Last week I posted about a free e-book offer from Minatour Books. I wanted to point out an opportunity to get a free book as well as highlight something I found different and innovative in the marketplace. What came to me as a result was something that I hadn’t expected – fodder for a blog post.
Rebecca, from Rebecca Reads, commented that she doesn’t usually read books that are not already on her list. For those of you who are not familiar with Rebecca’s blog, she reads a good deal of classic and award winning fiction. I first remember reading her blog when she posted about How to Read and Why by Harold Bloom. She was reading the novels and short stories along with him and I was impressed to say the very least. She really challenges herself with her reading and I really respect her and her blog. So after she left that comment, I had to ask her how she chooses the books that go on her list. Here is her response:
Mostly, I search for books that have withstood the test of time: not just best sellers today only but those that are still around after a few years (or a few hundred years). Some of my lists are award winners (Nobel Prize, Pulitzer, Newbery), and some of them lists of books recommended by authors I “trust.” And those people I’m “trusting” aren’t always “right” in terms of my preferences either. For example, one list I had recommended Bridget Jones’ Diary and I started it and couldn’t stand it. I think everyone needs to take lists of “books you must read before you die” with a grain of salt because everyone has different preferences for what is truly great.
I don’t limit it to lists, though. Book blogging has opened my eyes to many books I would never have read. Just the other day I saw a audiobook that someone blogged about a month ago and I picked it up because I decided it was something I was in the mood for.
But I’m still don’t tend to randomly take a book I’ve never heard of and read it, even if the back cover is intriguing. There are too many highly recommended books I haven’t read yet! Maybe when I get through all of those, then I’ll give these currently new “best sellers” a try.
For someone like me – I’m not terribly disciplined or orderly – I found her answer thought-provoking. She puts a great deal of consideration into what she reads. She is very purposeful in the books she selects to be sure that the time she spends reading is time as well spent as possible. You can readily pick this up from followng her blog, but reading her comments made me feel like I got to know her just a little bit better. I enjoy knowing what makes my fellow book junkie tick, especially when I respect them as much as I do Rebecca.
So, what makes me tick? As much as I would love to be more like Rebecca, I know that I can’t be that organized for long and stay happy. I like the freedom that comes an unexpected book in the mail or a game of Ennie Meanie Minie Moe along my bookshelf. For me, taking a chance on something new or unknown is exciting and fulfilling, even when the book is not. There are times when I need to discipline myself to push through a backlog of books I’ve requested. I am always very proud of myself but eventually reading starts to feel like a burden. If I kept at it, I’d be more inclined to give up reading entirely than to maintain what for me would become the equivalent of a reading chore chart.
I don’t have any clue what Rebecca’s Myers-Brigs personality profile is (I’m an ENFP in case you’re interested – click here to take the test yourself), so it’s possible that our personalities in general may be similar. However, if there were a Myers-Briggs type specifically used for defining someone’s reading personality, I would bet money that we’d test out quite differently. What’s amazing to me about that is that although we might get there through completely different processes (don’t even start on Ennie Meanie Minie Moe not being a process…), we both arive at the same place – reading pleasure.
While I’ll probably always be somewhat jealous of those who have strengths were I have weaknesses, who I am impacts how and what I read and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I wouldn’t have Rebecca or you choose your books any differently than you do. How you chose a book is just as interesting as what you thought about the book. If we all chose books the same way, something important would be missing. As Rebecca alluded to, there is no way a single one of us is going to read all of the books worthy of reading in our lifetime. Reading book blogs written by those who approach their reading in different ways can help make up for books you will inevitably miss. How wonderful is that?
Now you know a little bit more about how Rebecca and I choose our next books. How do you? Do you have specific criteria or do you play Pin the Tail on the Next Book I’m Reading? Are you somewhere in between? Has the way in which you approaced reading changed over time?
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=efa5b9af-e118-4f5e-ab73-bddb09b9c75b)
At this point, I’m a pretty disorganized reader. I have a large to-read pile, and often ignore it. I make sure I read my book club books on time (2 per month) and any fluff I pick up tends to get read quickly.
I’m wondering how blogging is going to change my approach to reading. It is already encouraging me to think about what the total of my reading output looks like.
I’m looking forward to finding out.
Laura’s last blog post..Review: The Writing on My Forehead by Nafisa Haji
My reading is honestly very random unless it happens to be an ARC or review copy. Even then they are the books I might have thought I would like. I go to a bookstore and just browse around. Sometimes I pick up a book if I have seen it somewhere on the net. Sometimes I just pick books based on cover or summary’s, sometimes just because it’s by an author I love. I pick up a lot of classics, yes, but I need to be in a mood to read them.
So yes, my reading style is Random
I am an INFJ Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging
I used to be an ENFJ, but over the years I’ve turned into a hermit crab!
Hugs.
Sheri
Sheri’s last blog post..DWTS: What Every Good Cowboy Needs: A Hair Net & A Spray Tan!
I vary greatly in my reading. Sometimes I like to have deadlines and books chosen out for me because that makes it easier to pick. I have a pile of 4 books right now that I have to read in a row. By the time I finish them, though, I’ll probably rebel and do eenie meenie minie mo! I like to have some choice, but I find myself indecisive when faced with piles and piles of books, so having some order to it all helps until I want to throw that order out the window.
Meghan’s last blog post..Review: Tea and Other Ayama Na Tales, Eleanor Bluestein
Before I quit working, I was a number cruncher, and I am pretty structured and organized. This is not always a good thing! I have lists, I have my reading challenge goals always at top of mind, and although sometimes I stray, I don’t stray too far. I put quite a bit of research into what I read, and stick with titles that are classic or genres I know I will like. I don’t write many bad reviews, and I think this is partly the reason. (I keep saying I need to throw my Miss Merry Sunshine badge away!) Unfortunately, I am slow to stretch my reading experiences, and I recognize I need to do more of this. (I took the Meyers Briggs a long time ago…I don’t remember what I scored!)
Sandy’s last blog post..Monday Movie Meme – Some Like it HOT
I am both impulsive and compulsive with my reading selections. I have an enormous TBR pile which I am gradually working through, but I also can’t resist trying out something that has been recommended by someone whose taste in books I respect.
Over the past couple of years I have been trying to read more contemporary authors, as my previous choices had focused more on the classics. I am now trying to read more authors from outside the US, UK and Australia – different styles and subject matter.
The truth is I just can’t resist the temptation of a potentially good book and at this stage I have enough books waiting for my attention to keep me going for many years. Oh for Rebecca’s self-control and sense of purpose. I’m envious.
WOW — so many thought provoking issues here. I read Rebecca’s post (I didn’t even know the blogging world existed when she wrote it last summer) and thoroughly enjoyed her insights. I especially enjoyed her comparison of the “page turner” reader to the “ingesting” reader. I was thinking this very thing (although probably used different phrases) after the readathon.
I began the readathon thinking I wanted to read xxx number of pages in the 24 hour time period, but I found when I read quickly I was frustrated and dissatisfied. I enjoyed the plot – I comprehended the story, but I also felt as though I did not give the author my full attention. I like to read slowly – to ingest the language used and the developments of theme and character. I like to take time between books and reflect on what I have read. I am learning that if I do not take the time to do this, the importance of the work is not fully appreciated and soon forgotten.
As far as book selection — I must say that the book blog world has opened my eyes and my mind to a vast array of literary genres and contemporary authors that I would never have experienced otherwise. I am a rather organized person and keep a record of book reviews that I have enjoyed. I try to match my current “leisure” reading book to my mood: if stressed out, a mystery or thriller is the answer; if in need of intellectual stimulation, then a literary classic (concentration on British or Russian) is the solution; if ready to tackle a societal issue, then historical fiction centered on WWII is usually a good bet. However, I am learning to also enjoy YA novels, fantasy fiction, and new contemporary authors by reading the recommendations of fellow bloggers. I wouldn’t consider my book selection process random – but rather organized spontaneity.
This was waayyy too long of a comment — I am sorry. Perhaps I should develop my own post to sort out all my thoughts and link back to you.
Thank you for a great way to start my Tuesday!!
Molly’s last blog post..Chocolate Chip Cookie Murders
I’m not as organized as Rebecca is with her reading. I like to read a mix of new and classic books. It’s usually whatever I’m in the mood for at the time. I think that if I stuck to a system that I would be afraid of missing something really great. When picking out new books, I just go with my gut. What is it about? Does the topic, genre, etc interest me? Sometimes I just take a chance on something completely different.
My reading habits are the opposite of my regular life. I tend to be very organized and overthink things.
Chris@bookarama’s last blog post..A Couple of Awards- Thanks!
Thanks for the shout out.
I guess I don’t feel all that organized when it comes to what I read next, despite my lists. I felt like reading Jane Eyre so I got it, even though I wasn’t thinking of it next. I felt like reading a biography of the former president of Pakistan and I started it. That’s spontaneity for me!
I read because it’s a pleasure and because I get something out of it. It’s not at all about turning the pages to cross it off a list. I read what I read because I want to! It is fun for me to challenge myself with the books I read and it doesn’t require painful discipline. If it did, I’d stop.
Rebecca Reid’s last blog post..Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
Sometimes I pick up a book because of an obligation – a blog tour or I agreed to have it reviewed by a certain date. Otherwise, I just pick up what strikes me in the moment. Sometimes other things that are going on in my life dictate the need for a light book and sometimes I’m in the mood for something to make me think. I think I’m more like you than Rebecca. (This is a great post!)
Kathy’s last blog post..Review: Sima’s Undergarments for Women
1. call my mother and ask what to read next
2. go to the bookstore and buy something by an author I know I love
3. shuffle the to-be-read stack on my bedside table, close my eyes and pick one at random. Then sometimes I let the book fall open to a random page and read a random sentence, taking it as a sign from another world.
Susan, INTP, geeky writer, reader & mama’s girl]
(ps – I just came across this blog, Jennifer, and I think it’s terrific.)
Susan Wiggs’s last blog post..“Times Square can’t shine as bright as you…”
I listen to book reviews on NPR, PRI, etc. I watch book lists, bestseller lists and read book blogs. Something immediately jump out to pique my interest, some things I wait to add to my list until I see it show up repeatedly and figure there’s something there worth checking out. Any time I have a chance to get a free book, I take it–I’ve found some wonderful books by taking this chance.
Thank you everyone for all of your comments! It’s so exciting for me when something that interests me interests others, too! Today is going to be a great day!
Laura, I’ve found that how I choose the books I read has changed pretty drastically after my first year of blogging. My selection has really broadened because of the ARCs I’m offered and are sent to me. I’ve also started participating in more blog tours and a book club. Those things dictate to an extent what I read. Otherwise, I flit from book to book depending upon my mood. After you’ve been blogging for a while, you should write a post about it. I’d love to find out what you have to think.
Violet, I love the Random classification. It sounds much better than haphazard or disorganized, which is what I would have called myself before reading your comment. Now I’m firmly a random reader.
Sheri, we’re not too far off from each other – although I feel that I’ve become more extroverted as I age.
Meghan, we are very much alike. The pursuit of order makes me feel proud of myself, but it falls by the wayside very quickly.
Sandy, I think your system is working for you. You take a logical approach to what you read and you know where you are going. What’s wrong with that? You’re slow to take a detour whereas I’m slow to get on a main road. LOL!
Susan, I hear you about self-control and having a sense of purpose. Still, I believe that pursuing the joy of reading is a purpose in and of itself. I think that expanding your horizons through authors from different parts of the world is a wonderful way to drive what you’re reading. Have you checked out the Orbis Terrarum challenge that Bethany from B&b ex libris hosts? Here is a link to the rules and regs. If you’re not participating already, I think that would be right up your alley!
Molly, I completely understand what you are saying about the read-a-thon. I will most definitely be reading The Uncommon Reader again because I’m sure that between keeping up with Twitter and the late hour that I missed a great deal of what that little gem had to offer. Read-a-thon might be my time set aside to re-read books that I have loved before. Don’t ever worry about long comments on my blog! I love them, I really do. I like your organized spontaneity. And thank you for making my Tuesday. I’m glad that this topic is as engaging to you as it is to me.
Chris, it’s really interesting that your reading life is the opposite of your non-reading life. For me, my reading life is a direct extension of regular old me. I’m quick to pick up on a new idea and run with it, regardless of what I’m leaving behind. I guess the one distinction for me is that I almost always finish a book once I’ve started it. This isn’t 100% true, but probably 97% true. If I dind’t discipline myself in that way, I’d probably have 99 books in progress at any given time. LOL!
Rebecca, thank you so much for sparking this topic for me. It’s so interesting that you are spontaneous within and without your lists where even having a list can feel oppressive to me. I wish that your organization and flexibility came that naturally to me. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that that you read what you feel like reading, even if it’s not necessarily next on your list or maybe even on the list at all. For me, having a list means sticking to it. I don’t have the type of personality that would allow me to veer off of it and then return later. It’s an all or nothing proposition.
Kathy, thanks so much! No matter how you decide what you’re reading next, you really do need to be in the mood for it or it’s no longer fun. Being in tune with yourself is important for us obsessive readers.
Susan W, thanks so much for checking out my blog. I really appreciate it! I like how you ask your mother what to read. I think to a certain extent I might enjoy some of the things that my mother reads, but that wouldn’t go very far. I tend like edgier fiction and cussing. My mother does not like cussing at all. There aren’t many books I’ve read that I would be able to suggest for her.
Lisa, I like how you incorporate so many sources of information on books. My experience with NPR’s suggestions have been hit or miss, but when I love them, I really love them. Have you read Maureen Corrigan’s book “Leave Me Alone, I’m Reading”? If you’re a fan of NPR and their book reviews, you will enjoy that. Books that get a lot of coverage peak my interest as well. I’m glad that I won a copy of Follow Me from Sheri’s blog, A Novel Menagerie, because everyone has been talking about it recently. I have to see if I fall into the “absolutely love it” camp or the “it’s okay” camp.
Literate Housewife’s last blog post..How Do You Choose Your Books?
I am very much like you in how I pick my books and I’m an ISTJ! Too funny, right? I usually read based on my commitments — 3 book clubs and then blog tours. After that, it’s whatever strikes my fancy that day!
Julie P.’s last blog post..Review: Savvy
This is really fascinating. As far as Myers-Briggs is concerned I’m an INFP. I’m definitely the dreamer.
I have a TBR pile that riduculously deep and my preferred genre of book TBR book is eclectic. A lot of the books that I have TBR are either classics, books on history, or books that I’ve heard about via Public Radio. Many of the books that I read, for one reason or another, have been New York Times notables at some point. I’m not sure why that is but it is. I tend to read one book and then read a totally different genre next. I am unable to sit down and read one book after another in a series though. Last year I read Uglies and the first book in the Warriors series and I’ve read the first Sisters Grimm book but haven’t moved on to the second in any of the series.
I’ve just recently started to pay attention to the whole book blog world and it’s crazy. Someone should write a book about it so that I can put it in my TBR pile.
Bibliomom’s last blog post..Call Me Alyce
My mom is an omnivore reader and ENFJ compared to my INTP. (I keep thinking there’s something wrong about that.) She loves Toni Morrison above all and just gave me THE 19TH WIFE saying it was “a bit weird” which I believe means she must’ve encountered the page with the c-word.
My audio publisher (the fabulous Brilliance) just sent me some suggestions for a reader who is turning 100: Linwood Barclay has a little violence, but it’s always off the page, and not gratuitous; he’s a huge bestseller in Canada and the UK. William Kent Krueger is a fabulous mystery writer with appeal to gentle readers.
Susan Wiggs’s last blog post..“Times Square can’t shine as bright as you…”
I should maybe add, Lisa, that I have about 20 lists. Some of them (and just some) are here on my site.
I guess that means for me that there is plenty of space to be flexible and read what I feel like, all the while making logical choices about what I’m going to read next. I’m talking hundreds of books to choose from.
Rebecca Reid’s last blog post..Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
I’m not “terribly disciplined or orderly” either but I like a lot of her posts (and many I’ve read and reviewed as well). I just love the little questions she does at the end of the reviews too! Most of the time I’m an Ennie Meanie Minie Moe person unless it’s a library book due back or I really feel like I need to read something.
Organized reading isn’t fun for me either. I tend to read on a whim. Sometimes books sit in my TBR pile for weeks, months, and in the case of the books I own- years. Really trying hard to break that habit but considering that of the nearly 60 books I’ve read so far this year, 40 something were library books…
Ladytink_534’s last blog post..Challenge Updates
My reading choices depend on a lot of different factors. I’m a student so I might read a book because of a recommendation from a teacher, the fact that I feel like I should have already read it, or it’s required reading.
I also go through reading obsessions so that often affects my choices. Some of my obsessions have been fantasy books, picture books, Pulitzer Prize-winning plays, poetry, fairy tales. . . it just depends on my mood. Right now my obsessions are fantasy and plays.
My reading can be random: I’ve often picked up a book because of the cover though I didn’t know anything about the author.
A lot of my reading choices also have to do with recommendations from other bloggers.
My Myers-Brig personality type is INFP.
Vasilly’s last blog post..Sunday Salon
One of my favorite things to do is browse through bookstores…which is why I’m always buying more books and could never commit to a list. I love looking at all of the covers, and reading the blurbs on the back and trying to find the “perfect” book. Or even a book that sounds different and that I’ve never heard of before. And so the piles just keep growing…
I’m also a mood reader. I go through periods where I want to travel through my books, or be depressed by them (sounds weird), or have them entertain me. So again…lists just won’t work for me, other than the occasional challenge.
softdrink’s last blog post..to FoB or not to FoB
At this point in my life, it’s by which review copy has been waiting on the brink of too long.
But I think it has changed throughout my life…I used to consume all of an author’s work at a time.
and dude! Susan Wiggs commented on your blog, not once but twice!
Amy @ My Friend Amy’s last blog post..Review: Either You’re In or You’re in the Way by Logan and Noah Miller
Thanks again everyone for your comments. This has really made my day. I just love to hear about how other people decide what they’re going to be reading. Oh, yeah, and I love comments, too.
Julie, are all your book clubs IRL? How wonderful to have three different book clubs!
Bibliomom, we have got to get together and see how the INFP and the ENFP get along. I’m not one who can read an entire series at once, either. I need some space and time. Even when I was little I didn’t read one Little House on the Prairie book after the other. If there is a book to be written about book blogging, it won’t be me writing it. I’m always a little behind the curve. That makes it even more fun, though. You can incorporate different things along the way.
Susan W, the next time I’m home in Michigan, I’m going to make my mom and my dad take the Myers-Briggs. My guess is that my dad will be pretty much the same as me. After my mom takes the test, we’ll all wonder how I could inhabit a cozy dwelling in her belly for so long and be so different.
I wouldn’t get your hopes up about The 19th Wife having the c word in it. As much as I don’t like that one word, it might have livened that one up for me a little bit. LOL!
Rebecca, you are not kidding about having a lot of lists. I can see some method to that. By having more than one list, you can ignore some of them for a while but still be reading from your lists. In fact, you could also play eenie meenie minie moe with your lists. Hmmm… You could also make a roulette wheel and play around with it that way. Oh, the possibilities!
Tink, if you can rent books from the library and retutn them on time, you are my hero! LOL! I am notoriously bad about forgetting to return them. It was never a good day when I got off the bus and found my mother on the couch holding a library notice. They were distinctive, so there was no doubt what I was in for. I can still remember how that made my cheeks burn. I need a NetFlix for books.
Vasilly, am I the only ENFP in the group? Then again, maybe. You know how us extroverts are… LOL! There are times when I miss being in school because sometimes I need that little extra push to read something that I know I would love but otherwise won’t start. What’s been your favorite required read this semester?
Softdrink, I hear you about reading books that will depress you. It’s kind of like Elton said, “Sad [books] say so much.” BTW, I am so sorry that I didn’t get you your copy of Foreign Tongue before the FoB!!!
Amy, when you read a single author’s books at one time, do you ever find that you just get tired of them? That happened to me with Danielle Steele (pretty understandable, actually) and Stephen King back when I was in high school. I am also along for the “I’d better hurry up and read that ARC” ride with you.
Literate Housewife’s last blog post..How Do You Choose Your Books?
unless i’m doing a review for a book tour, i let fancy be my guide. i pick up whatever i feel like reading–a suggestion from a fellow blogger, something i picked up at the library, an old standby. i’m not too scientific in my approach–i’m not very logical when it comes to books.
nat @ book, line, and sinker’s last blog post..Blinded By the (Reading) Light
My next read is generally chosen for me by the fact that it is the next book due at the library that can’t be extended any more times. The answer to how the books get on the library list is that it really is anything that takes me fancy gets added to the list and if I really want it I will request it from the library straight away. I do have a number of lists – various prize winner lists, a giant TBR list etc – that I also choose from. I guess I am a combination type reader.
Marg’s last blog post..Teaser Tuesday
I’m ENFP!! Or was way back when I took the test. I always wonder how I used to find the books I read before I started blogging. I have a long tbr list in goodreads and am constantly adding to it. But when I have that moment to pick the next book – I usually select randomly by mood from the stack on the floor but sometimes I must go to the store and buy that ONE book I must read NOW. It varies and has no rule, methinks… I do like that I read such a variety but it is also fun to read what everyone else is reading NOW.
Care’s last blog post..Women Reading, Poppets Looking
Favorite required reading this semester is probably Edgar Allan Poe’s The Purloined Letter and the poetry of Shelley and Bryon.
I love discovering debut authors, so following those lists of “must reads” never works for me. I’d rather skim my way through 3 duds to get a gem of a book nobody’s heard of, than trudge my way through one “read-it-before-you-die” book that everyone knows about and that I have to feel guilty about not loving. (Not that I haven’t loved many of the books on those lists as well!)
Ali’s last blog post..The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Nat, following your fancy sounds good to me.
Marg, you are the library’s best friend. Do you ever get fines?
Care, yea! I’m glad we’re not alone! I like too read what’s hot when I can, too. I think that’s part of the reason why I haven’t read Harry Potter or Twilight. Everyone’s already read them. Who would care what I think enough to read my reviews anyway?
Vasilly, I haven’t read The Purloined Letters yet and I love Poe. I must add that to my TBR!
Ali, I like your approach. You’re like a literary gold miner. What have been some of your most precious gems?
Literate Housewife’s last blog post..#157 ~ Boneman’s Daughters
Let’s see….Dave Boling’s Guernica, and Ariel Sabar’s My Father’s Paradise, both were favorite reads last year that I received as review copies. American Rust, by Philipp Meyer, wasn’t a top favorite, but I’m glad I read it. I just finished First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria, a debut memoir by Eve Brown-Waite, which I enjoyed very much. I’m sure there’s more, but that’s all I can come up with off the top of my head!
Ali’s last blog post..The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
The only times I get fines are for DVDs and for popular release books. For an ordinary book I don’t seem to get fines for taking them back, although I do try not to do that too often!
Marg’s last blog post..Teaser Tuesday
I have no specific selection process…other than blog tours come first.
I’m a spontaneous reader who reads whatever that I take a fancy for at the moment. Book buying, however, is a different story. I stock up my books whenever I have the chance. Usually I look for books that belong to my favorite genres (historical fiction, translated literature, etc), watch out for new books by favorite authors, and maintain a list of books recommended by book bloggers.
Matt’s last blog post..Annoying Reviewer Clichés, a Matt Musing
What an interesting post! My priorities are book club picks, book tour commitments, ARCs, and then eenie meenie minie moe. I get grumpy when I have too many books that I “have to” read and look forward to finishing them so I can read whatever I feel like!
Lisamm’s last blog post..Review: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Hello. I have been trying to find answers to my intellectual needs. I have not read a lot of books in my life time and I have always wanted to. I tend to read about things I enjoy most like flowers and herbs and medicine. I however am starting to notice my lack of imagination as I am getting older and I would really like a good book. I don’t know how to choose books or what to look for. I don’t like tragedies or anything dealing with the end of the world. When I read reviews on books it seems the people who write the reviews like those and I have yet to find anything worth my time of reading. I want something that will expand my mind and make me smarter. I don’t talk to a lot of people besides my baby and my hubby and I notice when I do I start to get nerves and not really know what to talk about. I wasn’t like that before but I was a lot more careless when I was younger. Anyways sense you are a person who reads a lot, I would love to hear your advice. If you have any.
Thanks a bunch