When I’m at about 80%, under 100 pages in my current read I start to panic because I know what is coming. I know the worst thing in the world is about to happen and I have no way to stop it. No matter what I do it is going to happen and it hurts to even think about it.
I am going to have to pick a new book!
That moment is by far the most difficult part of reading because: ALL. THE. OPTIONS. Honestly I have more books than I know what to do with, that I will even be able to read, that I even have room for. But I want to read them all and I want to read them all at the same time which is IMPOSSIBLE. All that does is lead to the stress when I finish a book because it is the time I have come to dread the most.
I mean I can pick a physical ARC, an eARC, a book I bought, a new release, a backlist book. I can pick a dystopian or a fantasy or a contemporary. I can read a new book or do a reread. The possibilities are endless and I don’t know what to do, how to pick, what the right choice is. And this isn’t even bringing up the fact that I may be picking a rebound book which is a whole other can of worms and adds another level of stress.
Summed up: Picking a new book is the bane of my existence. I basically hate the stress of it, the idea of it, and I’m getting panicked even typing this. So I ask of you, how do you feel about picking your next book? Do you have a method for doing this?
Oh gosh, how do I pick my next book?
Well it just depends really, do I have an eARC I need to read soon? Is there a hyped book that I want, own and can read? Am I doing a buddy read? Do I want to stick with a new release or a backlist title? Gah, like you said, the possibilities are endless. I let the summaries decide for me really. I’ll read it, see if I’m into reading that, if not, I’ll try something else.
Maybe I’ll jump around more in my reading choices. Since now it sounds seriously stressful just ‘deciding’. Lol.
There really is an insane amount of thought that goes into picking your next book. I think I need a book handler that makes all my decisions for me.
Good question! I have a list of all the upcoming arcs I have to read, organized by date. And I try to keep on schedule with that. But I’m so much of a mood reader, that I don’t always stick to the plan. This week, I’ve been in a slump, and I spent a lot of time just staring at my shelves. Then I read about 50 pages of several books before sticking to one. The others I want to finish – they aren’t DNFs, but I wasn’t feeling them at the moment. THis is a good problem, but it’s HARD sometimes. And often, I end up not reading anything, or wasting time choosing b/c I’m so overwhelmed. GREAT topic.
I don’t let myself go without a book since I commute to work on the train. I need to have something so I feel the stress really bad because of that. I will sometime rely on my trusty favorite book if it comes down to it.
I tend to make a TBR for the month, so I just go and pick up the next book on my list. I try to pick different genres for the month, and alternate between eArcs, backlist books and review books. This only works because I’m very disciplined and not a mood reader at all! Although, if I ever read a book that I feel leaves me in need of something different, I’ll just pick the next book in my list which can provide that.
When I’m still indecisive about what to read I pick a couple of options and make my BF choose for me.
I am so jealous. Before I was solo blogging I was disciplined. I had a list and read it in order. Now I’m ALL OVER THE PLACE now. I big ole mood reading mess. HA
YES. And only a fellow bookworm understands this pain. My husband always looks at me like, “What’s the big deal? Just pick one.” No. Just no. You cannot just pick one. I am also a VERY moody reader so for me it’s all about what I’m craving at the moment. Do I want a dystopian, paranormal, or contemporary? Adult, YA, or NA? How long has this book been on my shelf? Oh wait, but I just bought this one? Do I want sexy times? Argh!
I have literally sat on the floor of my “library” and just stared at my shelves waiting for one of them to jump out at me saying “pick me”.
I guess what I’m saying is that I don’t really have a method. I do try to mix it up so I don’t read the same genre back to back. Variety and all that. if I’m really stuck, I’ll grab a few and read the blurb or the first few pages and see what sticks.
Seriously! Non-readers just DO NOT UNDERSTAND US AT ALL! It is so not as easy as it seems. There are SO MANY options!
I try to make a list in advance of what I want to read but something else ALWAYS comes up and I also get really panicky. Sometimes I just stand in front of my bookshelf, stare, and pull my hair. SO MANY BOOKS SO LITTLE TIME.
I wish we could figure out a way to read all the books at once while still following along. That would be the perfect solution.
What I will tell you is not helpful at all.
I basically stare at my shelves (hence why I forget about all of my ebooks) and see what I FEEL like reading. I’m SUCH a mood reader that I picture myself reading that book and I’ll either feel happy about it or unattached haha.
This is also how binge reading happens because then I don’t have to decide.
I have also gone on Goodreads and studied my shelves (split up by month) to see if anything I “should” read catches me… but usually it’s just a feeling!
Nope, totally not helpful. HAHA. But it is my same method. Although I do a lot of picturing of covers in my head. That helps sometimes.
UGH! This is SUCH a stressful situation to be in! And it happens SO OFTEN, at that. I have no set method for picking my next book. Sometimes I grab on a whim, sometimes it’s the blog schedule that decides, sometimes I feel obligated to read a certain book, sometimes I ask for recommendations… When I get really, really stressed about it, I wait a few days before picking up another book. That is a sad time, because a day without reading feels all sorts of empty…
I feel you and I agree 100% with this post. Next worst thing is…
GETTING INTO A NEW BOOK. (It’s like the awkward beginning of a new relationship. UGH.)
That is the PERFECT way to describe reading a new book. It is like a blind date beginning of a new relationship!
I have this problem all the time! Thing is though I am such a mood reader so when I have books I NEED to read I have a total break down.
I used to read on a schedule but I can’t do it anymore. I now go where the wind takes me which is good but leads to all the stress.
My system is pretty straight forward and it’s been working for me so far. I have two stacks next to my bed…and ARC stack and a backlist stack. I have an ARC reading schedule that I stick to pretty religiously and when I have some free time I’ll grab a book from the backlist stack.
What happened to your TBR jar? I’d think that would kind help with the stress of picking a new book?
I’ve been reading my TBR Jar books on my own. And I’ve been stressed about when I should use the TBR Jar. I’m a reading mess. 😀
I’ve started making a list of books that I NEED to read, based on deadlines and whatnot. I have a lot of “to-read-asap” books since I’m going to two big events AND most of my ARCs are for May releases, so that’s been keeping me busy. Honestly, I’m afraid of what will happen when I’ve gotten through them all! I know what I want to read, but I don’t own the books and won’t be able to buy them as soon as I’d like. So I guess I’m going to have to return to my shelves and just close my eyes and grab one 😛
Love the GIFs you included in this post, Andi! But yes, I can totally relate to your dilemma when it comes to choosing your next book. Honestly, I just pick one based on my gut! I’ve found that I generally try to either pick the next in the series, if that’s an option, or an entirely different genre altogether to mix things up.
If I can’t pick a recent book, I pick an old release I haven’t read and I stick with it and it feels like a breathe of fresh air. My logic is can’t pick new releases? Lets go with an old one. lol
[…] haven’t followed through. Well this time I am going to change that. If you read my post on picking a next book you know how stressed out I can be about it. I actually dread it lots. It gives me anxiety and […]