So I told you before about having book anxiety. That was basically me freaking out at the realization that I will never read ALL THE BOOKS. But now what I want to talk about is the book anxiety I get when I finish a book.
So I finish reading something, doesn't matter whether I loved or hated it, and I have to figure out what to read next.... and I freeze. I get this really weird feeling like I'm almost scared to pick. Why?? Because I'm afraid that I'm going to make the wrong choice. There are all these books that I'm supposed to read. Whether it be that I got it from a publisher and I feel obligation to read them, or it's just books by authors that I LOVE and feel like I need to read them, or books that are popular in the YA book world and I feel like I need to read them to keep up-to-date.... there are SO many!
So I go over to my shelf:
And look....
And look...
And then I think, well what ebooks do I have?
And then I start thinking if there was anything new that came out that might trump something that has been sitting on my shelf waiting to be read...
And really I'm just super scared that the book that I'm going to pick is going to let me down :(
I never used to be like this. Before I blogged I just went to the library, picked a book, and read it. And 9 times out of 10 I ended up really liking it. Now.... I don't know!! I guess I'm more picky. And I don't want to end up reading the SAME book over and over. And the more I read, the more books start feeling really similar to me. It feels like I have to dig and dig to find those few gems. AND I know that's not even really true. There are SO many good books out there!! SO MANY. So why have I become like this?? Scared to pick a book... scared I won't like it and will be wasting my precious reading time... scared that if I pick the wrong book it will make me miss out on the ones I would really enjoy in the end???
I tried making a list in order of books to read... but that didn't last long because I have to be in the mood to read a certain book. And new books are constantly jumping up and distracting me.
I just want to go back when picking books didn't make me feel crazy. And I'll probably never be like that again :(
Do you guys ever feel like this?? Can you stick to a reading schedule, or do you feel like you have to be in the MOOD for a certain book?
Sometimes... it depends. I do freak a bit about all the books I have around my house that I need to read PLUS all the new ones coming out that seem awesome. It can be tough, but just try and get back into the mindset of "this is fun" and forget about the blogging side. :)
ReplyDelete-Lauren
p.s. I'm looking for some bloggers to do one of two "discussion" posts on their own blog, if you want to know more details- email here lauren51990 AT aol DOT com
It used to be so much more fun when I didn't have STACKS of books :( But I still love to read... and I love to blog, so I just need to stop worrying... bc I'm not going to read ALL THE BOOKS.
DeleteNowadays I don't have much time to read, only about an hour every evening and that makes me more scared to decide what to read. Because if I don't like it, I will probably spent one or two evenings reading a book I don't enjoy before I decide to DNF it. I have joined some reading challenges this year, which make it easier for me to choose as I narrow down my options by deciding on which readign challenge to read a book for.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a ton of time to read either... I pretty much only read on the bus or during my lunch hour and that's it.... I've been reading the same book for over a week now!! That makes me kind of sad :(
Deleteyes yes and yes. what has helped me is doing a seasonal challenge with a group on good reads. they have tons of tasks you have to fit a book to and that helps me narrow it down. I tend to change my choices a couple times through the season but I don't have as much anxiety. I just hate narrowing my next read down, there are so many great ones out there. I tend to read about 3-4 at a time because of this issue. So yes I get it.
ReplyDeleteI used to do a seasonal challenge on a group on GR. I forget why I stopped?? Maybe I should try that and take the choices out of my hands :)
DeleteI do the same thing! Or worse, I look at my books and don't have motivations to read them. :-/
ReplyDeleteLoving all the book pictures. I have this same problem, although a kind of variation of it. I look at all the books I can read and have to read and I'm just like THE BOOKS, SO MANY and just want to read them ALL now. I'm not sure if my brain thinks it is possible to read fifty books in a day simultaneously or what. Fun post!
ReplyDelete