First up, I confess that this has been sat in my drafts folder for so long, I have forgotten where I found it. I didn’t make it up though, it was acquired from another book blog… quite some time since.

But anyway, here we go for a bit of book fun!!

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

 

Each month I have a book from book club to read which is chosen for me, and then I try to pick up at least one book from my ‘Borrowed TBR’ pile of books that don’t belong to me (so I can get them back to their owners). After that? It’s sort of lucky dip. I either grab something I fancy or if I really can’t decide, I ask Caius to pick a colour (the bookshelf is sorted into colours) and then grab one that matches his choice.

Also if I fall into the library by accident, whatever I happen to pick up gets bumped to the top of the list, because deadlines.

2. You’re halfway through a book and you’re just not loving it. Do you put it down or are you committed?

 

If it’s a book club book, I try to struggle through (not always though, I totally abandoned Birdsong) but other than that? If it’s not got some sort of redeeming feature by about a third of the way in, then I’m going to put it down. Life’s too short and my TBR is too long.

3. The end of the year is coming and you’re behind on your reading challenge, do you try to catch up? And if so, how?

I try and catch up by reaching for graphic novels, novellas, children’s fiction and books of poetry because they are usually quicker reads. This is actually what lead to me discovering the joy of graphic novels a few years ago – before then I never really picked them up. Now I read them reasonably frequently.

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

Argh. My Hollows set is a prime example of this. First one is hardback, the rest are paperback and despite pre-ordering most of them, they still don’t match. A few of them do but not all. It used to bug me a lot but now I have rearranged my shelves into rainbows it bothers me less because they aren’t all next to each other on the shelf anymore so you don’t really notice.

5. Everyone and their mother loves a book that you do not. Who do you bond with over your shared feelings?

I can usually find somebody to moan at. Though usually Liberty is my first port of call as we have similar tastes. Although we do sometimes have polar opposite moments and then we just laugh and call each other weird then move on.

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

I cry. Sometimes I try to hide behind the book or at least hold the book up a bit to make it obvious that ‘This Is Making Me Cry, Do Not Disturb!’ I have perplexed many a traveller on trains by sitting and weeping my way through chapters on trains. The Book Thief is a prime example of this. Poor guy opposite me didn’t know where to look!

7. The sequel to a book you loved just came out but you’ve forgotten a lot of what happens. Are you going to reread it?

I usually just pile straight in – generally it only takes a couple of pages for me to be reminded of what went on before. And when it doesn’t I plough on hopefully waiting for that ‘aha!’ moment. It comes eventually.

8. You do not want anyone to borrow your books, how do you politely say no when someone asks?

I let people borrow my books but I often send them out with a little post-it note inside reminding them to return the book to me once they’re done. To be honest, I have so many books that belong to other people, not lending mine out would be very rude. I actually quite enjoy being a bit of a library for friends and family – I love sharing stories with people and it’s always good to make sure someone else has read a book you love so they can squeak about it with you!

9. You have picked up and put down 5 books in the last month. How do you get over this reading slump?

I watch a film, or play a video game, or make a craft project, or listen to podcasts for a couple of days. Something completely different but that gets my brain back into some kind of focus. That usually resets me enough to start over.

10. There are so many books coming out that you are dying to read, how many do you end up buying?

One or two. I go through phases of having no resistance at all and then having all the will power and not getting any. My main weakness is pre-ordering things the second you are able to pre-order them… and then completely forgetting about it until it appears on the doormat 8 months later!

11. After you purchase all of these books that you’re dying to read how long do they sit on your shelves before you get to them?

Uhhhh, a while. Well, sometimes I start reading as soon as they arrive and just bump everything else down the list but sitting here and looking at my TBR shelf I’d say some of those books have been waiting for me to read them for about… six years? But I’m still all excited to pick them up and read them *cough* soon *cough*

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How about you? Do you have an enormous TBR that’s hard to choose from or can you keep up with your wishlist?

Join in if you want, either in the comments below, on your own blog or on Facebook or Twitter. Any tips for getting out of reading slumps area lways appreciated!