This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is about my biggest book-related problems! And, I have a lot (what bookworm doesn’t?). The good thing is that I don’t have all of these problems at once; they come and go, depending on my mood and what book(s) I happen to be reading.
Top Ten Book-Related Problems
Book hangovers – Ugh, I dread these immensely! For those who don’t know, a book hangover is what happens after you read a phenomenal book and you find yourself stuck in that bookish world, constantly thinking about the characters, ONLY wanting to read a book exactly like that specific one (which is impossible–even if you find a similar book in the same genre, IT WILL NOT COMPARE AND WILL MAKE YOU EVEN SADDER), etc. Right now I’m stalling on finishing The Retribution of Mara Dyer because I know I will have a massive book hangover (honestly, I knew before I had even finished the first book that I was going to be miserable at the end of the series).
Raving too much about my favorite books – This isn’t the worst problem I have, but I’m always self-conscious about talking too excitedly with my friends about my favorite books. I don’t want to over-hype it, because that could totally ruin it for people (books have been ruined for me because they were over-hyped), so I end up having this internal battle where I want to talk about a book in every conversation but at the same time I don’t want that person to get annoyed and hate the book when they do read it.
Avoiding hanging out with friends because I want to finish a book – Yessss…I am guilty of being antisocial. This is something I’m trying to work on desperately.
Being a mood reader – I would say this is my biggest problem, especially when I have books on my shelf that I need to review or return to the library (and I hate returning unread books). But I can’t really force myself to read a book that I’m not in the mood to read (and in all honesty, why should I? I’m not in school anymore; I’m not writing papers for grades or taking tests on any of these books). All you mood readers: how do you feel about this problem?
Reading multiple books at a time – This isn’t always a problem, but it has been lately. Normally I read one book at a time, but for the past couple of months I’ve had 3-5 books on my “Currently Reading” shelf and it’s kind of stressful because I’m not finishing books as quickly as I usually do.
Buying books when I have plenty of unread books at home – This is why I’ve placed a book buying ban upon myself this year. The only exceptions have been for series that I’ve started to read and love (i.e. Mara Dyer), and for books I adore and wanted second editions of (i.e. Anne of Green Gables, which I am currently lending to a friend so really I had no choice if I wanted to continue my tradition of reading the series every other spring).
Not keeping a good record of my favorite quotes – I’ve started doing this recently, but I wish I had been writing down favorite or memorable quotes I’ve read over the past decade. It would be nice to flip back through them and see what caught my attention at different periods of my life.
Not challenging myself enough in the genres I read – Specifically, I wish I read more non-fiction, poetry, and novels from more diverse cultures. I’ve been working on this. I read my first ever graphic novel last week and I am currently reading my first ever Russian novel (War and Peace), so there’s progress! Can anyone recommend some good poetry collections for me?
Stressing out over reading – This is just the worst. Whenever I find myself stressing out about reading I have to remind myself that READING IS SUPPOSED TO BE RECREATIONAL, especially now that I’ve long since finished school.
Wanting to name my future kids after my favorite authors and characters – Sometimes I can persuade my husband into liking the same names I do, but with other names, like Keats and Kipling, I don’t even try. And no, I’m not going to share with the internet the literary names we have agreed on because I am one of those women who doesn’t want other women to steal her ideas ;)
What are some of your biggest problems when it comes to reading?
macarons & paperbacks 
Great list! I agree with pretty much all of them! I’m also a bit of a mood reader, though I’ve been trying not to be lately. I’ve also been trying to branch out into other genres, which is sometimes difficult. But I think the one I can relate with most is stressing out. Why do we do that?? So annoying!
It is so annoying!
I’m becoming a mood reader and I find it incredibly frustrating with deadlines for ARCs and book clubs. I can relate to many of these problems! Great list! :-)
Being a mood reader is the worst when you have ARCs to review or books to read for clubs or blog tours. And very often I find myself NOT wanting to read a book simply because I have to. So frustrating.
When I’m done with grad school, I want to be an exclusive mood reader! And whenever I finally have a baby girl, I’m naming her Charlotte after Charlotte Bronte! :-D
Ok, I totally love the name Charlotte! Great pick :) And you should become a mood reader when you finish school! You’ll finally have the freedom to only read books that interest you. This is when mood reading can be a good thing :)
Love this list Maggie!
I’m definitely a mood reader like you! I have to be in a particular mood for certain books, there’s no good in me just picking up any book and trying to read it when my head is someplace else! :’) I’m most certainly guilty of buying new books when I haven’t read the one’s I’ve already got at home!
Here are my top ten bookish problems if you would like to take a look :-) Hope you’re having a great day too! http://emmasbookery.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/top-ten-bookish-problems-that-i-have.html
Although it can be miserable sometimes being a mood reader, I’m glad I’m not alone! :)
Naming the kids favorite names seems totally normal to me. Maybe not Bella or Edward or Hermione. Hmmm…Kipling – well, at least you don’t want to use Rudyard. ;-)
Haha, never Bella or Edward or Hermione ;) And Kipling just sounds so sophisticated! One of my best friends and I used to think up all the literary names we wanted to give our kids. She took Shelley and I was fond of Keats and Kipling. Byron is already a name, although it’s fairly uncommon.
Two Words: Library fines. haha
Hahaha! =P
Great list! I’m a mood reader too, which can sometimes be hard when it comes to review books. I actually started keeping track of my favorite quotes in a journal last year, and it was one of my best decisions hands-down. Thanks for sharing. :)
Krystianna @ Downright Dystopian
That’s what I want to start doing! Right now I’m just keeping a list on my phone, but that’s not as fun.
I can definitely relate to these! Especially book hangovers (or worse series hangovers) and buying new books before finishing all the unread ones on the shelf. Great post! <3 Bee @ Bee Reads Books
Series hangovers ugh!
Pretty much all of these apply to me. lol Though only one I don’t really do is reading multiple books at a time. For some reason I can’t do that. I’m such a mood reader though, but I’m pretty sure we talked about this before. It totally feel you on returning library books you haven’t read because I’ve done that so much. You gotta read what you wanna read though!! Great list! =)
Thanks Regina! There’s only so much time to read all the good books :)
I hate book hangovers! I don’t often get them, but when I do…oh man, it’s the worst! It happened to me with I’ll Give You the Sun in a maaajor way. And I’m the worst at over-hyping too. Like I really want people to read books I’ve loved if I think they’ll love it, but if I have to tell them multiple times, I’m like…well, now it’s never going to measure up to your expectations.
I’m the same way! Especially with my closer friends. I practically shove books down their throats.
I’m definitely a mood reader, AND I’m very antisocial when I have a good book in progress. So I feel ya :)
It’s so hard being both sometimes.
I am very guilty of buying new books when I have plenty of unread books at home — but it’s all about the mood! And yes, I’ve also stayed home to finish a book instead of doing something social. :) Great list!
Thanks!! I don’t know of any bookworms who aren’t guilty of buying new books when they still have unread ones at home!
I’ve got many of the same problems as you!
For me, a problem is when I get so obsessed with a book, then when others interrupt me when I’m reading, I tend to lash out at that person. I’ll be very impatient and curt in my responses. And that makes people in my life unhappy and I don’t want that. This also ties in with not wanting to go out when in the middle of a good book, a problem you have which I share too.
Like you, I’m a mood reader and tend to read many books at the same time. I guess this is because I start reading a book, realise I don’t have the mood for it, and decide to read another book that I might have the book for and the cycle continues. For me, I think it’s fine to be a mood reader. It shows that you are enjoying what you read. I don’t think it’s good to force yourself to read because it’s time to review it etc. I forced myself last year and I descended into a horrible reading slump. I think it’s better to be a mood reader than be in a reading slump.
Out of these problems arise a third problem – not finishing books I started. I feel so guilty not finishing books I started. Some of them are books that I really did not like while others are just because I did not have time to get round to them. And I do not finish some books because I’ve skimmed through them and knew the ending and didn’t feel the urge to finish them. I feel truly awful coz the OCD in me is upset at not being able to record every single book I’ve started and skimmed :( How do you stop yourself from skimming a book, if you do?
I do feel…inadequate when I think of the variety of books I read. I tend to read genre exclusively. And mostly in the urban fantasy genre. When I compare to others who read classics or other “more prestigious” books, I feel like I’m not being a true reader. Do you feel this way too? But then, this ties in with being a mood reader. I read what I want, you know?
Reading my comment, I think most of problems tie in to being a mood reader. It’s all pretty much chicken and egg :(
Being a mood reader definitely snowballs into other problems too. But you’re right, mood reader > reading slump. I’m trying to get through a bunch of reviews I’m behind on and then I’m going to mood read to my heart’s content!! :)
I hate not finishing books. I hate returning unread library books, too. I only DNF a book if it’s overly graphic or vulgar or if the writing is very poor, especially if there are more curse words than adjectives. I can’t stand books like that. I do skim some books that are almost bad enough to put down because I want to give them a chance to the end. I’ve quit reading 2 books this year (both were back to back and they were DNF for being poorly written and shallow) and that’s probably tied with the amount of books I marked as DNF last year.
As for comparing yourself to other readers, I think it’s healthy to challenge yourself in the genres you read, but that doesn’t mean you should read a particular book because other people do. I’m trying to challenge myself this year by reading some nonfiction, some new to me genres like graphic novels, and some multicultural lit. But I’m choosing books within those categories that seem interesting to me instead of only going off recommendations or pressure reads. But we all have our “go to” genre that makes us happy. Mine are classics and YA and yours is urban fantasy :) and there’s nothing wrong with that!
You’re a really kind reader in giving all books an opportunity :)
Well, if you would like some recommendation, for non-fiction, you could consider The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. This book was so inspiring for me. I felt so motivated to change my life after finishing the book. If you like fairytales, you could consider The Fable series (graphic novels). For multicultural lit, I really like Julie Otsuka’s The Buddha in the Attic and When The Emperor Was Divine. Amy Tan’s books are pretty good too!
I hope you get to continue with your moodreading soon! :)
Amy Tan’s books are really good! I’ve only read one but I’ve been wanting to check out her others. Thanks for the recs!
I share several of these problems. Also a mood reader, also read multiple books at a time and am annoyed when I don’t finish them very quickly, also want to name my kids after characters in books. Actually, I did that last one for reals — my daughters get their middle names from Anne Shirley and Jane Eyre….
I adore both those names!!! Good choices :)
YES to basically all of these!! Especially the reading multiple books at once part. I’m feeling that right now. :-/
I was finally able to cut back on the amount of books I’m currently reading. I’m down to 2-3, and one of them is for a 3 month read-along. I hope you’re able to finish some books soon! I know how stressful that feels :/