Books take us on journeys, flitting us off to other times, people, and places. From ancient caves to medieval castles to modern skyscrapers; from delicate geishas to turn of the century immigrants to future captains of spaceships; books are our path to other worlds. But what about the journey we give our books? What path do books take through our hands?
How do you choose what to read? Is it random or planned? Based on your mood, challenges, titles, covers, topic?
I try to keep my challenges in mind so some of my reading is a bit planned, but I might forgo one challenge in favor of another if I’m just not in the right mood.
What process do you use for reading? Do you take notes while reading? Annotate your books? Just read?
I like to take notes when I have the time – on post-its or a scrap piece of paper, or using the annotation features in my iPhone and Sony Reader. I find that I am able to write more detailed reviews when I have something to refer to. Having my first impressions of a read is especially helpful if it’s been a bit since I’ve read the book. Without notes, I tend to write a review, edit it to death, publish it, then a few days later I’ll remember a particular impression that I completely forgot to write about. It makes me want to tear out my hair.
What happens when you are done reading? Do you wait to review or write immediately? Do you revisit and revise before posting?
I like to write the review after a day or so of finishing the book. I like to let my reading experience sort of sink in a bit. But if I wait too long, it’s much harder to get the review written. Procrastination sets in and no matter how much I enjoyed a book, the chance of a review actually being written just gets smaller as time passes.
What other tasks do you go through after reading a book? Is your blog the only place you post a review? Do you keep lists of readings? Catalog genre, page numbers, gender of authors, etc.?
I usually copy some, if not all, of my review to Good Reads with a link back to my blog. I keep a notebook with a list of read and reviewed books listed by genre. When I rate a new read, I try to rate it against other books in the same genre.
What happens to the book when you are done with it? Does it end up in your home library? Go back to a public library? BookMooch?
I like to hang on to the books I enjoy reading, especially those I may read again. I’m terrible about borrowing from the library. I tend to forget that I have the books, thus accruing a large fine. I used to say that I financially supported my local library just in the amount of money I paid in fees every year.
Overall, if you had to give someone a “How To” list for your dealings with any particular book, what would it look like?
1. Refer to TBR folder of ebooks and look at it for 10 minutes.
2. Look at unread books in the bookcase for about 15 minutes.
3. Look at new releases at various e-tailers and buy a shiny, new book.
4. Add the shiny, new book to my TBR folder if it’s an ebook.
5. Choose a completely different book to read because I’m suddenly not in the same mood I was an hour ago.
6. Add book to my “Currently Reading” shelf on Good Reads.
7. Read the book, taking notes as I go.
8. Finish the book, gather notes, and think on it a bit.
9. Write the review, edit it a few times, and publish.
10. Copy the review to Good Reads.
11. Begin the process all over again.
Well, those are my answers, for good or ill, be they interesting or just boring as hell. :) Check out more of this week’s geeks.
Ta,
My name is Christina (aka Anesthezea). I'm a self-professed Geek Mom who divides her time between raising the most awesome 2 year-old ever and the urge to bury her nose in the nearest book. While I enjoy reading many types of fiction, my favorites are contemporary, historical, and paranormal romances, urban fantasy, and suspense.