I love tags, and I love to whine about how difficult the life of a reader is (not all that difficult really, but shush). So, when Cait from Paper Fury tagged me for the Reader Problems tag almost two weeks ago, you can imagine my reaction…

Another chance for my to hone my gif using skills, and answer some fun questions about reading! Let’s go!

1. You have 20,000 books on your TBR. How in the world do you decide what to read next?

Pfff, you tell me!

I’m a mood reader, so I don’t plan in advance what I’m going to read. So every time I’m standing in front of my bookcase, looking for a book to read, I’m like “Oooh, that’s what I’ll read next! Or, you know, that one, or that one — or maybe that one. Oh, crap…”

In the end I’ll just pick something more or less randomly, and keep wondering if I made the right choice, even though I want to read all of those books at some point or another anyway.

2. You’re halfway through a book and you’re just not loving it. Do you quit or commit?

Completely depends on the book, and whether I’m reading it for myself, for university or for review on another site than my own blog. There’s only one book I did not finish last year, which was American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. I had to read it for a university course, but it completely scared my socks off, so I DNF’d it.

I don’t DNF all that many books, not because I desperately want to keep on reading, but just because I like most books I pick for myself. That doesn’t mean I love all of them, but I don’t want to give up on a book simply because I’m not completely adoring it.

At times, I also keep reading because I just want to be able to say I’ve finished it. So, overall, I think it’s quite fair to say I’m a committer instead of a quitter (not that being a quitter is a bad thing (in this case)!).

3. The end of the year is coming and you’re so close, but so far away on your Goodreads reading challenge. Do you try to catch up and how?

This is the first year I’m doing a Goodreads reading challenge, so I can’t speak from experience yet. I think that, if it’d be doable, I’d try to catch up, but only if it would still be fun. If it’s December and I’m 10 books behind, I’m not even going to try. It’s all about having fun! Right? I can’t help but feel like I’m going to have a very different answer to this question in November…

4. The covers of a series you love do. not. match. How do you cope?

Luckily, I haven’t had this problem that often, yet. My series have always matched, but I foresee a problem in the future. My copy of The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith is much bigger than my copy of The Cuckoo’s Calling… Perhaps I should’ve thought that through, but I wanted to read The Silkworm SO BAD. So I bought it.

5. Everyone and their mother love a book you really don’t like. Who do you bond with over shared feelings?

Again, I don’t think this has ever really happened to me… I do remember everyone raving about The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and while I thought it was certainly good, I didn’t love it per se. Although that might have something to do with the fact that I read it while still recovering from my The Fault in Our Stars book hangover. Maybe I should reread it!

Anyway, to get back to the question… I think I would just write a blogpost about it — you’re never alone on the internet, right?

6. You’re reading a book and you are about to start crying in public. How do you deal?

Like Cait, I don’t cry about books. The only time a book made me cry was when I was 9 or 10 and I read a book about a little girl dying from cancer. After that, not a single tear has been shed. Not even for The Fault in Our Stars or The Book Thief or One Day or… all of the other gut wrenching books I’ve read.

Doesn’t mean I didn’t feel like I was dying inside after finishing those books, though.

7. A sequel of a book you loved just came out, but you’ve forgotten a lot from the prior novel. Will you re-read the book? Skip the sequel? Try to find a synopsis on Goodreads? Cry in frustration?!

Probably that last one to start off with.

Honestly, though? I don’t think I would forget a lot if I really loved the prior novel. One of the benefits of being a slow reader is that I’m also quite a thorough reader. If I really would have forgotten a lot, though, I think I would try and find a synopsis.

8. You do not want anyone. ANYONE. Borrowing your books. How do you politely tell people nope when they ask?

“Nope, sorry.”

Easy as that, really. I let people borrow my books when I trust they’ll treat them carefully, though. Besides, most of my friends know there’d be hell to pay if they’d return my books to me in a damaged state… (that’s not a threat, I swear! Or is it…)

9. Reading ADD. You’ve picked up and put down 5 books in the last month. How do you get over your reading slump?

I never do this. When I start a book, I’ll finish it (except if it turns out I really don’t like it, but like I said, that doesn’t happen much). I just cannot pick up a book, read a couple pages and then think “nah, I’ll read something else”. That’s just not the way it works, my friend. At least, not for me.

10. There are so many new books coming out that you’re dying to read! How many do you actually buy?

I’m usually quite good at restraining myself, and always think things through before actually buying books. “Do I want to read this book right away? No? Sorry, dude.” (yes, that is how I talk to myself) Of course, I still buy books every now and then, but only when I can really justify it to myself, or if I’ve got birthday money to spend.

11. After you’ve bought the new books you can’t wait to get to, how long do they sit on your shelf before you get to hem?

Well, that’s a bit of a painful question, isn’t it? Let’s just say “a few months” is an understatement for some of them…

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Time to tag!

Oh, dear, this is difficult. I’m going to tag…

Emmie from Another Night of Reading, Celine from Nyx Book Reviews and Jess from Gone With the Words.

Have fun, guys! I certainly did…

Now, I’m wondering — do you often pick up books, read a couple of pages, and put it down again, or are you like me and you stick with the book you started? Let me know!