So, you’re at 354 reviews and it’s only August. How do you ever have time to do anything else? DO you do anything else? If you’re trapped in TK’s basement with nothing but a Kindle, use the word “aardvark” in one of your answers and we’ll mount a rescue operation!
I am most definitely ahead of where I am most years. It’s been a kind of weird year partly because of my participation in CBR 9 but also in general. Having a count going and having some homework to do with each book does change things a little. I was an English major in college and I teach high school English now, so writing down my thoughts and ideas about books as I go isn’t new, but I guess it is new to actually do it in the first time in a few years.
The other thing is that I am almost constantly listening to audiobooks. My girlfriend and I are on a road trip right now and were worried about having to be “constantly entertained” and we decided, no, we’re normal, but we’re seeking out our optimal level of stimulation. I am pretty sure that’s science and not weird. So even while driving, or walking, or doing chores, or walking around the grocery store, I am listening to audiobooks. And I hate hate hate the “normal” speed of them, so I usually crank it up to a faster reading speed.
Lastly, I stress read. I had a pretty bad last school year, and so when CBR started up in January it was literally the last day of my much needed winter vacation and I think I was having something like a panic attack of worry and making my through two or three books on the first day of the year and that kind of set the tone. As I started to look for a new job that added stress and I just kept up the pace because I would come home frustrated or sad from the day and just want to bury myself in a book or the writing of reviews as a positive way to decompress. I do have a new job with some hopefully significant differences that will be more positive, but might mean less reading. But right now I am on summer vacation, so I have stupid amounts of free time.
How many times have you participated in CBR?
This is my first CBR. I am not sure I even really knew about it until late into last year, but I had been having a few recent years of reading more than I used to, so it seemed a good fit.
How do you decide what to tackle next from your To Be Read list/stack?
I tend to pick book based on things like The Millions Most Anticipated Books list or what my friends are reading of Goodreads or allusions/references in other books I read. I might also stumble across a list or an author from a strange source and just pick it up. I do best when I keep my To Read list under ten or so books and just keep refreshing it. For audiobooks, since I use Overdrive for everything, it’s just whatever my local libraries happen to have in stock.
How many chapters do you give a book to hook you before you give up?
I honestly only ever give books a a page or two before I give up on them. It’s less about whether or not something is good (but sometimes it is) and more so about whether or not I am in the headspace to read a particular book. I am probably not going to be reading a long old British novel while also listening to an old long British novel, for example.
Are you an appetizer-orderer, or do you save the room for dessert?
I can’t really eat dairy and dessert is dairy’s domain. I will sometimes order appetizers, but I figure you’re allowed to have one more beer if you don’t order dessert. We’re adults. It’s decided.
Miscellany:
My favorite recent tweet went something like:
God: Ok, so we invented Ants. Next up, Anteater.
Ants: Wait, what.
(Blinks in Morse Code: I am safe, but thanks for asking)
I am in utter awe of your reading speed and your capacity for reviewing. I could sort of understand it if you were half-assing the write-up of the books, but you don’t do that either.
At this rate, it’s going to be a slog for me to finish my double Cannonball. 354 books is more than what I’ve read in the last two years combined, and that’s just in your first year with us! Extremely impressive.
Whatever, I still think you are in possession of a time-turner.
This. Haha!