How do you choose your next book?

[Weave]

I have been pretty random with my books recently, I bought 'I am a cat' by Soseki Natsume and today I ordered 'War and Peace' by Leo Tolstoy:D

[Echo]

I have a great pile of all different kinds of books waiting for me, so lately I haven't had a problem choosing the next one. I've just had a problem finishing the books I've already started!

[George Stark]

Hey, it was a good non-rant, you're perfectly forgiven. And yes, as the resident goddess of all things with high heels over here, I can decide who is forgiven and who not. (Sorry, I was reading a dictionary, it always gets me into a weird place in my head.)

 

Funnily enough I know what you mean by "not being in a mood". I think, assuming I got you correctly, what you're referin to is slight case of ennui. Do you have that word in English? You just don't feel like anything, really. For those occasions, I'd suggest just picking up a book either by the author whose style you know to enjoy, or rereading something you liked a lot. Just to get you going.

 

Yea i think you got what i mean, but no i haven't really found one yet. A quiet belief in Angels - R.J. Ellory looks really good but i am not sure about it. Well i am going away for a week tomorrow so i won't have time to read so i have some more tiem to think about it.

 

What else..? Oh, yes! Where in SA are you going to? And funny you should mention is, 'cause I was just at the store earlier today, trying to decide what to have for dinner and finally settled for some bobotie. (I love it, haven't had it in ages and I hadn't really realised how much I'd missed it!)

As for on-flight reading, take something light (not just literally but also figuratively), something you are pretty certain you'll enjoy and something that doesn't suffer too much if your attention span isn't really at its greatest. There's always some distractions on the plane. Those would be my tips. I also recommend packing a light scarf (I for one cannot sleep without a "blanket"), small spray-bottle of water (makes you feel gazillion times better upon arrival, refreshes like no other) and some lipbalm.

 

I am flying out to Cape Town, staying with some family friends out there for 4-5 days, i really haven't decided how long i am goin to stay there yet. Then i am traveling up to Durban and flying home from there. I am going for a month and stopping along the coast and staying in a number of different places. For a plane book i am think i might take the boy in the striped pyjamas by John Boyneby or something by George Orwell like animal farm.

[beef]

I stand infront of my book case close my eyes and move my hand, then i stop, open my eyes and the first one i see is the book, if ive already read the book i do it again till i find one i have not read.

[~Andrea~]

You want to organise your bookshelves into read and not read and only look at the to read shelves

[beef]

You want to organise your bookshelves into read and not read and only look at the to read shelves

good god no! i have multiple book shelfs, the idea of being so organised makes me feel dirty.

[George Stark]

good god no! i have multiple book shelfs, the idea of being so organised makes me feel dirty.

 

It's a horrible sensation isn't it

[beef]

It's a horrible sensation isn't it

yes, its enough to break me out in cold sweat

[George Stark]

yes, its enough to break me out in cold sweat

 

More than that. Shaking, cramps and the realisation that i am turning into my parents.

[~Andrea~]

More than that. Shaking, cramps and the realisation that i am turning into my parents.

 

That happened to me years ago. I am already more organised than my mother and I seem to have acquired a love of maps that would put my dad to shame.

[George Stark]

That happened to me years ago. I am already more organised than my mother and I seem to have acquired a love of maps that would put my dad to shame.

 

Hmm, i am already to old for my age in many ways. I nearly spend as much time reading maps as i do reading novels. You need them with all these Welsh mountains eh?

[Michelle]

The main discussions about travelling have been moved to their own thread in general chat, found here. If you find a topic going off topic, please consider starting a new thread.

[Kirstykat]

Often, when I read in the evening I stop for a cup of tea - or top up and I will look at the bookshelves. I often plan in my mind which book I will read next whilst drinking my tea. If I am 'stuck' in a particular genre that I want to continue reading then that often helps me choose either from my bookcase/coffee table/under the bed/wardrobe/desk etc etc. or my list

 

Every year on New Years' Day, I write a list of books that I want to read that year (very odd, I know! and I slowly try and work my way through the list, but not necessarily in order. Obviously, I start with the books I possess so I can pass them on, swap them etc. to make room for the others and the ever-growing books on the Mount TBR!!

 

[Lowhirl]

Right now my reading is decided through the syllabus. I actually can't remember the last time I read something I really wanted to read, it's all about what I must read for the different courses. Don't get me wrong, much of it is very enjoyable, but I can't wait till I will can start on my TBR list, which really has been piling up through these last four semesters....

[kelly2008]

usually by my favourite author but the chunky ones always end up on my TBR for ages

[madaboutbooks]

I was just wondering how everybody chooses their next book to read - do you read one off your TBR pile or get tempted by a new book just bought?

I have about 50 on my TBR pile but have just succumbed to buying two new books from the charts!

[flowersarah]

Mostly whatever is on 3 for 2 at Waterstones

[Loopyloo100]

I tend to stare at my TBR pile for a while and then think about what I've just read and then think if I want to read something in the same genre. I do try not to read the same author back to back. I then look at books by new authors, but most of the time if I only have 1 of their books I'll choose an author with more than 1 book. Oh dear do I think too much! About an hour later I might pick 1 up. Very rarely do I choose a book before I've finished the last.

[aromaannie]

I always read any books that I have bought which are new releases first, this gives me a better chance of selling them on Greenmet. Apart from that I just pick what I fancy and once a month I read a book that has been on my TBR pile for more than 12 months.

[carm]

Usually I read whatever's next on the bookshelf but sometimes I get sidetracked by an Oprah book or a recommendation from a friend:readingtwo:

[Kate]

There isn't really a thought process for me, it is just whatever is next on the shelf or jumping out at me at that particular moment

[Talisman]

The first thing that attracts me is the name, because usually when you just see a row of spines, that is all you can see. I then look at the cover, and read the blurb, and then if I like the sound of it, then I will flick through the pages and read a bit of it, and if I like the writers style, then I will buy it. With non fiction, I often look things up in the index to check what information it contains as well.

[Kenny]

I read series of books so I keep an eye out for the next book in the series, books that catch my eye or old books that I haven't read for a while.

[Kylie]

Because my books are currently sitting in little piles on the floor (awaiting the transition to a bookcase), I just chose the first one I laid eyes on when I walked into the room

[Sedge]

We've almost run out of room for new books, so I've promised Mrs Sedge that I'll read my whole TBR list before buying any more (unless a new Stephen King comes out). Unfortunately that probably means not buying any more for over a year! That sounds like quite a challenge!

 

At the moment, I'm working my way along my wife's shelf of Penguin Classics, then I'll start on the spare room!