I have been leaning toward focusing on the books that I’m going to find enjoyable to read this fall. I’ve been picking out some tomes lately, but it is making me happy. So I give up thinking about quantity and really focus on giving myself the best Quality reading life I can. And yes, I like you have dnf’d books and I don’t feel bad. Sometimes I’ll try them again and they work. Other times they still are not right for me.
I am completely on the same page as you when it comes to DNFing! I am so much more adventurous in my reading now that I do not hesitate to drop books that are not working for me. It has helped me branch out and find a lot of gems that I otherwise would have missed.
Just taking break from pulling out fall/winter clothes and packing away spring/summer clothes. I only enjoy doing this because it forces me to streamline my wardrobe. I do not know anyone who doesn’t feel good about getting rid of stuff to a charitable organization while making space either for more stuff or for the sake of simplifying your life. I am motivated by an upcoming trip to northern NY and if my Hawaiian husband gets cold, i will never hear the end of it. Ok so it is interesting that you addressed two book beliefs of mine. First is that i know that i will never read all the books available to me. So i go back and forth on my Audible subscription. I keep it because i have to read that buzzy book the day it is released on Audible. Yet too many times i have the book i bought pop up in my library for free. I have no shortage of books. My other book belief is about DNF’s. I do this quite often wheb trying to figure out what i want to read. I listen to a few minute and if it doesn’t grab me I move on. Yet, two months back to back i read a book that i got to the half points and should have stopped reading but continued because i felt guilty quitting. I will end by saying that it is apple season. Yay! Craving apples crisp.
I do the same sort of sample listening, if I'm out and about I'll pick 3 books I want to read and listen to the audio sample, if I like the story but not the narrator then I'll sample the book with a group of others in print. I love to give myself a chance to read or listen to just a bit of different stories and then ask myself what I feel most excited about or which one has me wanting to know a bit more
this word I hate isnt used by fiction writers much which is wonderful but it IS used all the time by every day people which is a travesty. I detest the word yummy. Just writing it here makes me cringe lol
Finally reading(🎧) the Anxious Generation - it’s been on my TBR since its release. So fascinating! My print book is also non fiction (Stay True - a memoir). It’s always interesting to switch between non fiction and fiction - when I’m reading fiction I miss the information non fiction provides, and vice versa.
Also just finished a long one - the Bee Sting. It was very good but it took forever to finish, I actually just had to switch to audio to knock it out.
I’m with you, I enjoy reading both fiction and nonfiction, often at the same time because nonfiction is nice to have going to dip into, read a chapter and then return to fiction.
Renee, your post rang so many bells for me. First of all, I, too, love pro- and epi-logues. I laughed about your reaction to the word skittered. I cannot remember ever seeing that word in a book (and now I'll probably see it everywhere). It's a big month for me with DNF's . . . 7 so far. Finally, I had an aha moment yesterday regarding TBR's. First of all, my list consists of only books that I own in some format. They get logged into a data base so I know how many I have each year. The books on my radar (but not owned) don't count as TBRs for me and some of those I will reserve at the library to see if I really want to read them. I went through my TBR lists for '23 and '24 yesterday and eliminated maybe 20 from the lists. They are still in my overall total for books in my library but I re-classified them as "reference" because they are books I will dip into but never read through. I.E, art, yoga, health, photography, and books that are compilations of certain subjects (like 19th century authors or Americans in Paris during and after WWII). So my TBR lists got smaller in number, with only 84 ('23) and 138 for this year. It may sound like I have it under control. But, having said all that, there is probably not a week that passes that I don't buy at least one book. Goodwill is a great resource for older books I never heard of and want to read, with most costing 3.99. I always have a tote bag in my car. Books are definitely my happy place.
Jan you will start seeing skittered in all it’s forms- authors really love skittering🤣 I loved reading your tbr method, I was reading and smiling because I realized how much I really love hearing about the ins and outs of people’s books lives! I love your term “references” that makes sense. And I think I’m more along your lines, I consider my unread print shelves at home along with the ebooks I have checked out on Libby as my priority tbr. Both are ever evolving depending on if I dnf- if I dnf a print book I own it goes straight to my Little Free Library - and then like you I usually end up buying a newline so I’m not really whittling my shelf down too much . But it’s fun to collect books and look at them and make stacks that might get read etc. No guilt is my motto around books and my reading life these days
I am thrilled that you loved Lucy Barton. 😊
I have been leaning toward focusing on the books that I’m going to find enjoyable to read this fall. I’ve been picking out some tomes lately, but it is making me happy. So I give up thinking about quantity and really focus on giving myself the best Quality reading life I can. And yes, I like you have dnf’d books and I don’t feel bad. Sometimes I’ll try them again and they work. Other times they still are not right for me.
I'm with you, the books we dnf will always be there if we want to return to them:)
I am completely on the same page as you when it comes to DNFing! I am so much more adventurous in my reading now that I do not hesitate to drop books that are not working for me. It has helped me branch out and find a lot of gems that I otherwise would have missed.
Just taking break from pulling out fall/winter clothes and packing away spring/summer clothes. I only enjoy doing this because it forces me to streamline my wardrobe. I do not know anyone who doesn’t feel good about getting rid of stuff to a charitable organization while making space either for more stuff or for the sake of simplifying your life. I am motivated by an upcoming trip to northern NY and if my Hawaiian husband gets cold, i will never hear the end of it. Ok so it is interesting that you addressed two book beliefs of mine. First is that i know that i will never read all the books available to me. So i go back and forth on my Audible subscription. I keep it because i have to read that buzzy book the day it is released on Audible. Yet too many times i have the book i bought pop up in my library for free. I have no shortage of books. My other book belief is about DNF’s. I do this quite often wheb trying to figure out what i want to read. I listen to a few minute and if it doesn’t grab me I move on. Yet, two months back to back i read a book that i got to the half points and should have stopped reading but continued because i felt guilty quitting. I will end by saying that it is apple season. Yay! Craving apples crisp.
I do the same sort of sample listening, if I'm out and about I'll pick 3 books I want to read and listen to the audio sample, if I like the story but not the narrator then I'll sample the book with a group of others in print. I love to give myself a chance to read or listen to just a bit of different stories and then ask myself what I feel most excited about or which one has me wanting to know a bit more
this word I hate isnt used by fiction writers much which is wonderful but it IS used all the time by every day people which is a travesty. I detest the word yummy. Just writing it here makes me cringe lol
😂 it’s one of those words that’s just too much. I love hearing other’s hate words!
Finally reading(🎧) the Anxious Generation - it’s been on my TBR since its release. So fascinating! My print book is also non fiction (Stay True - a memoir). It’s always interesting to switch between non fiction and fiction - when I’m reading fiction I miss the information non fiction provides, and vice versa.
Also just finished a long one - the Bee Sting. It was very good but it took forever to finish, I actually just had to switch to audio to knock it out.
I’m with you, I enjoy reading both fiction and nonfiction, often at the same time because nonfiction is nice to have going to dip into, read a chapter and then return to fiction.
Renee, your post rang so many bells for me. First of all, I, too, love pro- and epi-logues. I laughed about your reaction to the word skittered. I cannot remember ever seeing that word in a book (and now I'll probably see it everywhere). It's a big month for me with DNF's . . . 7 so far. Finally, I had an aha moment yesterday regarding TBR's. First of all, my list consists of only books that I own in some format. They get logged into a data base so I know how many I have each year. The books on my radar (but not owned) don't count as TBRs for me and some of those I will reserve at the library to see if I really want to read them. I went through my TBR lists for '23 and '24 yesterday and eliminated maybe 20 from the lists. They are still in my overall total for books in my library but I re-classified them as "reference" because they are books I will dip into but never read through. I.E, art, yoga, health, photography, and books that are compilations of certain subjects (like 19th century authors or Americans in Paris during and after WWII). So my TBR lists got smaller in number, with only 84 ('23) and 138 for this year. It may sound like I have it under control. But, having said all that, there is probably not a week that passes that I don't buy at least one book. Goodwill is a great resource for older books I never heard of and want to read, with most costing 3.99. I always have a tote bag in my car. Books are definitely my happy place.
Jan you will start seeing skittered in all it’s forms- authors really love skittering🤣 I loved reading your tbr method, I was reading and smiling because I realized how much I really love hearing about the ins and outs of people’s books lives! I love your term “references” that makes sense. And I think I’m more along your lines, I consider my unread print shelves at home along with the ebooks I have checked out on Libby as my priority tbr. Both are ever evolving depending on if I dnf- if I dnf a print book I own it goes straight to my Little Free Library - and then like you I usually end up buying a newline so I’m not really whittling my shelf down too much . But it’s fun to collect books and look at them and make stacks that might get read etc. No guilt is my motto around books and my reading life these days
Your book beliefs are same as mine, a topic for reflection!