The Reader Problems Tag

Lizzie tagged me for this tag a few days ago - thanks, Lizzie! This is just what I needed - tags are always fun to read and write. (Also a good excuse to find some nice autumnal pictures!)

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

I don't have an official list of books to read, but I normally just pick a new book to read that I feel like reading. I do try to read harder books and non-fiction books and books in French, but I've never had an actual list, just a vague mental stack of books to read at some point. (I'm reading Rebecca at the moment, which was one of them. It's lovely, just depressing!)

Inspired by watching this adaptation of it

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

It depends on the book. If it's something I know I want to have read at some point (for instance, Tess of the d'Urbervilles was the most recent one) then I will try to power on through it. Sometimes I just give up, generally if it's not a classic and I'll never really care if I finish it or not. I also have several books on the go at once, usually, so I will dip in and out of books. I've been reading a slew of rather melancholy books recently, so I have something lighter to read before bed so I don't spend the night weeping into my pillow.

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 don't have a Goodreads challenge, but I did start a reading challenge at one point this year. I decided to deviate from it in the end, because it was stressing me out and taking all the fun out of reading; and if you're not enjoying it, what's the point? 

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

Pretty covers are nice, matching covers are nicer, but I can't really care that much if they're mismatched. Most of my series are gleaned from charity shops and secondhand bookshops, so I don't really mind. As long as they're clean, I don't care, especially as one can always make pretty paper covers, anyway.

Have said that, there are some covers that are complete monstrosities, making them the sort of thing one really does not want to be seen reading. In that case, I would just resort to a paper cover and perhaps buy another copy if I could find it.

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

I can think of one particular friend whom I can count on to dislike the books I dislike. We had many a long rant about Girl of the Limberlost when our book club read it and we disliked it and everyone else loved it! My sister normally has pretty similar opinions on books that we've both read, so I might rant about it with her!

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

Blink hard and stop reading if necessary!

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

I'd probably google the plot, unless I felt like rereading the original. I generally have a pretty good memory for the plots of books I've read, so it's not usually a problem.

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

I find this situation awkward. I dislike lending my books to people as I am quite neat and tidy and fastidious about my books, and lent books have a tendency to be returned dog-eared and crumpled, with bent and creased covers, and sometimes greasy (and once with crumbs inside the pages). I have been known to refuse politely with certain books, as they are genuinely special copies (sentimentally, at least). It's a difficult question!

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

I usually have three or four books on the go at once anyway, but if I'm really stuck, I usually end up reading craft books and magazines. This one's especially fun to read. You'll have to take my word for it.

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

You see, I find it hard to be excited about many books that are newly released. Maybe I might buy one after a few years, if I read enough positive reviews of it, but I tend to think that there are so many classics I know will be worth reading, so why gamble on something that might be dreadful?

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?

It depends completely on what I feel like. I might get round to reading a book straight away, but usually it sits on my shelf for several months until I feel like reading it. (I have several books that I acquired two or three years ago that I haven't started yet.)

And that is all the questions! I'm going to tag Liz Churchill and Hannah and that is it! Thank you, Lizzie - this was very fun to write.