My Top Ten Book-Related Problems

February 17, 2015 Top Ten Tuesday 16

toptentuesday2Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature/meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Top Ten Book Related Problems I Have.

1. My TBR is a monster! This one has 3 parts:

  • My TBR shelves are overflowing. Yes, I said shelves. I have two-and-a-half bookcases plus a box full of books I haven’t read yet – a few ARCs, some books I’ve won, but mostly stuff I’ve bought at library book sales over the last few years. They weigh me down like the undone tasks on my to-do list.
  • My Kindle is full of unread books. Besides the physical books, I’ve got all these ebooks I need to read…
  • My Goodreads TBR list has 565 books on it. And that’s not counting the “someday” list – the ones I think I’d like to read at some point, which is about the same size. I’ve been pruning, moving books from “to-read” to “someday” and even deleting some, but it is seriously, alarmingly out of hand. If I never add a single new title (impossible!), it would still take me about 10 years to get through them all.

 

I’m not saying this is my house… but my basement is getting there.

 

2. Half of my favorite authors have died, which means no more books by Anne McCaffrey, David Eddings, Madeleine L’Engle, Ngaio Marsh, Mary Stewart, Dick Francis, Agatha Christie. . . and that’s not even counting the ones who died before I ever started reading them.

3. The rest of them don’t write fast enough. I do understand that it takes time to write a book, and more time to write a really good book. And I try to be patient. But it’s not easy when I want to know what happens next, or dive into a brand-new book by a favorite author.

4. I’m afraid Patrick Rothfuss will be hit by a bus before he can finish the Kingkiller Chronicles. No, seriously. I used to worry about the same thing with J. K. Rowling. If I were a GRR Martin fan, I’d be worrying about him, too. There ought to be a rule: Authors are are not allowed to die mid-series.

 

Nope, author death is not allowed.

 

5. I’m never sure where to shelve MG fantasy: with my fantasy books or with my children’s books? Solidly YA fantasy (like Tamora Pierce) is easy; it goes in fantasy. But what about Shannon Hale? Or Jessica Day George’s Tuesdays at the Castle? Oh, the dilemma!

6. I want to own Kindle copies of my favorite books, but it’s too expensive to buy them all. Why get Kindle books if I’ve already got them in print? One word: vacations. (Well, two words: portability also.)

7. I’d rather read than sleep. Which wouldn’t be a problem if I weren’t someone who needs a good 8 hours.

kitty-asleep-in-open-book

8. I’m a mood reader, which is decidedly awkward when I’m not in the mood for any of the ARCs I need to read.

9. I find myself spending more time blogging than reading. That really misses the whole point, and it has to change.

10. They change the covers of series mid-series, so they don’t freakin’ match!

 

Oh, and these, too.

 

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16 Responses to “My Top Ten Book-Related Problems”

  1. Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library

    Oh #9 is so true! There’s so much I want to do blogwise that I find myself using up reading time. Too many hobbies! You know mismatched covers don’t bother me. Maybe too many years of buying books exclusively from used bookstores? It drives my husband and oldest crazy though! J got me a new set of Anne of Green Gables books one time because it drove him nuts mine didn’t match. My Agatha Christie collection makes him shudder 🙂
    Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday – Ten Book Related ProblemsMy Profile

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      I can deal with mismatched covers on older series that I’ve collected (usually used) over time. But I really hate when I’m buying a series as they come out, and they change the series style halfway through. And it still irks me that my HP collection has one book the wrong size – my MIL gave me a book-club copy and it’s smaller than the other six books.

  2. eli @ the (book) supplier

    #8. Definitely #8. The question I ask the readers I work with when they finish a book or are looking for another is “What do you feel like?” I don’t review ARCs, but I do have a book club that I have a hard time reading for sometimes. Also #6. There are a few books I own in both iBooks format and Kindle format as well as in audio… I might be a bit of a hoarder. Happy reading, yo.
    eli @ the (book) supplier recently posted…Ten Book Related Problems I HaveMy Profile

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      Glad to meet you, Krystianna! I’ll pop over tomorrow and check out your book-related problems. It’s been a fun post this week!

  5. Jan

    I’m such a mood reader, too, Lark. And I go in spurts where I’m doing more blogging than reading and that makes me unhappy then I’m reading when I should be blogging or reading other blogs and commenting. It’s hard to get the right mix.
    Jan recently posted…Book related problems?My Profile

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      It certainly is! I’ve been reading a bit more over the last few days – and not answering comments (oops!) So tomorrow, some blog visits are definitely on the docket – and writing up the 3 reviews I drafted while cashiering for the library booksale this afternoon.

  6. Lindsay

    Your #4 cracked me up! But wouldn’t that be just devastating for an author to die in the middle of writing your favorite series?! I totally need to read the Kingkiller Chronicles. I actually had the first book checked out several months back but couldn’t get into it immediately and I had soooo much other stuff to read at the time. I’m definitely going to give it another try, though!

    I’m totally with you on wanting to read more than sleep — but I also need 7-8 hours a night and that often leads to falling asleep while reading in bed!

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      Oh, I do hope you get to the Kingkiller Chronicle soon – it’s really, really good. As for sleep, I need 7-8 hours a night, but I seem to go through periods of insomnia when I can’t sleep. 🙁 Thank goodness for my Kindle – I can read in bed without disturbing Mr. Bookwyrm!

  7. Kaja

    #3 is my biggest problem right now. I’m in the middle of a million series (or so it seems) and I have to wait for authors to write more books. I *know* we aren’t supposed to be all nasty about their writing schedules and all that, but I sometimes find myself thinking: “What the hell are you doing, hanging out on Twitter, go write your book!” and then I’m ashamed… 🙂
    Kaja recently posted…Tough Travels: KnightsMy Profile

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      I feel that way sometimes, too. It can be hard to remember that authors are only human, and even when they’re working hard, things don’t always go smoothly. One of my favorite paranormal cozy mystery writers basically just stopped writing, leaving the series hanging. I don’t know if she’ll ever go back to it. I don’t know why, either. But I think there were some tough things in her personal life. I’m sorry for whatever made her quit, but I wish she hadn’t.

      Oh, by the way, you and Stephanie at Don’t Be Afraid of the Dork have inspired me – my first Tough Traveling post goes up tomorrow.

      • Kaja

        Oh, great! Just so you know, we all usually post ours on Thursdays, but the linky stays open, I think. I just find it better to post with the others, I guess there’s more chance of them getting around to visit my post.

        That’s horrible – it must be awful for a writer to stop writing, especially if she was good. But life can get in the way.
        Kaja recently posted…Tough Travels: KnightsMy Profile

        • Lark_Bookwyrm

          I know it usually goes up on Thursdays, but I didn’t decide to do it at all until yesterday, and next week I have a blog tour on Thursday, so I’ll be late then, too. But better late than never! (I try to avoid double posts on one day and no post at all on the next; I’d rather spread my posts out over the week.)