skygiants | (no subject)

ambyr asked me how I prioritize the books I read next.

There are a bunch of factors that I tend to juggle in terms of book prioritization, including but not limited to:

- what is due back at the library in the immediate future?
- what are people waiting for me to read so I can talk about it with them?
- what has been sitting accusingly on my shelf that I can no longer ignore?
- am I feeling kind of sad and in need of something fluffy that I know I'll like?
- am I feeling like I've been reading lots of fluff lately and should switch over to something more serious?
- when was the last time I read something nonfiction? ... seriously, that long ago? come on, self, get on that!
- how desperate am I to find out what happens next in this series?
- do I need to read the sequel before I feel ready to have opinions about this?
- do I feel like this may result in a really hilarious DW entry?
- how heavy a book do I feel like lugging around for the foreseeable future?

If you put all these factors together you could probably figure out some kind of complex algorithm for why I read what I read when, I guess. I do have a to-read shelf comprised mostly of library books and new or borrowed books at the ready for me, and mostly I just grab stuff from there as I'm running out the door. I tend to be a serial monogamist when it comes to literature -- I don't like reading multiple books at once, jumping around between books confuses me -- and I also don't like leaving books unfinished because then I feel like the book has BEATEN ME. So when I pick something, I have to be pretty sure that I'm going to be OK sticking to that book until I'm through with it. This is why I'll often go through the shorter and lighter books on my to-read shelf first, and the books that require more commitment tend to wait until I've winnowed down the competition.

(I do often read books on Kindle also, but unless there's a reason to prioritize them immediately -- like it's a digital library book, or lots of people are already talking about it, or I really need that particular piece of comfort reading right then -- I'll usually wait and save up Kindle books so I have them ready when I'm going on a trip and don't want to pack physical books with me.)

This is an interesting question! How do you guys pick the books you read next, what factors tend to be relevant?

Crossposts: http://bookelfe.livejournal.com/402682.html

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

ceitfianna

I use a lot of the same factors but without the booklogging component. At the moment I'm trying to read through some of my huge pile from the last ALA Midwinter before I go onto the next one. But there are still library books and books I get used and new and so many books. Your reading more nonfiction has helped me to get them into my own rotation, which has been good for diversifying my reading.

From:

skygiants

Hah, I'm glad to hear it! I still feel like my nonfiction::fiction ratio is embarrassingly low, so you saying that maybe will inspire me to read more nonfiction...

From:

gramarye1971

I usually have at least one or two books going at any one time (not counting ones that I didn't finish before I could return them to the library), ranging from books that can be taken on the train or bus in any kind of weather to books that stay in my bedroom because they're too bulky or fragile to leave the house. And since my reading is heavily nonfiction, my priorities with books involve the following points:

- What topic do I feel particularly ignorant about at the moment? (This usually influences the library queue -- I just finished a book on 1970s US labor history, and next up is a book about the Pentagon Papers. Topics can often lead into each other or shoot off on related tangents.)
- Is there anything else by this author I've just finished that looks interesting?
- What's due back at the library soon?
- What's an appropriate length based on what I've been reading lately? (In other words, if I've just finished an 850-page doorstopper, I might need one or two 250- to 350-page books to cleanse the palate.)
- What books have people or reviewers mentioned lately that have piqued my interest?
- What's been sitting on my to-read shelf for too long?
- If I'm working my way through a literature series, do I feel that it's about time to pick up the next volume? (If the previous volume irritated me, it can often lead to a hiatus before I continue the series.)

The point about saving digital books for travel is one that I've done, too. Since I don't have an ereader, I'll stick a few free books into my Google Books library and save those in case I have a chance to use my phone but really can't pull out a paper copy at that particular moment.

From:

skygiants

Ah, the 850-page doorstoppers. They're GREAT, but so heavy in the bag! I will definitely also jump down topical/tangent rabbitholes, although probably not to the extent you do. :D

"The last volume irritated me" or "I saw worrisome reviews" can also lead me to pause in a series -- it's a constant tug-of-war between that and my completionist urges (also powerful.)

From:

ambyr

Huh, this is interesting! Especially that you tend to save up your Kindle books. Do you do any audio reading, or is it all text?

From:

skygiants

Nope, no audio -- I don't really do podcasts either. If I took up more hobbies-with-my-hands, or drove in a car ever, that might change, but right now I don't really have a good listening-to-audio space in my life.

From:

the_rck

My first priority goes to library books that are due soon and that can't be renewed. (I try to get to books with waitlists as soon as I can. Sometimes, knowing that other people are waiting for a book can motivate me.) I usually only renew a given book once. I figure that, if I haven't started it in eight weeks, I'm not going to get to it.

After that, I look at how certain I am that I'll actually be able to finish the book. That means I give priority to things by known authors and to graphic novels.

I'm apt to give next priority to non-fiction. I'm more forgiving of stylistic infelicities and narrative speedbumps in non-fiction, so I know that I'm more likely to finish a new to me work of non-fiction than I am a new to me work of fiction (by an author I don't know). Non-fiction also tends to tolerate being read in small chunks better than a lot of fiction. If I only have fifteen minutes to read, I'm more likely to pick up non-fiction than fiction.

After that come the rest of the library books. I don't necessarily get to everything.

Somewhere after that come things on my e-reader. That's almost all fanfic that I downloaded because it was long and in a fandom I knew at least vaguely. This sometimes gets bumped up to the top when I go out of the house for an appointment. Then, I tend to take my e-reader with me rather than a physical book because I like the option of switching stories when I want to.

Books that I actually own have fallen off the bottom of the list. I haven't read one of those in a couple of years (save for rereads for things like Yuletide).

From:

skygiants

Hah, yeah, books that I actually own tend to fall to the bottom of my list too. There's always time for those! Unless it's a book I bought specifically for the purpose of reading it RIGHT THEN, for one of the other reasons.

It takes me longer to get through nonfiction than fiction usually, though, and fiction has more immediate appeal, so that tends to fall lower on the list than the fiction I've got to hand. Though I'm always trying to push it back up!

From:

sophia_sol

Interesting! My process is pretty different and a lot more about being ~in tune with my feelings~

How I choose what book to read next depends very greatly on what I am in the mood to read. Because if I'm not feeling it, I will do anything other than actually read the book in front of me, no matter how good my intentions are. Pretty much the only exceptions are when I have a firm deadline (eg library due date) coming up very soon and I am determined to not let the deadline defeat me, or when I am in a situation with limited other options for reading material (eg when I am away from home on a trip).

So I spend a fair amount of time monitoring what I am feeling like reading, and testing the thoughts of various options against my feelings to see what will work.

Generally the first thing I do if I need something to read is stare at the multiple piles of books sitting by my bed that form more or less my to-read list (eg recent purchases, library books, books loaned me by friends, and books that I got partway into and intend to finish but just keep not finishing) and see if any of those will hit the spot, or if I can talk myself into having one if them hit the spot. If not, I go to my bookshelves and my sister's bookshelves to see if anything there appeals, with particular focus on the books I haven't read yet. If that doesn't turn anything up, I grumble to myself and try harder to talk myself into reading one of the books off my to-read piles, and if that still doesn't work then I just mope around bookless until I come round in the next few days to be suddenly passionately in the mood to read a particular book.

(Problems occasionally arise when I find myself desperately in the mood to read like five different books, and I want to read them all RIGHT NOW. In that situation I generally then just don't choose any of them, and see the next day which ones have maintained that sense of urgency.)

From:

skygiants

Mood definitely plays a huge role for me too, but the panic of NOT HAVING A BOOK tends to overcome the panic of indecision for me. :D It makes me really anxious to not have a book on hand with me when I'm walking around! YOU NEVER KNOW when YOU'LL NEED IT. (I realize my phone can now serve the same function, but STILL.)

From:

wakuchan

I stare at my shelf and/or Kindle until I find something that sounds interesting and page through it and if it seems like something I want to read at that moment, there we go! With a side of "oh crap that library book is due back in two days guess I'm reading that now" and "I just bought this book but I've been waiting to read it for months so it goes first."

This is very unscientific and as a result I have a bunch of ARCs from ALA this summer that I still haven't touched now that I think of it, oops...

From:

skygiants

I know lots of people who reads samples/flip pages, but I can't do it! For me once I've started, I'm in. Even if a book is terrible, once I've got it I have to keep going.

(I was fairly scientific for two years about what I was going to read next, but I haven't been able to do that for years...)

From:

obopolsk

My list of determining factors is quite similar to yours, with the additions of:

- Am I supposed to read this for an upcoming book club meeting, and what are the odds, if so, that the rest of book club will also have read it in time for the meeting?
- Am I supposed to be reviewing this on deadline or using it for research for something?
- Is there some kind of writing technique I am trying to improve that this book might teach me?

I usually have three books going at once -- which I don't really like, but don't seem to be able to help. One is the book I'm carrying around with me on the subway and wherever, and that's usually an e-book or a paperback. The second is usually something I'm rereading, which I read before bed as part of an effort to detach from screens farther in advance of my bedtime. The third is usually a book of poetry or an anthology or something like that -- I like to read something with good language before I sit down to write.

From:

skygiants

That's really nice though! I always mean to detach from screens in advance of bedtime, but half the time I get so caught up in whatever I'm doing that I pick up my book and fall asleep within two pages. (Or, alternately, I stay up way too late to read more, which is more fun but not ideal either...)

From:

obopolsk

Oh, I fail at my non-screens policy all the time! Especially if I have anything to do after work and my usual evening dinner/TV/e-mail/reading/bed routine gets pushed back. But I'm trying to be better about it so as to preserve my sanity.

From:

thistleingrey

Similar algorithm, except that I prefer having more than one book going at once: they're for different reading contexts/places. (Backlit phone can be read while brushing teeth, which was not a valuable timeslot till I had a child--just saying--and is convenient on rainy days for office lunchtime, but generally I prefer paper and can reach a much wider variety of content in paper.)

From:

skygiants

Oh man, the tooth-brushing slot. OK, for that, I will grant you, it is very convenient to have something small and handheld. (I hate reading on my phone generally, but will do so in emergencies.)

From:

lacewood

Oh man, book weight. SO INCONVENIENT AND YET UNAVOIDABLE. This is totally the biggest selling point of ebooks to me. I once borrowed a hardcover from the library and then found it so cumberson to lug around that I uh, gave up and pirated a digital copy off a friend instead. Unfortunately I can't do this with ALL the heavy books. Omnibuses seem like such a great idea until... you have to lug them for an hour on a train...

And yet ironically I end up hoarding and reading ebooks very sporadically because they don't sit on my shelf giving me a guilt complex. They're in my phone! I don't have to think about them if I just don't look in THAT folder...

From:

skygiants

I'm reading a trilogy in omnibus right now and I LOVE the book but HATE the weight. It seemed like such a brilliant idea at the time! Alas, alas. :(

But I also do the same thing with ebooks. >.> It's virtuous to hoard up ebooks! Then you have reading material when you need it!