Being a bookworm is hard enough, but just try being an indecisive bookworm on top of the usual agonies.
Then you will know true pain and true suffering.
Bookworms face a sheer ton of struggles as we all know, because I blog about it all the time in hope that someone will take pity on me and buy me small blue cakes (still waiting). But do you realise just how many decisions we’re forced to make ALL THE TIME as well?!? So much. So many. Here I’m just going to hit you with a cutely concise list to illustrate the horrors.
- you have to pick which books to buy
- or borrow from a library
- or request from publishers
- SO MUCH CHOOSING
- if you buy a book: what edition???
- ebook vs audiobook vs paperback vs hardcover?
- don’t even get started on the different covers
- now we’re forced to pick a book to read first out of … dozens
- then you have to decide what your feelings are about the book
- which character do you like
- are you reviewing this
- whAT STAR RATING DO YOU GIVE IT
- where does it fit in your overcrowded bookshelf
- do you recommend this one or keep it tucked to your smol heart because it’s special?
- do you reread it
- do you eat it
- do you let it take over your heart and soul and house
Now if you’re an indecisive monster on top of all of this…ha. HA. *sobsob*
I can choose things for other people SO easily. But myself? No. This is why when I’m editing my book, sometimes I just end up changing “and” and “but” a dozen times and then asking why we need commas, where do they go, do they go here, and then giving up and leaving all the commas at the end of my book and just composing a 50-page apology to my editors. *
Choosing which book to read first is, arguably, one of the toughest parts. Because what if you pick a horrible one? What if you pick one you should’ve read later? Or earlier? What if you pick one that you’re not in the mood for? What if you pick one and then another starts crying? WHAT IF THE SKY FALLS.
But because I’m helpful ** I’m going to write a list of ways to help you choose your next read! This is foolproof because no one’s read this post yet and said: “Cait…no.” Hence my upcoming methods WILL solve all your problems! Exciting!
* I have NOT done this yet…but I probably should. Shout out @ me to the time I spent a whole manuscript saying “backflash” instead of “flashback” because who knows which order to put words in! Not me apparently!
** And delusional apparently.
METHOD #1: SIMPLY PICK WHICHEVER BOOK IS GEOGRAPHICALLY CLOSEST.
And you thought I wouldn’t give helpful suggestions! HA! SILLY YOU! (You were right.)
PROS: You probably don’t have to move super far, which is nice if you just sat down and don’t want to get back up! Also you won’t be digging books out from under other books therefore limiting the risk of dying young. #Amazing
CONS: If you only, say, pick books on the top of your TBR because they’re closet, you will literally NEVER READ THE OLDER ONES. They will probably attack you in your sleep. And you will die. Unfortunate. Also this sucks if you’re in a mood reader. Or if you have a kindle, because technically the next book on your kindle will always be geographically closest. So you’re doomed.
METHOD #2: READ VIA UPCOMING RELEASE DATE, AND YOU COULD EVEN BE ACCUSED OF BEING ORGANISED!
WHAT a a wild and pretty accusation! I have never never been accused of that myself, except this one time I read a book 6 months early because I read dates backwards. What can I say. I am talent.
PROS: I mean, hello, ORGANISED. Also publishers probably will love you when you get those ARC reviews out on exactly the right date. Also limits feeling hopelessly overwhelmed by ARCs! And this works for library books with due-back dates too. All these prompt dates with books! And you thought you had no dating life, pfffft.
CONS: If you don’t FEEL like the book right now, well that sucks. Also you get trapped in this vortex of only ever reading review-books and never books you buy. sO what is the meaning of this life. Also you join the over-enthused flood of the entire blogosphere reading the ONE BOOK and talking about THE ONE BOOK and eventually we start wanting to strangle each other with rainbow string.
METHOD #3: MAKE A TBR JAR WHICH IS SO FAIR AND EQUAL TO ALL BOOKS AND LET’S FACE IT, THE JAR IS CUTE.
I’m like a casual arty person, which means I love the aesthetics of things like pretty TBR jars with books written in pretty font. But do I actually get up and do it? Haha. Funny.
PROS: As we established: EQUALITY. All your books go in there! Library books! ARCs! Books you bought! Ebooks! This sucks about due dates, library fines and etc. But at least the jar is pretty.
CONS: Generally when you pull out a strip of paper you know exactly which book you DO NOT feel like reading next. This, I guess, is helpful in its own way???? But really not???
METHOD #4: ASK PEOPLE TO VOTE AND TELL YOU WHAT TO READ NEXT WITH A LOVELY POLL.
What is the internet even FOR if not to demand people do the work for you, hmm? I mean sure, I could make decisions. But instead I’ll make you make them for me and everything is fine.
PROS: You usually get personalised recommendations when people vote, like “Oh I just read this one and it’s so good!” which makes one more excited about a novel. Also the blame is TOTALLY on them if you end up hating the book!! So nice!
CONS: Well polls have this horrible habit of BEING TIED which is just mean. Or else the book you don’t feel like wins. Or someone does the opposite of above and says “Oh that book you’re super excited about IS VERY BAD. ABORT.” Which leaves you eating hardboiled eggs in dull silence. Sometimes it’s better not to know, gee Steven.
METHOD #5: CLOSE YOUR EYES AND TURN AROUND TWICE UNDER THE FULL MOON AND CHANT “BOOK BOOK BOOK” INTO A MIRROR AND THEN POINT.
It’s like Mary Bloody Mary except with books which is obviously more dangerous. Ask anyone! If you tick off your TBR pile and it falls on you out of revenge, it’s definitely worse than fraternising with the darkness.
PROS: Hey it’s random! It’s fun! You might pick one at the bottom of the pile (and die getting it out) or one at the top (and feel guilty about the bottom ones). This is a LOT like a TBR jar but less aesthetic and easier to rig. And who doesn’t like rigging “Random” choosings, hmm?! (I think I just Slytherined all over the place.)
CONS: What isn’t the problem here, seriously. AGAIN with all the problems with a TBR jar and being late for books with release dates and just general AGONISING SELF DOUBT. I am fun at parties, btw.
METHOD #6: JUST GO WITH YOUR MOOD AND PICK WHATEVER PIQUES YOUR INTEREST IN THAT SECOND.
This is actually my go-to method in case you were wondering. The great part about this one is that you can be ahead or behind of your TBR goals at any time and you don’t even know it! No one knows it! Are you organised or a holy terror! Surprise! We don’t know!
PROS: It’s a lot more relaxed. You just read what YOU want and you’re like 7 x more likely to actually enjoy it. Less forcing and all that nonsense. Also you can go on like pirate streaks or contemporary streaks or chocolate cake streaks (shh that’s a type of YA book) and mass-consume until you hate that category entirely. #fun
CONS: Where do we even START lmao. You can get so so so behind on ARCs because you didn’t feel like it at that time. Or you request a book + promptly don’t feel like it = promptly turn into a ghost who screams in the attic on Tuesday nights. And you usually read shiny books the most often?? The older ones just cry alone?? Also you actually have TO KNOW WHAT YOU FEEL LIKE. Another decision to make. Heckin’ heck who even said this was ever a good idea.
METHOD #7: DO NOT GO SOFTLY INTO THE NIGHT AND RAGE UNTIL MORNING OR WHATEVER.
This method is a little less known because it’s not a method. It’s just us all having an existential crisis over CHOOSING A BOOK. No it’s not hyperbolic. Choosing the wrong book could equal other books feeling left out and abandoned in the cold. Do you want to be that kind of monster?? No.
PROS: There literally are none except it’s very therapeutic.
CONS: You get nothing done and the neighbours think all the yelling is because you are being attacked by wasps.
METHOD #8: DO ALL OF THESE AT DIFFERENT TIMES AND THUS BREAK THE CHAINS AND BE UNKNOWABLE.
I think this is the cop out one which basically says: I CAN’T EVEN PICK A WAY TO PICK PICKING A BOOK. If there is a low, we just reached it.
PROS: At least sometimes you’re on top of things? Sometimes you’re behind? Sometimes you’re calm? Mostly not tho. As they say: “a little bit of everything is a lovely thing.” Which probably more applies to ice cream toppings, but also to indecisive monsters who can’t pick their next read.
CONS: You have no idea what you’re doing and your TBR grows by 500% in three minutes because you end up sitting on the floor going on twitter instead of reading because DECISIONS. ARE. HARD.
No method. Last week it took my days to decide and I finished it in four days so I’m back where I started. I took my a week to decide on a laptop to but. I am hopeless with decisions, I tie myself in knots. I did start reading Sherlock Holmes because I felt like it and I’ll start reading the other crime book I was planning on reading. Been in reading slumps lately and taking a break from my usual favourites.
Agh I hear you! Sometimes I procrastinate finishing because then I have to go through the torture of PICKING A NEW ONE AGAIN.😂 Or I just start 4 books at once to prolong needing to pick a new one ah ahha.😂
I’m a big fan of getting Twitter to choose what to read for me! I mean so much less effort for me and Twitter does usually get it right, so why not? Or else, I just pick whatever I’m in the mood for at the time, or read in order of release if I’m reading ARCs, though somehow I still end up behind,,,,whoops. I tend to focus more on older books, which means that every year I’m trying to catch up with new releases! I’m generally not great at decisions, I have so many books, there’s too much choice.
Honestly having someone else choose is such a relief. 😂 Although sometimes I can’t wait for the poll results and then they’re void anyway buuut I usually have a “pick for me” poll on my monthly recap posts at least. It’s also good to gauge which reviews people actually want to read too! Get that audience involved. Make ’em work.😂
So, mine is a bit convoluted but it works. I have an Excel spreadsheet containing all the books I’ve yet to read on my shelves in alphabetical order. These are these arranged in four columns. You then move along, left to right, the columns, giving you only a quarter of as many to choose from. If you need further cutting down, the book must begin with a different first letter than the last one you picked from the column did. They’re also colour coded by whether they’re modern fiction, non-fiction, classics, graphic novels, poetry or re-reads, so you could insist the same colour can’t be used twice in a row.
Like I said, convoluted, but it helps narrow down for a start.
THIS IS AMAZING AND SO DETAILED AND ORGANISED?! I’m really impressed!!
My reading list is the only part of my life that’s in any way organised haha. I also have three separate reading lists…
Primary List – they’re on the shelf
Secondary List – they’re on the list I carry around when I’m shopping
Tertiary List – people keep telling me about them, or I keep thinking I should read them, but I’ve not added them to the secondary list
I usually pick my next read based on my mood and usually pick from my ARC pile first if I have releases coming up in the next two weeks. Sometimes backlist titles or books that don’t release for months win though. XD
Actually picking ARCs before release date is a super good idea.😂I need to work on that ah h ahha. Although I’m super proud of myself getting some May ARCs done! WOOO. Who is this organised bookworm? :’)
Typically while reading a book I get kinda an idea of what to read next and read that and books that friends recommend and new releases are top priorities. I also and up reading like 4+ books at once so… As far as decisions I don’t think I have a problem with ratings, reviews yes but not ratings. For me it’s 5 stars=absolute awesomeness that stole my heart and think about it all the time, 4=it’s good but here are some complaints I have, 3=mixed or no feelings (I didn’t even know it was possible to feel almost nothing for a book), 2=very annoyed, and 1=KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!!!!
That’s actually sooo similar to my rating system feels too!! Although I feel bad because 3 star is “meh” for me, but like technically 2.5 stars is HALF the best-5-star-rating so 3 stars should actually mean it’s a little better than average, right?! But I still always feel 3s are bad.😂😂 I OVERTHINK THINGS, CAN WE ALL TELL.
I usually make a monthly tbr which consists of review copies, buddy reads or readalongs, new releases I am excited about and backlist books. Which sounds very organized but it isn’t because I always have way more on my tbr stack than I can read even if I am currently reading 15+ books a month.
I do that too! Like going “oh I’ll DEFINITELY read all of these this month” and then proceed to put in 3 x as much as I can possibly read. 😂 We have good intentions though, right?!
Oooh Cait I’ve never tried the TBR jar thing which sounds exciting as hell! I’m definitely going to give it a try!
I’m usually a mood reader and pick whatever I want to read. But I’ve also joined a group on Goodreads that does a theme every month and you pick your books on the basis of the theme which is great if the theme is Women’s fiction like this month because I read a ton of that but absolutely horrible if it’s horror cause I don’t read that genre and now I’m just adding to my TBR whooops
PS: Is it just me or rigging Random things was a pun on Ransom Riggs? Because that’s exactly where my mind went lol xD
Good luck with the tBR jar! I just realised how thoroughly too lazy I am to ever make that work.😂 And hey that’s actually really cool about the Goodreads theme! I was doing some challenges with a Goodreads group a while back but ended up not joining in the next years.😂 I’m like the most ambitious person ever but also so lazy.
(And noo it wasn’t a pun hhaah. I didn’t think of that!)
Usually my strategy for picking what to read next involves reading the backs of the dozen or so books most immediate in my mental to-read list, deciding none of them sound like what I want to read right now, and then picking up a book I hadn’t planned on reading anytime soon. Plans? What plans?
https://78.media.tumblr.com/d05a342e1dff9776752ccf086636f501/tumblr_opnca5yqEv1vgz0z4o2_500.gif
Actually I relate to that SO MUCH.😂 Or else the only book I feel like reading in the whoooole world will be the one not out yet.😂
See my typical thing is randomly grabbing a book from the various piles around my room as I head out the door to catch the bus. Seems to work pretty well. I have enough time on the bus to get far enough into it not to put it down when I get home and am faced with all the piles.
Or, y’know, there’s also the option of being faced with choosing and going and watching Netflix instead.
That’s like a definite good way to force yourself to read something if it’s your only option.😂 Although I stay home so much so it’s just like my TBR eyeballing me and judging me aLL THE TIME. Whatever did I do to deserve this.😂
I use a random number generator. It’s basically a lazy version of the TBR jar. All my unread books are on one shelf, and I usually know how many books are on the shelf. I make my phone pick a number. Then I count along the shelf and read that book. It’s my quick and lazy method of choosing books.
Hey that’s such a good idea though! I mean TBR jars also seem like a lot of work to make so.😂
My problem is I read so fast I don’t even have a TBR. I read all about how big they are, but I’m like… there are so many books out there… but I don’t know what to read…
Any recommendations for me? Please? 😂 I miss reading. I CAN’T BE A BOOKWORM WITHOUT READING.
Also… ‘And you thought you had no dating life, pfffft.’ 😂 Best line ever! I’ll love it forever lol.
DUDE I AM IN AMAZEMENT RIGHT NOW. YOU ARE A READING MAGICAL THING.😂 But seriously you don’t even have a TBR *gasps* Okay but tell me you’ve read The Raven Cycle right?!
No, I haven’t; what’s it about? 😃
Sometimes I have to pick the one that has the closest due date (at the library) with no renewals. Really.
I usually go for method #6. And unless I am in reading slump, it works great for me! #proudmoodyreader 🙂
Mood reading is honestly the best way to go!😂
This is an awesome list :D. I usually go by method #6, what I feel in the mood for. Except if I have library loans, then I pick from my TBR of library loans that I currently have (I haven’t visited my library to loan books in a while, I should totally do that some time soon!). I don’t get ARCs so I don’t have anything like that (though if I did have them, I would try to keep release dates in mind, if I had a blog or BookTube channel or anything). I think a TBR jar can be a nice idea, but it’s too random for me to work. It works best for me usually if I just pick what I feel in the mood for. Sometimes I participate in a 3-day read-a-thon (that I started, I try to do it every month) and then I do sometimes make a TBR of a couple of books I feel like reading (generally short books or graphic novels/memoirs). I finished Obsidio a few days ago (book 3 in the Illuminae Files series by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff) and since then I’ve not been able to decide what book I feel like reading. I don’t even know what mood I’m in. Decisions are hard! I haven’t decided yet..
I’m definitely the same as you! A mix between mood-reading and what dates things are due.😂Although sometimes I mess both these up and just end up screaming into the void, but what is the bookworm life without a little stress. :’) And TBR jars seem like definitely a lot of work?! Also useless if one actually has deadlines.😂
Omg I want to read Obsidio SO BAD. I think the post office is reading my copy because they sure are taking forever to deliver it.
Oh no :(! I hope your copy arrives soon!!
#7 sounds like the best option to me. And don’t try to pretend like it wasn’t your first choice, too. I mean, come on, PaperFURY. “Raging into the night” was made for you. 😉
I KNOW. I specifically put that there because that is just me every day.
It’s funny, I’m the most indecisive person ever. I can’t make up my mind about ANYTHING. But you give me a pile of books and it’ll take me about three seconds to make up my mind and start reading. Now buying books though, that is another thing entirely. I can spend a good hour in the bookstore trying to decide between two books. Easily.
I tend to choose my books by method #6, and just pick whatever I’m in the mood for. I have a hard time forcing myself to read a book I’m not in the mood for, and I most likely won’t end up enjoying it as much as I otherwise would have. So I’m a mood reader, although if I have some sort of deadline to read a book by, I do usually manage to read it.
Oh and Cait? Your choice of GIF’s is NOT inspiring confidence in the helpfulness of these tips 😂
That is the best superpower and you should be proud of that.😂😂 I never knoooow what I feel like reading?! It’s too HARD.😂 But I’m definitely a mood reader (which my ARC pile hates me for) and exactly! Like lately I haven’t been in an epic fantasy mood and when I try to read it I just end up not liking it. Mood reading = one must follow it.😂
HEY IT’S CHIDI GIFS! WE LOVE CHIDI!! THE GOOD PLACE IS THE BEST!
I suppose my method probably involves me choosing whichever book feels right? I’m the type who likes to read a winter-set book in winter, a summer book in summer, a school setting in early September, a horror around Hallowe’en, and something with a cute pastel cover for spring. Of course, I can’t narrow every book down exactly into these categories, but I can certainly try!
Going by what-you-feel-like is my ultimate method too. 😂 And my genre moods usually change SO much. Like I’ll be reading adult epic fantasy one day and then YA contemporary the next ah ahha. (Although that’s cool that you read via season! I never manage to do that.😂)
My reading choice style is a combination of what I want to read and what I need to read for review. Right now I’m working through a list of books for Indie e-Con so that I can make sure that I’ve read at least one book by every author who I will be featuring. But otherwise, I just read whatever the spaghetti I want to read.
That’s very organised of you, I’M SO PROUD. :’) I usually end up just reading books I have deadlines for but then I’m annoyed because I don’t read the books I just bought because I wanted to?! LIFE IS HARD.
I’d love to try #6 more often but I ALMOST NEVER KNOW WHAT I FEEL LIKE. Pros of not knowing how I feel include knowing what netgalley and such books I need to get to by what date and almost always being on time. But when I don’t have a book I need to get to soon, I never know what to read next. I was trying to stop doing monthly tbr’s but without a tbr I don’t know what to do. But then sometimes i’ll look at the tbr and be like “I don’t feel like it” but then I don’t know what I feel like and it’s just a lot of confusion and indecision. DECISIONS ARE HARD.
Agh I’m NEVER on time with Netgalley and I feel so bad, but like I usually feel like reading books at all the wrong times?! I have 2 Edelweiss books that are fully 12 months old now. Please bury me.😂 How am I even a blogger. (Although I swear I’m not usually THAT bad.)
Decisions ARE TOO HARD. WE SHOULD GET CHOCOLATE IF WE HAVE TO MAKE THEM.
I am all here for the chocolate! Chocolate helps everything <3
Oh my gosh, I’m cracking up. This post is golden. I love the idea of the TBR read jar, but OMG SO MUCH WORK. If I wanted to do that much work, I could, like, actually get up and choose a book. Any book. Just don’t make me do all that writing. xD
Pretty sure method 7 is my go-to, and my neighbors are too far away to know or care about my quickly diminishing mental health while I stand in front of my bookcase re-reading all the lovely titles. And then I usually either go by release date or say, screw it, and go with something I really feel like reading. So, I’m very consistent in that I’m inconsistent in my choosing methods? lol.
Ahh I’m so glad you liked it!😂 And also yes the TBR jar is a lot of work right?! Like you’d have to be constantly updating it and who’s organised enough for that. PFft.😂
I personally just have a few books at a time, either from the library or from buying them, usually 3-8. Then I just read them by mood, or sometimes the smallest ones first. As for choosing what books go in my smaller tbr, well…
That seems so very organised and chill and SYDNEY YOU ARE LIVING A SENSIBLE LIFE.
“Generally when you pull out a strip of paper you know exactly which book you DO NOT feel like reading next.”
Every time I try to randomly generate a decision, this is how I feel. xD
I don’t have a problem with a TBR pile (too poor to buy books, and I limit library books to one or two at a time), but reading this I realized I have a parallel problem: my To Be Written pile. It is killing me. Maybe some of these tips will help me pick stories to write. Or maybe I’ll just scream at midnight.
I’m generally terrible at decisions. Max indecision.
This was a fun post. 🙂
(Hopefully I didn’t make multiples of this comment, because there was something a little wonky when I tried to post it.)
Omg good it’s not just me.😂 I swear the moment I commit to reading a specific book I have to change it because my brain is just disagreeable.😂 OMG THE TO BE WRITTEN TBR!!! I’m with you!! I literally have so many books to write sometimes I just write nothing.😂 That helps right?!
…You specifically choose what edition? I just buy the edition they have at the shop (unless I have a VERY specific reading list for class). Do you choose on cover, or price, or something else?
Other ways to choose which book to read next –
* Asking the Gods
* Reading Challenges
* Over-analysing your weirdest dreams
I mean sometimes! Mostly it’s paperback vs hardcover that I’m deciding.😂 I love hardcovers but paperbacks are very much cheaper ah haha.
Over-analysing weird dreams you say? *takes notes* This will help.
I really appreciate your use of the Chidi gifs because his indecisiveness perfectly matches the struggles of bookworms.
Chidi is like THE bookworm representation of ever. I love him so muchhhhh.
This post is hilarious and beautiful and true and totally on point, and did I mention hilarious? XD LAUGHING SO HARD THOUGH. And I’m very bad at picking the next book, so I’m usually going by deadlines too. Which means I read ARCs (but usually not in the right order, because I rarely feel like the one that’s DUE NEXT) and library books and readalong books and bookclub reads. Which means I constantly feel like I CAN ONLY READ THESE BOOKS I “SHOULD” READ and I never get to pick ones I randomly want to read with no strings attached. But occasionally I do, and feel all wild and rebellious and guilty. XD Go figure… Interestingly, some of my favorite books this year have been THE ONES I RANDOMLY READ THAT I WANTED TO READ AND HAD NO DEADLINES. So I clearly need to rethink my life. *drowns in my own self-doubt* Anyway, this post is brilliant and I thank you for it. <3
Ahhh THANK YOU, DEBORAH. My #1 goal is to make people laugh so this makes me happy.😂😂 And deadlines are actually pretty good motivators, but like it has to be a really specific deadline or else pfft. I never get there. Like I’m going organising with a publisher to do this trilogy giveaway but I haven’t read the sequels. And I’ve been “meaning to” for 4 years…and now I suddenly am. So THERE WE GO.😂
And omg the “have to read the books you should read” vs “want to read the books you actually got for yourself” gets me all the time! I feel like I’m going to be forever behind!
I *CouldNot* decide on which of my books to read this evening so I was going to start reading your blog because I found you on the twitter and like your voice… How did this happen?
OMG. That is the best and most creepy coincidence ever. I am reading minds, Kennedy.😂
I actually…kinda LOVE the idea of a TBR jar?!? It would require my lazy self writing down the titles of 50+ books and then putting them in a cute jar I have no artistic talent for making, but on the plus side I don’t have to make any choices myself! (My review pile is weeping behind me right now.) I just wish polls ever worked for me. Literally every. single. one. ends in a TIE. Maybe its a sign I need to put cookies in a jar instead of book titles and just pig out on chocolate chips instead 😂
I love the idea of a TBR jar but not so much the actual DOING of it. 😂😂 Why is it so hard to be organised and aesthetic sheesh. *falls on face on the floor* (and omg ties on polls are the worst. THANKS FOR NOTHING, PEOPLE.😂)
did u delete your goodreads? I can’t find your profile anywhere 🙁
It’s not @paperfury anymore on goodreads! They have merged with the author profile ( C.G Drews ), and the gumboots icon is gone 🙁 (I’m still in mourning over that).
Noo sorry Zoe, I have switched to my Goodreads profile! If we were friends though nothing should’ve changed? Anyway you can find it right here! My name is “CG Drews” now because of my book coming out.
Great now I am more confused as to what I should read/what method I should try. I would love to ask people on twitter but I don’t have that many followers plus what if none of them vote. And even if I am able to choose one book I would still have that feeling of guilt and I am pretty one of those book is going to murder me
Although I would love to try the TBR jar one.
I feel very seen in this list. And those Chidi gifs are damn relevant and relatable. I shall try these methods next time I choose a book… if I pick which one to use!!! *cue stressed out indecisive look*
CHIDI IS THE BEST I LOVE CHIDI. Most relatable TV character ever ahhh. *comes and stands stressed with you though* Books are hard.😂
I choose every single one of them going with my mood, so yes, I’m always behind, but I try not to mortified myself. It is just. so. hard. I’m usually good at making decisions… except with books. And this your list of how to choose a book. I’m not a real human, apparently.
It issss so hard! And overwhelming! And like I want to read them all so no one feels left out?!? Surely everyone considers whether they’re gong to hurt their book’s feelings or not.😂
Wonderfully helpful 😉 New con for the jar idea, there are literally no jars in the known universe which are big enough for even a tiny bit of paper for each of my books…
Omg that’s so true.😂 TBR bucket?! TBR bathtub?!😂
I normally take 10-20 books or so and pile them on my desk with library books and ARCs at the top, and then everything else randomly at the bottom. And then I read in order, until another ARC comes and I read that first instead… But I am a sucker for new books, and so generally I wind up just wobbling in circles until I trip on a book and then I read that one first.
I’ve always wanted a TBR jar but I am way too lazy to make one. Minimal effort over here.
That seems really logical and sensible though GO YOU. I AM PROUD OF YOU.
My book life is a very bad balancing act of Methods #2, #6 and #8.
Cait, you are so not alone!
I am known for taking up to 2 hours to do food shopping because even with a list I get overwhelmed by all the choices. My parents send me a copy of the menu to any place we’re going out to eat at a week in advance,
I will take the entire week to decide and then get there, look at the menu again and then be the last one to choose as ALWAYS, and almost always still end up getting my first choice.
I also like to ask people which should I pick when I have multiple choices of anything, because I am also stubborn and don’t like being told to do things I don’t want to do so having someone tell me which to pick helps me realize which choice I actually wanted, which is usually the opposite to what they said, I think my friends and family would have refused to play along a while a go if they didn’t know I desperately needed the help.
So as you can imagine, choosing what to read next can be a bloody nightmare! Part of me misses when I only had a couple of books on my bookshelf I hadn’t read at a time, didn’t have a kindle, and hadn’t stumbled across Overdrive. It made choosing books a lot easier!
Yayyyy we can sit in an indecisive puddle together THIS IS GREAT.
And omg being overwhelmed…I think that’s the root of my problems tbh. And I’m so overwhelmed/tired all the time that it’s just TOO MUCH to even pick a book.😂 I’m so functional and healthy lmao. (And yes I’m the same with being like TOLD too directly what to read. It makes me want to read it less.😂)
Yes, being overwhelmed takes it out of you! And it’s worse when your an anxious person and/or have anxiety!
I love recommending books to read to people but I’m very bad at listening to recommendations from other people… I very much use the whole ‘oh I’d love to but I already have too many books on my TBR’, which I mean, is far from a lie ahah
Hi, Cait! Thanks for mentioning that the sky is going to fall because I AM CHICKEN LITTLE AND I DESERVE TO BE RECOGNIZED AS A CHICKEN! Sorry for the all caps, but sometimes I have to tell everyone I was right and show them your blog as proof. 🙂
Anyway, my method of balancing my 3 ft. tall tbr pile is by reading what I want to read. If I want to read a sci-fi, I am going to read that. If I want a sweet contemporary that will make me swoon, I go to Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before or any other contemporary that doesn’t immediately make me want to jump into a rabbit hole or, better yet, a hobbit hole. I think you understand that I am a mood-reader (who indecisively stares at her bookshelf and annoys her family members to ask them about books they have never read and will NEVER read) by what I am writing, but if you don’t, at least I have told you. I am thinking of trying different methods of conquering my tbr, but that is for the future once I am relaxing on a pile of books and swimming in the book sea. Because who needs beaches when you have dozens of books drifting you away from reality? Well, have a fun time sorting through your tbr pile wondering why you did what you did! Have a great week as well!
We can hide under the tall people and the sky can squash them first. *awards self with cake for great plan* 😂😂
And YES mood reading is the way! Also reading just everything at once.😂 This week I’m reading like an adult sci-fi, an epic fantasy, and this fluffy YA contemporary.😂 Like if you can’t decide, pfft, just don’t.😂 Although one thing I *do* like to do is read an ARC and then swap and read something I bought to try and get through it?! That like never works, but it’s a good intention.
AM I GOOD AT DECISIONS, you ask? No. Anyone who’s asked me to decide something only to have me screaming and running away can testify that decisions and me don’t go together. But (very, very) surprisingly, this year I’ve had no problem deciding what to read next!! I usually read whatever catches my eye, and this year a lot has catched my eye. I just read whatever I’m in the mood for, which is usually older releases because a) I loveee binge-reading series, and b) I like to see a bunch of reviews over time with different opinions, and new releases usually have a lot of the same opinions (which is great too and can give you a general overview, but it’s nice to have a variety of thoughts). But apparently this year is the year of me reading new releases because SO MANY PRETYYY NEW RELEASES. Like The Cruel Prince, Children of Blood and Bone, etc…. But also hahaha I was going to read Everless because it’s due soon to the library but I also realized I haven’t read Six of Crows (I was spoiled for the fate of *that* character though, so that’s very sad) so now I’m confused because what do I read… I think it makes sense to read Everless first and then SoC because due dates, but also when do I ever make sense. Maybe I’ll just eat cake and see if that helps.
Omg give me your book-picking skills then.😂😂 I literally need 8 working days to pick and ice cream flavour. Decisions are just TOO HARD. But I’m a big mood reader too! Unless I have a pressing ARC date anyway haha.😂
Nooo I hate that you were spoiled for Six of Crows, that really sucks. BUT READ SOC FOR SURE SOMETIME BECAUSE IT’S SO CLEVER AND GOOD AND FUNNY. (I loved Everless too, but SoC more!)
THIS IS THE MOST HELPFUL BLOG-POST I’VE EVER READ
This is why the internet was invented – for blog-posts like these. Amen. I’ve alwayssssss struggled with picking what book to read next and these tips are BEYOND helpful. As always a lovely blog-post with stunning photography.
Grace x
EXCELLENT. I THOUGHT I WAS SUPER UNHELPFUL BUT HERE WE ARE.😂😂
I have absolutely no method, but today it was “I have already read the book I am currently grabbing sO HOW ABOUT THIS ONE RIGHT NEXT TO IT (under a pile of stuff urgh)!”.
I fit into the “Whatever You Feel” category the most because it’s literally whatever I think sounds interesting to read RIGHT THEN AND THERE.
Lol I tend to just….pick. I can never remember if they’re old or new unless I just bought em xD
I’m not usually good at decision *cries because DECISIONS*
Also, can I just how much of a relief it is for me to *finally* get around to reading this? Because I have spent waay too much time lately stressing my eyes over tiny phone screen posts and writing my novel and writing my fanfiction (which I actually prioritized today lol) and betaing a friend’s fic (A: because I’m a good friendo and B: because her writing’s amazing and I wanted to read it first ((ulterior motives, what ulterior motives)).) and just being able to sit down and read your goofy little post with a relatable topic was just… Perfect.
Okay, proceed. *hands over cake*
“Whatever you feel” is the best category tough, LET’S BE REAL.😂 But I basically have no idea what I’m going to read next when I’m like REACHING for the book on the shelf. Who can know! It’s too hard to be decisive! Someone save me! *sobbing distantly*
Aww thank you though! I’m glad my post just can be fun and silly sometimes. 😀 (Also best of luck with all the writing/betaing…it’s exhausting right?!)
Lol EXACTLY
(VERY MUCH SO)
Oh look, it’s me, Method #8! Seriously, I cannot pick books ever because of ALL of these reasons! The TBR jar, polls, all of it are a joke because like you said, I immediately no longer want to read that book! Which is, incidentally, my relationship with every book on my bookshelf. This is how it goes down:
Me, while reading a current book: Wow, look at all the awesome books on my shelves, can’t wait to grab one!
Me, immediately upon finishing a book: Well, would you look at this pile of garbage? None of these books are worth my time. Sad, really.
And then I just stand around until I give up and read a review book because… well, the release dates make decisions for me. I swear I would never read if it weren’t for release dates at this point!
*hi fives for being an indecisive grape with me* And like how the heck do some people consistently know what they’re going to read??? I don’t know what I’m going to read next when I’m reaching for the book. 😂😂 I also am the WORST at reading ARCs on time too…like I either read them way too early or late. How am I a blogger.😂
I actually made a TBR jar (it took a loooong time to cut perfect pieces of paper), pulled out two books, didn’t read them and forget it under the mess that it’s my room. Polls are awesome, but the most efficient way -at least for myself- I found out to be my sister: I give the books I want to read numbers, asks her to think a number from 0 to 10 (for example) and then read the book that has the number she says :’)
YAS for sisters who are useful! Mine lives too far away for that haha, and she isn’t a bookworm (I know. It’s a trial putting up with her).😂
Decisions?! *laughs* what are they? You’re actually going to yell at me when I tell you this because I know you’ve read the series, but I haven’t read Ink and Bone yet. I’ve had it since it first came out 3 years ago and it’s still…not been read. I’ve been meaning to read it for 3 years but erm…I dodge out of reading it for other books *hides in corner*
I tend to be a mood reader but then I can switch and read a ton of books that are due back at my library. When i was younger (so many regrets at this) but I’d been known to read books in series OUT OF ORDER! As in I’d pick up book 3 read that then go back to the beginning! I don’t know how I did it, but I did. And I can’t now, I need order. First book then the second. Not oh let’s start with book 5 and read backwards shall we? Honestly, I also didn’t care about matching covers. Then one day I woke up and matching covers were a must. I have a cardboard box dubbed ‘the book box of shame’ to hide non matching books in series which have different covers and also books I didn’t like or don’t want to display on my shelf. I have a series which contains 3 cover variations in it. #somanyregrets
Nooo read Ink and Bone! IT’S SO GOOD! Although that saying I procrastinated the 2nd book until the 3rd had come out.😂 So I don’t even know *flaps hands at shelf* there’s too many and I can’t even.
Oh wow I can’t imagine reading series out of order willingly! I’ve done it a few times on accident and been like: “Why am I so confused.”😂
My method: all of the above! Then make a huge list, then ignore it completely.
….Whaaaaat.
So very relatable.😂😂 Honestly why is this SO HARD?!? IT JUST IS.
Which bookworms isn’t indecisive, though? I think it’s a common symptom of the bookworms virus. I mean, I had to choose between the paperback or the hardback of Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda and I stare into the void for 5-hour or so. Stressful afternoon, I tell you.
I, too, read dates backwards. I feel like I’m at that time where people had no clue what days, months it was. 😂
Oh, the jar with books written in pretty font tips is such a wonderful idea! I might do this in the future. 😃 It’s going to tell me what books I don’t want to read next like that.🤣 The #8 method is my favourite ones, although I’m always, always choosing to reread books. That’s not a good thing for my reading list, isn’t it? I’m not sure my “ DIY ” method works as planned.
I’d buy you small blue cakes if I could!
I feel like we all are a bit!? And if there are decisive bookworms out there, THEN I WANT THEIR SECRET POWER.😂😂 And omg staring into the void to make a book-buying decision is literally 99% of my life.
Bahah good luck with the TBR jar.😂 Even if I DID follow it, I have zero motivation to make it. #LazyBookowrm
*sends you small blue cakes too*
Hello Cait, choosing which book to read first is very toughest situation for readers. Thanks for listing the ways that will help everyone on choosing which book we have to read first. Keep posting!
Haha I’m glad you enjoyed it!! Thanks for reading!
I’m very much a mood reader, and I’m also very wary of hyped books, which makes for an interesting combination re: ARCs/new releases/etc. As in, I NEVER DO IT. Once I DO pick up a book and start reading it, though, I usually finish, which is nice. As for “regular” reads, it’s whatever’s due back at the library first, which basically mean that the part of my TBR that I own just . . . never happens. Maybe I’ll bring some when I go out of the country in June??!
Honestly going by “whatever’s due at the library next” is a GREAT method.😂 Avoids fines haha. I used to do that when I borrowed a ton at the library. But UGH AGREED the books I own generally get left till last which is annoying because I really want to read them!
It is interesting that you mentioned it is possible for us to simply choose a book to read by picking up the one closes to us. My daughter is a fan of supernatural fiction and I am thinking of buying her books to read. I will go to our local bookstore and give your tip a whirl.
I sympathise with this dilemma, I’m facing it now at the library. I have 55 books out on loan and 35 ordered. This morning I read a little Trollope, a little neuroscience mixed with philosophy, some fluent memoir by Obama and I hemmed and hawed over six others. I feel some small amounts of guilt and want to apologise to all those worthy authors I don’t select. I think maybe I should borrow less. I look at the brilliant half finished books sitting on my shelf, always set aside for later because they will always be there. I wonder how I can accurately discern what I truly want to read most. Saul Bellow anguished over this once and said he found the answer in Primo Levi’s Periodic Table. Wonderful read that. I always follow my nose and only finish one book in twenty that I start. I need to read much more, I really need to read much more, because reading, besides bringing me near infinite joy, will answer every question I have ever thought of asking won’t it, obviously.