessticulates recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday | USA TBR
I can get very stalled with reading series, even trilogies. Duologies sound like a good happy medium!
Hear, hear! I read what I like when I like and I review it when I like, too. If I don’t have an immediate read on hand, then I’ll browse one of my topical Goodreads shelves depending on my mood and pluck a book from there. I feel lately I’ve seen so many bloggers talking about how difficult blogging is, how they wish they could be better compensated for their work, how it’s like a job – I’m like, “Nope, this is just a fun hobby for me.”
Jenna @ Falling Letters recently posted…Claire King Writes an Effective 5 Year Old Narrator in The Night Rainbow [Review]
When I feel it getting to be like work, I have to pull it back and remind myself that hey nope that’s not how it works!