For the past several years, the bulk of the books I read have come from NetGalley and Edelweiss. My rule for myself was that I would read and review the books I requested about a month before they were due to be released. Consequently, my to-read list languished while I kept to my self-imposed deadlines. It’s only in the last few months that I’ve backed off of my insatiable requests and taken time to read books from the to-read list or books that I happen across at the library or books that I hear about on All the Books.
Reflecting on this change, I’ve had some thoughts:
- Reading on a deadline makes it really easy to pick my next read. I have to read X number of books before a certain day, so I don’t feel like I have room to dither about my next choice.
- And golly do I dither! When I don’t have a deadline, I over-think what I want to read next. I look for books that fit my mood; it’s really hard to find a book to fit your mood unless you’re re-reading something.
- I struggle with some of the books I pick from NetGalley and Edelweiss, but I don’t feel like I can give up on them because I requested them.
- I also struggle with some of the books I choose for myself, but I don’t have a deadline to make me push myself through.
- I think I’m finally satisfied with the diversity of my reading. I have access to so many different types of stories through NetGalley and Edelweiss that it’s finally not that hard to find books from different voices and worlds.
- I miss my brain fluff. NetGalley and Edelweiss are so packed with literary fiction that I feel like I miss out on silly, light reading because the requested books come with the expectation that I will review them unless they bore me out of my skull or I hate them so much I can’t finish.
- I think I need to make more room for free-range reading in my life. I’ve really enjoyed these past weeks of reading whatever the hell I want.
Mostly, though, thinking about my reading life makes me lament the fact that there just isn’t enough time to read all the books that catch my eye, wherever that happens to be. *sigh*
I admire your integrity in feeling you are committed to finishing a book if you requested it AND to read it ahead of the publication date. I would find that too stressful personally. Reading to a schedule just doesn’t work for me I’ve discovered; I much prefer to go with the flow 🙂
I loved going with the reading flow after I finished my undergraduate degree in literature. I kind of miss it, but the reviews and requests are a strong habit now.
You know the saying: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. So if the requests/reviews work for you it’s a good reason to stick with them
Thank you!
I’m a book overlapper – I usually have bookmarks midway through multiple books at a time. I don’t think it helps me get through them any quicker, but it does make it easy to match my book and mood. I worked to deadlines for seminars at uni, and sometimes I still do for my book group, but mostly I just take things steady. I love what you say here about reading diversity – it’s great that you’ve found something that works for you in that respect, too.
You don’t have problems forgetting where you were when you switch back and forth?
Sometimes, yes. But mostly when it’s a book I’m enjoying I can easily fall back into the story.
I havent been requesting books for reviews but i do have a monthly tbr list that makes it really easy to decide what to read next, keep myself reading a range of books, and keep on track for my goodreads reading challenge goal