Archives for September 2019

Photo by Prasanna Kumar on Unsplash

I’ve always wondered how people pick their next book to read, how they decide which book deserves their attention next, especially when they rely on the library as much as I do. I haven’t bought a book in ages (other than as a gift for other people, when there was a book that I really loved). I have gotten so used to reading on my AmazonFire (which conveniently syncs to my Kindle App on my phone), that I have solely relied on the eLibrary (and occasionally on a selection of books I already own) for the last few years. Part of me would love to read more physical books (and I have fond memories of spending time at the library), but it’s just so convenient not having to actually go to the library to pick up or drop off books, and to have my current book at my finger tips wherever I go just by having my phone in my pocket.

Ah, the conveniences of technology. But I digress, back to the actual book picking process.

I usually find books a few different ways.

+ Blog posts: I love “What I read” posts and and draw a lot of inspiration for my reading list from books my blog friends have recommended.
+ Goodreads Updates: I look forward to the Goodreads “Updates” emails  (or often browse the home tab on the app) to see what other people have recently bookmarked, rated, or reviewed).
+ OverDrive: I browse the front page of my library for inspiration, because they always post recently newly added books and popular reads by genre.
+ NPR: I listen to NPR regularly when I am in the car and often catch a book recommendation or two. I also sometimes browse their book website (when I think of it!). 

I really try hard to read the synopsis of a book first to see if it evokes a reaction in me. If I am intrigued, the book receives consideration. Ratings and reviews do influence me to some extent, but I also know – and have confirmed repeatedly – that just because other people liked a book doesn’t mean that I will like it, too. It depends on so many factors: genre, plot, writing style, and current my mood (to name a few). Also, this might sounds strange, but I sometimes like to pick books specifically because none of my friends on Goodreads have read them yet, just so I can read more freely and get first dibs on the reviews and recommend (or not recommend) books to them.

I use two tools/apps to keep track of my book lists: Goodreads and OverDrive*.

I keep a running “TBR list” on Goodreads (bookmarked books that I’d be interested to read sometime). It’s fairly long, I admit, and I will occasionally go through it and delete a bunch of books that don’t appeal to me anymore or that were given a low rating by other friends with similar taste.

Of these books, I keep two lists in my OverDrive library account: 1) The Wishlist: a longer list of books that I have checked to be available as ebooks and that I deem soon-to-be must-reads and 2) Holds: an “on hold” list of books that I have already requested and am waiting to borrow. I tend to keep that list very short, usually just up to 5 books, and I do use the ‘suspend hold’ feature, so I will still move up the queue but I have a bit more control when the book becomes available to me.

I know other people plan out a reading lists for the month or follow their “TBR list” from top to bottom, but this doesn’t work for me as I rely on what is digitally available at the library at any given time. 

When I finish a book, I usually check if one of my holds is available, if not, I start scrolling through my ‘wishlist’ on my library account to see which books are available to borrow right now. If none of the ones available strike my fancy, I go through recent Goodreads adds and then check if the library has them (and/or if they’re available). 

As you can see, there is not much rhyme or reason to my book picking process other than deciding at the spur of the moment which one of the available books I am in the mood for. What I like about this process is that I never know in advance what I am going to read next and I like the semi-surprise factor of it. 

There are things I will take into consideration, like not reading two books of the same general topic back to back. I will occasionally enjoy a YA novel, but reading two or more in a row will kill my reading mojo for sure. I also try to mix ‘heavier’ books with lighter ones and nonfiction with fiction.  This is my personal preference to keep me engaged and interested, while you might be someone who likes to stick to one genre for a while.

And yes, sometimes there are ‘hot’ books that I am dying to read and I will put a hold on them immediately so that I can read them as soon as they become available, but most of the time, I am totally okay with picking and choosing books on a whim.

How do you pick which book to read next? Do you pay attention to ratings and reviews your friends have given?

*If you’re wondering why I am still using OverDrive and haven’t switched to Libby, it’s because my wishlist, as of yet, won’t sync to Libby. I have downloaded the app, but also prefer to read through my Kindle App, so I haven’t made full use of it (yet).

What happened? You guys, my reading was so slow for months and then I read 6 books in August. Just like that. I don’t know how I turned things around, but hey, I’ll take it.

The Stars are Fire by Anita Shreve (★★★★☆)

I love me a book with a good heroine and Grace definitely fits that bill. This book is based on the catastrophic wildfire that wiped out coastal towns and cities in 1947 in Maine. Grace finds herself left behind with two toddlers and a third baby on the way, when her husband Gene leaves to fight the fires. The first few chapters were a little slow for me and I was expecting to find the book mediocre at best, but the story (and writing, IMHO) picked up towards the middle of the book and I found myself rooting for Grace and her children.

Heartland by Sarah Smarsh (★★★☆☆)

I really wanted to like this book. Smarsh writes about her upbringing in poor, rural Kansas and tells us about her family and how their extreme poverty lead to generations of teenaged pregnancies, drinking, abuse, lack of education, bad or absent parenting, all while her family members, especially the women, tried hard to keep things together. I wish this book had been organized chronologically instead of thematically. Smarsh jumped around in time, which made it hard to keep track of her many relatives and what they were doing, and what happened when. There was a lot of repetition in general that got tiresome. With better organization, the book could have had a stronger message because I think her experience is important and needs to be told. 

The girl that smiled beads by Clemantine Wamariya (★★★★☆)

This book was heartbreaking and brave, thought-provoking and humbling. This is the memoir of Clemantine Wamariya, who became a refugee at 6 years old, when she and her older sister were told  to run from the genocide that was about to happen in Rwanda. To think that she survived, let alone made it to America where she was put in foster care and managed to get an education and goes on to become a Yale graduate and activist makes for a good “story” by itself. 

But this book is much less about her beating the odds, but about her losing her family, her culture, her country and her identity at the age of 6 and how this had a ripple effect throughout her life and how she still struggles with her identity and all that has happened to her. The reason I gave this “only” 4 stars is that at the end of the book, I had so many more questions that were left unanswered. Definitely read this.

The friend: a novel by Sigrid Nunez (★★☆☆☆)

I’ve heard about this book on an NPR interview with the author and bookmarked it right away. Unfortunately, the book fell flat for me. I don’t know, maybe I expected the book to be more about the dog? There is a thin story about the narrator, a woman grief-stricken over the death of a dear friend and mentor, and how she has taken on caring for his dog, but it’s more of a side plot than the main story. A lot of the book is just ramblings about the plight of being a writer. Maybe I would have loved this book more, if I hadn’t expected  something different (after all, it was called “a novel”), but as it was, the book wasn’t coherent enough for me.

You think it, you’ll say it by Curtis Sittenfeld (★★★★★)

This book completely surprised  me. When I realized that I picked up a book of short stories, I wasn’t sure this book was  going to be for me, but turns out, I loved it. Sittenfeld tackles many relevant topics — social media, class issues, gender roles, political differences, etc. I was particularly surprised by how much she made me care about the characters in just 10 to 20 pages; she did a phenomenal job of developing a story and making me feel invested in a short amount of time. I found all of the stories well executed and my only ‘complaint’ is that I wanted them to last longer and to learn more about the characters. Sittenfeld is a great writer and I highly recommend this book.

Calypso by David Sedaris (★★★☆☆)

Not sure if my expectations were just too high, but this book didn’t live up to the hype for me. I’d given it 3.5 stars, maybe. Yes, it was well written and I chuckled a few times, but it didn’t make me laugh out loud (as a lot of the reviews said). The book revolves around Sedaris’ family in their more recent years and the time spent together in the family beach house, reflecting back on earlier parts of their lives. Some parts were personal and honest, some were outright weird (like the one with his fatty tumor and the turtle). I didn’t really feel engaged (and maybe that wasn’t the point?) but had to motivate myself to keep reading.

What did you read in August? Anything you’d like to recommend? Leave a comment, and then add me on Goodreads to keep in touch.