fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #4421 ]

[ SECRET POST #4421 ]

⌈ Secret Post #4421 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 35 secrets from Secret Submission Post #633.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

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Some questions.

- How do you decide what book you're going to read next? Do you keep a list of books you want to read and go through the list? Do you ask around for recs/check online/etc. one book at a time? Randomly pick one from the shelf/pile/Kindle library? Some other way?

- Are you a one book at a time kind of person and you don't start something new until you finish what you're reading currently? Or do you read multiple books at once?

- Do you feel the need to finish everything you start, or do you stop if it's not keeping your interest? How long do you give a book to interest you before giving up?

- How do you decide to read a book? Will you read something just on one person's recommendation, or do you need multiple opinions? Will you read something just because the synopsis sounds interesting, or is it important to read reviews/see what other people think of it first? Will you read something that has not so great reviews if you think the plot sounds good? Will you give something a chance that's not your usual genre just because it has great reviews/it's been highly recommended to you?

- I look to reviews. I read a bit about the book (maybe on tvtropes, maybe on Amazon, maybe Wiki). And yes, I have a list of books that I'd like to read/own, sorted by genre.

-I'm a 2 book at a time person. 1 nonfiction, 1 fiction.

-I try to finish everything I start, but I won't if the book is really terrible.

-I check out reviews and try to get several different opinions. Sometimes I will read just because it sounds interesting, but usually I look for reviews first.

- I have a list of books to check out, but I also randomly pick books up if they look/sound interesting. I subscribe to a few book newsletters that I go through at the end of the week and pull titles from. I read reviews on Twitter, too.

- I read multiple books at once.

- I try to finish everything I start. I have a couple books now that I haven't picked up in a month, but I'm loathe to say I fully stopped reading them. I'll get around to them eventually.

- I read books based on if the plot sounds good, and that's pretty much it. I recently read a book that had glowing reviews & sounded like it would be right up my alley, and I hated it, so I don't put too much stock in reviews. If my friends like a book, I'll check it out. I'll give pretty much anything a chance, though.

I have a list of saved books on Libby. I also take recs fro people. People also give me books sometimes.

I read one book at a time.

If I don't like it, I give up. Generally in the first 2-3 chapters if it doesn't interest me.

1) randomly, from a Kindle

2) sometimes I become obsessed with the book and won't put it down untill I finish it.

3) I drope about half the books I start. Always feel sorry for people who just have to finish a book - what a chore!

4) It's become more difficult. I look at people Goodreads and Novelupdates favs, see if my fave authors wrote anything new, at my fave book series, at the "new" section if there's pretty covers. Sometimes I search for a theme by Googling it or on tvtropes... Tvtropes rarely work tbh. With audiobooks I'm not picky, just give me something slowpaced so that I don't loose the plot when I get distructed. Classics are the best for it.

- Critic reviews, topics I'm interested in, prior work by the author, and previews. I'll also pick up bundles if they look interesting.

- One for lunch reading and one for night reading.

- I'll drop a book if I find it frustrating or it's been a few weeks.

I do have a list but I can't go through it linearly nor alphabetically, I have to go through it depending on availability. Can I find it, does the library have it, which library has it, do I have to waitlist it, would I dare buy it, what does it cost...

One book at a time. I would only read multiple books at the same time if one was fiction and one was nonfiction and they weren't related in topic in any sense.

I used to read in full even if I hated it (fuck you Stranger in a Strange Land) but now I've far less patience and I will immediately stop reading and return a book if I'm five chapters in and I think it sucks. I think the least I'll allow is two chapters if the writing style is clearly not engaging - just enough to learn who the important characters are and see if I can literally predict the tropes and plots. If I'm okay with it by then I'll keep going but definitely nope out if I haven't engaged with either the characters or the plot by chapter five.

Recs are hard with me because I've gotten burned on so many that I'm extremely gun-shy now. I need not just a rec but a summary of the plot and setting, and I will still at least take the book off the shelf and glance at it to figure out whether the writing style or synopsis grabs me. I don't give a shit about reviews because I know so many of them are bought; I need to verify first that it's not in some quirky present-tense format, then that I can get with the writing style, then that the plot isn't setting itself up to be tropey, gross, and predictable.

As I'm sure you can tell I've found exactly one book in the past five years that I actually stuck with to the end. I liked it. I tried re-reading it and didn't like it. So here I am with zero books to read.

I maintain an unofficial "books that sound interesting" list and of course, I have tons of books on my reading pile at any given moment. I usually go one at a time unless the book is a little on the heavy side or something more stressful like horror. Then I'll have a second book chosen as contrast, something lighter.

I used to be a completist in finishing books I didn't like but as I grow older... well, I have less time (spare time as well as lifespan) and there are SO MANY BOOKS. So I give it maybe a couple pages. That's enough for me to assess whether or not I'm going to like an author's writing style, which is usually the deal breaker. That, and over all polish. Even if it's a fascinating concept, I won't struggle through a book with awkward, clumsy writing or bad dialogue. It's too painful.

I usually go by recs from friends, book lists, or whatever sounds interesting. I trust recs and my own judgment after reading the first few pages more than I trust reviews.

I usually pick them at random from the library.

I'm a one book at a time kind of person.

I try and give most books fifty pages and/or read the last paragraph to see if it goes anywhere good. I used to finish all the books I started, but now I don't have enough time to do that.

Most of the books I read are ones I plucked off the shelves and decided the synopsis was interesting. Sometimes I go to Goodreads for recommendations. I used to look through bookstagrams for recommendations, but I stopped doing that after I read too many books that I didn't like. I never read the reviews, always the synopsis. Some of the books that I've really enjoyed have pretty low ratings on Goodreads.

I borrow ebooks from my local library through Overdrive.

Whenever I come across a book that looks interesting, I add it to my Wish List (if they have it). If I know the book is REALLY good and they don't have it, I recommend it for purchase.

I generally have one book out at a time, unless something that was wait-listed comes in.

I try to read until at least the 20% mark before I give up, unless the book came very highly recommended from someone whose opinion I trust. If I do give up, I go and look at reviews to see if I can pinpoint why the book didn't work for me.

As for how I decide what to read, I don't need multiple recommendations, and rarely look at reviews first. I like to graze outside my usual genres, and will try nearly anything unless I know that it focuses on something that's a hard no for me.

I have a to-read pile big enough to last me two years, and I keep adding awesome new stuff to it. Ebooks a friend recced me! funny secondhand book found in a yard sale!
I'm always reading both an adult and a kids book at the same time, plus non-fiction on weekends. I try to alternate series and standalones, foreign and local, genres, and even book sizes, to make sure I go through my pile at a constant rhythm.
I tend to finish everything I start, though I've learned in the past few years to put down something that don't appeal to me, with the option of giving it another try later or giving up altogether if I really don't feel like it, and read someothing else that I do enjoy in the meanwhile.

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[ SECRET POST #4421 ]

Book survey

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