Lately I have been reading in my spare time (although my previous post would lead you to believe that all I do in my spare time is watch TV). I’ve been reading. A LOT. Especially now that we are more settled. It calms my mind, even if it’s not a ‘calming’ book. I’m planning to do a ‘what I read this month’ post here each month. Last month, I read 9 books. Two non-fiction, 7 fiction. I’ll primarily focus on the four and five star reads in my monthly summaries.
Zero stars = hated it
One star = did not like it at all
Two stars = eh, it was okay
Three stars = liked it
Four stars = really, really liked it
Five stars = absolutely loved it
How I Read
I read in many formats. Actual books. E-books through various apps, such as Nook, Hoopla and Libby. I also listen to audio books (which I count as reading) via Hoopla and Libby. Hoopla and Libby are free, which is really nice. All you need is your library card AND for your local library to be linked with these programs. Most of them are, and if they’re not, they use another app. It works just like a ‘real’ book. You check it out, have it for 2-3 weeks, and then it will automatically return (or disappear from your device). Some books (especially newer ones) you have to place a hold on, just like you would at the library. And then you get an email or notification that your book is ready.
I LOVE having a variety. I am always listening to an audio book in the car. Always. It’s nice because you always have the option to speed up the audio books. So I can get through an 8 hour book in a couple of days between car, work, and home.
I also have been re-reading some of my childhood favorites. I count those as books read too, since it’s been at least 25-30 years since I’ve read them ha ha.
I read more fiction than non-fiction, but not much. I would say maybe 2/3 fiction, 1/3 non-fiction. Lately, my non-fiction pile is growing more rapidly than my fiction pile.
How I Track
I track my books 3 ways:
1. Goodreads. After I finish a book, I log it into my Goodreads account and give it a star rating and mark the date that I completed it. I never write reviews, I just give them star ratings.
2. Book journal. Once I’ve read a book, I highlight it in my book journal, and also write it on my ‘Read’ page with the star rating and the date I completed it.
3. Book Buddy. This is an app that I use to keep track of all of our owned books (not including e-books and audio books). These are books that we currently have in our house. When I get a new book, I just scan the bar code and it will add it to the app. If I decide to keep a book after I read it, I mark it as ‘read’ in the app. If I’m going to pass it along or donate it somewhere, I delete it from the Book Buddy app. I keep all of my husband’s books in there too. When you have a lot of books, it helps to know which ones you already own so that you don’t accidentally buy a 2nd copy (this has happened to us before we got this app).
It sounds like a lot of work, but it’s not. It takes maybe 30 seconds to log all 3 ways. And then I’m done! It works for me. I like Goodreads because it goes wayyyyyy back. Plus, I can easily search for a book that I’m unsure if I’ve read or not. I like Book Buddy to track our owned books. And my book journal is handy to bring into the bookstore. I have my To-Be-Read lists and Wish lists in there (alphabetized by author of course).
How Much I Read
I’ve read 51 books so far this year. My goal was 52….I think I’m going to make it!
Most books I read end up in the 2-3 star range. Four and Five stars are rare. So far this year, out of the 51, I had eight books total that were four and five stars:
4 stars:
Our Souls at Night (they’re making this into a movie!), actual book
Station Eleven (this NEEDS to be a movie), actual book
Milk & Honey, actual book
These Is My Words, audio book borrowed from the library
5 stars:
5 stars All the Light We Cannot See (this book restored my faith in Pulitzer Prize winners after the disaster that was ‘The Goldfinch’ a few years ago), E-Book, owned
When Breath Becomes Air (non-fiction), actual book
The Storied Life of AJ Fikry (a simple book, but I LOVED it), audio book borrowed, but then I picked up an actual copy for my collection
The One in a Million Boy, audio book borrowed, but I want to get a ‘real’ copy for my collection.
I typically have anywhere from 5-15 books going at once. So sometimes it seems like it takes me forever to finish a book, yet at the same time I might finish 4 of them within a week. So it all works out. Like today at work, I couldn’t decide on just one book to bring so I brought three books with me to read over my lunch break (The Four Tendencies, It’s Not Yet Dark, and Ikigai…all non-fiction). I just don’t know what I’ll be in the mood for!
I save suspenseful/mystery books for during the day or right after work. I can’t read those at night. So I stick to non-fiction or ‘lighter’ books on my night table at home.
Where I Get My Books
I like to get as many books that I can from the library, especially audio books. Except sometimes I just don’t like doing that because it’s a lot of pressure! I NEVER actually go to the library to check out physical copies…I only check out e-books or audio books which is all done online. But you still have to read them within a certain time frame. And that’s not how I like to read. I like to read what I want, when I want and if it takes me six months to finish a book (Boys in the Boat, I’m looking at you!) than so be it. I can whiz through an audio book, but if I check out an e-book from the library I have to make sure I read it right away.
And actual books?
The ABQ Library Book Shop. I discovered this store shortly before my sister came to visit in July. Since we lost Hastings, I was searching for a GOOD used book store here in town. The Book Shop is downtown in the basement of the main public library. They sell newer fiction released in the last 4-5 years. The books range from $1.50 - $5. AND here’s the best part…they sell Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs). These are copies of books that are sent out to libraries, book reviewers, newspapers, popular book bloggers, etc. to read and review BEFORE the publication date. They have a little table of ARCs for $4 each. Some of them have already been published, but some of them have not. It is awesome! I was at Barnes and Noble the other day and saw a new hardcover on the ‘new releases’ shelf and I walked smugly by it and thought ‘I bought that book for $4 a MONTH ago!!!’. It’s nice.
Goodwill. It’s hit or miss. Sometimes I walk away with a good haul, sometimes I find nothing. I try to go on Mondays (not every Monday…usually I go one Monday a month) because everything is 10% off. And you have to dig, because there is NO rhyme or reason to anything.
The ABQ Library Book Sale (not to be confused with the Book Shop). The second Saturday of every month, the ABQ library has a book sale. It costs $2 to get in if you’re not a ‘Friends of the Library’ member (but I am of course) and they have tables and tables of books. Small mass market paperbacks are .25. Trade paperbacks and hardcovers range from $1 - $5 depending on how new they are and their condition, etc. Lots of older books at this sale. I’ve been twice so far.
Barnes & Noble. I bit the bullet and became a member this week because their annual membership was on sale for $10 instead of the usual $25. But anyways…you can save 10% each time. And sometimes I just want a NEW book. Plus, their selection is awesome. Plus….Starbucks. And journals. And planners. And Bargain Books. They just have lots of good stuff. I know it’s an evil chain and I should be supporting my independent book stores, but I’m about convenience and a large selection. And discounts and coffee!
Target. Only sometimes. Usually if I buy a book at Target it’s an impulse buy. Or it’s one that I had planned to pick up anyways at Barnes & Noble, but Target carried it and I was right there. Sometimes on Cartwheel (the Target coupon app) they’ll have specific books discounted up to 30% off. So I try to check that regularly as well.
And that’s it! So the majority of my books come from the ABQ Library Sales and Goodwill.
How I Store Them
When we moved, the library was the LAST room to be unpacked in our house. It was just pretty low on the list, sadly because it was just SUCH a big job. Not only unpacking boxes and boxes of books, but shelving them in a way that made sense….very overwhelming.
Initially I separated ALL of our books by fiction/non-fiction. Fiction was then shelved alphabetically by author, and non-fiction was by subject. I soon realized though that this wasn’t going to work. My husband has loads of books. And mine were all mixed in with his. And I didn’t like it. He has primarily non-fiction, mostly war/history related.
So I separated ALL of my books out from his. On one side of the library, I have my TBR shelf, separated by fiction and non-fiction. Next to it, I have my keeper fiction/non-fiction/reference books.
In the bookshelves, is my husband’s TBR books, both fiction and non-fiction, plus his keepers. It’s soooo much better this way. He and I have very little ‘crossover’ with our books (I’m more likely to read one of his than he is to read one of mine). Plus I like to see all of my books together.
My goal is to eventually have my left side shelves (my keepers) to be ‘heavier’ than my right side shelves (TBR). My TBR is somewhat out of control, thanks to great finds at the book shop and the book sale. And a hefty Goodwill haul like 3 weeks ago. Who am I kidding, my TBR will probably always be full. But if I can keep everything contained to these shelves, I'll be happy.
Happy reading!
