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Michelle's Reading - 2015


Michelle

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That sucks. :( I had the same problem in my last job - minimal holidays, long working hours and a long commute don't exactly put you in the best mood for reading! Don't you just wish reading & reviewing were paid as a full-time job?

 

Hope things pick up. :)

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I love how you've got all these little other things on the shelves that aren't books, it makes it look so nice and colourful!

A lot of the little things are book related. Even the little bottle of wine was sent out by a publisher, and is linked to A Discovery of Witches. :)  The rest are my other loves.. dragons, Dr Who, cats etc :)

 

That's a mighty fine bookshelf Michelle! :wub: I especially love the little dinosaurs. :giggle2:

The ones on the middle shelf? They came from the Film and Comic Con that YALC was part of. I've recently seen and loved Jurassic World. :)

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The ones on the middle shelf? They came from the Film and Comic Con that YALC was part of. I've recently seen and loved Jurassic World. :)

 

Yes! They're adorable. :) I love the Jurassic Park films and can't wait to see the new one!

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My review of The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich is here, but I don't want people ignoring it because it's in the YA section. 

 

Darkmere by Helen Maslin and City of Halves by Lucy Inglis were also really good reads, but probably more YA.

 

I also blogged about my TBR pile, and about reviewing. I'll post most of it here, because I'd like to know if anyone else feels the same, whether you review, or whether you simply feel pressured by your TBR!

 

I’ve recently had a few ‘issues’ with my reading – I may have called it a lost-reading-mojo or something, but if I’m honest, I think it’s more to do with pressure… and mainly pressure on myself.

I’ve bought quite a few books this summer, mainly because of YALC, and I’ve just re-arranged my bookshelves. I have a ridiculous number of books which I reallywant to read.. some of these are proof copies from publishers, many are bought, but they’re all yelling at me to read them NOW – all of them at once!

When I do choose a book to read, I’m very aware of all the others waiting, so if I’m not loving it, I start to wonder if I should move on to something else. But, I don’t want to miss out on a good book, so I get caught up deciding whether to continue or not.

And then there are my review copies. Some do just come in the post, but most I’ve asked for (and sometimes begged!). Most of the time I do love what I’ve asked for, and I happily review it, and shout about it on twitter. Sometimes though, I realise that it’s not what I expected, or it’s just not working for me. Then I get hit with guilt.. I feel bad that I asked (or begged) for it, that I took a copy someone else may have had, that the publishers will hate me, that they’ll never send me anything again. :(

A while ago, I decided to stop reviewing. It was quite good for me, but it only lasted a few months. It’s very difficult to resist a good proof when it’s offered, despite the pile of books sitting beside my bed, looking accusingly at me. And by reviewing, I’ve discovered some awesome books which may have otherwise passed me by. Books are my passion, and getting to review some of them early is a huge part of that.

So, this time I’m going for some sort of compromise. I’ve been resisting some offers and give-aways, but I’m not stopping completely – I’m just trying to be veryselective in what I ask for / accept. I’m also trying not to buy anything for a while (if you see me in Waterstones, or on Amazon, please slap my wrist!) but I do know something somewhere will tempt me before long!

I’m also – and this is the hardest bit – not going to pressure myself so much with review copies. If I’m not getting on with a book, even if I requested it, I’m going to put it down.. and maybe come back to it if I think it will work with a second chance. I’m a busy working mum, and my reading time is limited, so it’s pointless for me to struggle with something which isn’t working.

I also can’t restrict myself to review books only. Reading is my relaxation and my escape, and I have gorgeous bought books which need my attention as well.

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When I do choose a book to read, I’m very aware of all the others waiting, so if I’m not loving it, I start to wonder if I should move on to something else. But, I don’t want to miss out on a good book, so I get caught up deciding whether to continue or not.

 

If I’m not getting on with a book, even if I requested it, I’m going to put it down.. and maybe come back to it if I think it will work with a second chance. 

 

You're not alone, Michelle!  :smile:   I found last year that my enjoyment of some books was being greatly affected by the first point - by my refusal to give up on books - and especially by the pressure I was putting on myself to reduce my TBR list.  The latter was driving me to distraction, and it ended up in a situation where I was forcing myself to read books that I may have been really keen on when I bought them, but then found I'd lost interest in completely.  I'd be reading them, constantly checking how much I had left to read, not concentrating on them because I was already deciding what to read next, and generally rushing to finish books and ruining whatever chance I may have had of enjoying them in the first place.  Also, I found keeping a count of how many books I'd read in the year, and always trying to keep up with or beat the previous year's total was another self-imposed pressure that I didn't need, as was giving scores with reviews.

 

I didn't include a TBR list in my reading log this year.  Seeing that list written down and constantly fluctuating, inevitably with an upwards trend, was adversely affecting my pleasure in reading.  Not having it there staring at me this year has been such a relief.  I have no idea how many unread books I now own, and I'm not bothered by it.  I have no idea how many books I've read so far this year, either.  I'll read what I want to read, when I want to read it.  If I see a book I want, I'll buy it (the Kindle Daily/Monthly Deals have seen a lot of me this year!).  Undoubtedly, some of them will never get read by me.  Oh well.

 

The upshot is that I'm not rushing to finish books so much.  I'll get there when I get there.  I'm feeling much more relaxed about reading now.  I hope you can find that sweet spot, too!  :smile:

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You're certainly not alone! I don't have review copies, but if I did, I'd feel quite pressured about them.

 

As it is, I've been feeling more pressure lately, having had a good first half of the year I feel pressured to do the same in the second half of this year, or to outdo myself (like.. I haven't read much the last 5 days, so I feel pressured to read more or my average will go down etc). I'm not worried about reading every single book I own (like Steve, I also lost interest in some, and I couldn't live not owning any books left to read), though sometimes I feel ashamed not having read this or that book, or for having such a big TBR. I hope to get around to most eventually. I read a lot and quite a few different genres, but I feel it happens often that people talk about a book and I have to disappoint them that I still haven't read it (I mean, I feel I type quite often that I have the book people talk about, on my TBR).

 

I've been reading a lot of library books which doesn't help at all for getting my own TBR (my owned unread books) down. I keep buying books though what I spent and also the amount has reduced drastically since last year (and the year before, and the year before that..). The library really helps with this. I just.. like to have new books often. I have read more than that I've bought, but because some of the books I read were library books, the TBR did increase.

 

I've also thought about stopping to review books, but mainly because I felt the quality of my reviews was going down because I wasn't always sure what to say about something. I do find though, that it's interesting to see what I wrote down about a book, some years from now. And it sometimes does help in getting thoughts out of my head and with processing the book.

 

I'm sorry you feel pressured about your reading :empathy:. That is never nice.

 

As for begging a publisher for a book and then not liking it.. that is difficult :(. I've had it happen that I pre-ordered a book and was disappointed with it, but then of course it was my money. I guess it would be an equivalent when someone gifts me a book and then I have to tell them I don't like it after reading it, or that I read a book lots of people liked but I didn't. That is difficult :(.

 

I hope you will feel less pressured soon. It can't hurt to be more selective, and if you're not enjoying a book, don't feel too bad about abandoning it and coming back to it later. I recently abandoned a book, I have to say I still feel bad about it! But I was not enjoying it and I really didn't feel like reading it anymore (I struggled for a little while as I didn't seem to get into a new book at first, because the abandoned one was still in my head).

 

I hope you will feel better about your reading soon :hug:. It's not nice to feel pressured about something that should be a fun and relaxing experience.

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  • 3 weeks later...

A quick catch-up..

 

Monster by CJ Skuse - I've been wanting to read this author for a while, as she seems to write darker YA, and I was offered a copy of Monster. It starts off set in an English boarding school, with a rumour of a beast living in the surrounding woods, but it then really picks up the pace. I think I've read far too many 'adult' horrors and thrillers, because I saw some of the twists.. but I do really like her writing, and I will certainly go back to her other books.

 

Alive by Scott Sigler - A random audio pick, which was pretty good. Again, I saw the big twist way before it happened, but it was an interesting read.

 

A Thousand Nights by EK Johnston - This is very different to my usual YA reads. It took a while for me to adjust, and to work some of it out, but overall it's a beautifully written, interesting story.

 

The Box of Demons by Daniel Whelan - I picked up a limited edition hardback of this in Foyles, and I adore it. It's a good story, with lots of humour in there for us older readers. :)

 

Asking For It by Louise o'Neill - Probably one of the most powerful books I've read, looking at an 18 year old girl who gets drunk and is raped. It deals with the fallout, and Louise doesn't go for the happy ending. It's an important read, but it's hard to do so.

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