Reading Slumps

Tell me if this sounds familiar... you've just finished a book; horrible or great, big or small, it doesn't matter. Then you start looking for the next one.

You scour your TBR shelves, you check out the library, maybe you look at the local used bookstore, but nothing seems like a good fit. Nothing screams READ ME. Maybe you even start a couple books, but by 10 pages in it's clear they aren't the right book for the moment. About that time you realize you're in a reading slump.

I've found that sometimes my book blues are caused by my mood, other times it's connected to how busy I am. If I'm completely burnt out on work or something I can have a hard time concentrating on a chunkster from the Victorian era. Honestly, I don't know how you amazing moms get any reading done, but it gives me hope that one day I will be able to do that too!

No matter what the cause, sometimes it's really hard to find your next read, especially if you've just finished something you loved. When it happens to me I sometimes pick up an old favorite to reread; that almost always pulls me out of my slump. Sometimes I just need a good page-turning mystery or YA book. For some reason those work as "bridge" books for me, making the path to the next classic or literary fiction a bit smoother. Sometimes I browse books on Kindle and make a rare exception to my policy of not buying anything over $5 if something sounds really good.

What do you guys do when you can't seem to find the next book you want to read?

Photo of the pup by moi.

Top Ten Things That Make Your Life as a Reader/Book Blogger Easier

This week's Top Ten from The Broke and the Bookish asks Top Ten Things that make your Life as a Reader/Book Blogger Easier. Here are a few of my favorites!

1) LibraryThing.com – Oh how I love thee! I joined in 2006 and have catalogued and reviewed my books on LT ever since. I keep track of what I own, what’s recommended, what’s loaned and what I’ve read each year.

2) Paperbackswap.com – As soon as I hear about a new book I want to read I add it to my wish list on PBS. Sometimes I cave and buy it before it’s available or get it from the library, but other times I’m willing to wait until a copy is up. I couldn’t afford half the books I own if it wasn’t for PBS.

3) Indy Reads Books – This incredible bookstore has only been around for a year, but I am so in love with it. All the proceeds (100%) support literacy in Indianapolis. They host community events all the time and have a great used book selection.

4) Voice Memos app – I have this on my iPhone and I love using it to record quotes from my audiobooks.

5) My Library – I have a list of 50 books (the limit) on constant rotation at my library. I always have a stack of audiobooks at home and use my library for a lot of new books and eBooks.  

6) Half Priced Books – There are 3 in my state and I am a frequent visitor, both buying and selling books. This is also the one place everyone knows I love getting gift cards to!

7) Audiobooks – I always have at least two audiobooks going at a time; one in my car and one in my house. In the past 10 years I think my reading has become about 50% audio and 50% print. They give me the chance to read so many books I never would have gotten to.

8) Wikipedia – I use it for a quick fact check for nonfiction or historical fiction books when I’m writing reviews.

9) My kindle – It took me a LONG time to actually use my kindle regularly. Now I still tend to reach for a hardcopy first, but I use it a lot when I’m traveling and when I’m reading a huge chunkster.

10) My Clippings (option on my kindle) – I love that you can highlight lines that you read on your kindle and it saves them in a single document. I use this whenever I read an eBook to remember lines I want to include in my reviews.

Photo by moi of my library.

Ode to a bookstore death

A Border's employee created this awesome list as the bookstore where they worked met its demise. Most of the things they say are both sad and really true. I particularly love the bit about not being a daycare. Wouldn't it be great to be able to vent the stuff that frustrates you at your job? But I suppose if that meant you had to lose your job, it wouldn't be worth it.

Also, did you all know Kindles could officially download ebooks from libraries? When I got a Kindle for Christmas this wasn't an option and I was so bummed. I can't tell you how excited I am.

The photo and original story can be found on Entertainment Weekly's site here.

Tackling my Kindle / Before I Fall

Before I Fall
by Lauren Oliver
★★★★☆

Everyone has reviewed this book, so I’m going to skip the big review and talk more about the fact that this was my very first Kindle read. I got a Kindle for Christmas but have been resisting the whole e-book thing for so long that I couldn’t just switch over immediately. I’ve read e-books before, but it was on my iPhone or through e-mail using DailyLit.com. That’s different in my mind, because it’s a way to read when I have no other option. A Kindle is something I could read at home on the couch, and I would rather just pick up a “real” book.

I wanted to dive in though and to do that I needed to find the right gateway book. People kept telling me to pick a fast read for my first Kindle book. I also wanted a book that I didn’t think I would want to keep to re-read. After reading hundreds of reviews about various books, I finally chose Before I Fall and it was perfect. I started it and couldn’t put it down, which was exactly what I wanted. It made me think of it as picking up my book, not picking up my e-reader.

The book itself is great. It opens with Sam, a popular high school senior, dying in a car wreck. The rest of the book is Sam repeating that same day over and over. It really is Mean Girls meets Groundhog’s Day, as so many have described it. The characters are addictive and the plot never pauses. I was worried that the repetitive premise would get old fast, but it never did.

I would recommend both the book and finding a fast read if you’re struggling to pick up your e-reader. I think a good mystery would work well too. I’m never going to stop reading regular books, but not I’m more comfortable picking up my Kindle.

**SIDENOTE: I am struggling with the price of e-books. Unless it’s a book I know I’ll love or a special edition (hello Penguin hardcovers), I almost never spend $10 to $15 on a single book. I read way too much to be able to afford that. I use PaperBackSwap, used bookstores and library book sales and average about $2 per book.

I’ve checked out eBookFling, but so far I’m not impressed. It seems like the vast majority of books I want to read either aren’t available for lending at all or there just aren’t any available at the moment. Until library books become available on Kindles (which I hear will happen by the end of the year), I won’t be reading too many books on my e-reader.

Do you guys have any Kindle tips?

Do you e-read?

Like so many of you, I received an e-reader for Christmas. For months I had been cataloguing the pros and cons of Nooks, Kindles, Sony readers, etc., all the while completely unconvinced that I wanted one at all. Then my husband unexpectedly bought me a Kindle for Christmas and all those lists went out the window. Of course I was excited and started playing with it immediately.

I named my Kindle Argus, after Odysseus’ faithful dog in The Odyssey. I’ve tentatively downloaded some books and read user reviews of different versions, but I have yet to dive in and read a book cover-to-cover. I think it’s amazing that I can hold the complete works on Shakespeare in my hand, but I’m having a hard time picking up the Kindle over all my lovely printed books. I know it will never replace those for me, but I would like to be able to take my Kindle on trips and feel comfortable reading it.

So here’s my question. What book would you recommend I read first? I want something that I can’t put down, so I’m forced to read the whole thing electronically. I would also like a recommendation this isn’t filled with beautiful writing I want to linger over and highlight. I think I’d prefer print copies for that. I want something fast-paced, thrilling or hilarious that will suck me in and make me accept Argus as a viable reading option. It doesn't have to be a book you read on an e-read, just one that was an addictive read.

Photos by moi.