Thursday, January 16, 2014

Discussion: Resisting Temptation

{Read previous The Daydreamer's Ramblings discussion posts}

As book bloggers, we all face temptation. There’s always a book (or twelve) we want; there’s always a sale on Kindle or Kobo or Nook; there’s always a new book available on Edelweiss or NetGalley that you just have to have.

I’ve been doing pretty good lately with not buying books. I’ll buy the occasional ebook if it’s on sale, but it’s been awhile since I bought any physical books. My current problem: Edelweiss. Harper has always been one of my favourite publishers, so when they auto-approved me last year, I was over the moon. I swore to myself (and a few blogger friends) that I wouldn’t go crazy downloading titles, but I was like a kid in a candy store. I couldn’t help myself. I mean, it’s not my fault they publish so many great titles, right?

So I went on a downloading spree, and then a few weeks later when they added more titles, I did it again, and soon I ended up with an endless list of ARCs but no extra time in my day to read them all. That’s on top of physical ARCs and the few review requests I accept (I’m getting better about saying no unless it’s something that really interests me).

I spent most of 2013 reading review books. I didn’t go through my list and count, because I think the numbers would depress me. Out of the 109 books I read last year, I don’t think it would be a stretch to say that only 1 out of every 3 was a me book. I promised myself that 2014 would be the year I finally become more selective and exercise some willpower. I want to have at least an even number of review books and me books, but preferably more me books.

I’ve figured with the review books I have now - both ebooks and physical ones - it’s going to take me 4-6 months to catch up. I’ve made a schedule based on release date, and after January (which is chalk-full of review books), I have an average of four review books to read each month, which leaves room for anywhere from 3-7 me books, which is pretty good.

But then last week, Harper added a ton of new titles to Edelweiss. So far this year, I’ve read one me book and two review books, which means I’m still in my pattern from last year. So while I desperately wanted to go on a downloading binge, I didn’t. I made a list of all the titles I was interested in, read their synopses, and made a list of ‘Yes’ and ‘Maybe’. Now for every three review books I finish, I get to download a book from the ‘Yes’ pile. I’m sure there will be exceptions along the way, like for books I’ve been waiting ages for, but otherwise, I’m going to try hard to stick to my new method.

 
How do you resist temptation? Do you go on 
downloading/requesting binges? Are you selective or do you just want all the books


7 comments:

  1. I'm a binge requester. I try to avoid looking at Netgalley and review requests. Then one day I'll go through all my emails and peruse Netgalley for way too long and end up with a ton of books for review. I am good at getting to the Netgalley books, but the email reviews tend to fall into the pile. Of course, I am very clear that email review requests are not on a timeline, and I know Netgalley is, so I use that as an excuse. The truth is that I have enough books to last me for several years. Eeks!

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  2. I've been trying hard just to stick to buying/requesting only books I really REALLY must have. It is so hard when pretty shiny is available, and it sounds interesting, but I already have 100 books I need to review :(

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  3. Yeah... I've been having this tendency lately on NetGalley. See a book that sounds interesting, hit request, then get approved, add it to the list... Oh well! Some have been good, so it is worth it. But I do want to read more ME books soon too, so it would be in my best interest to not get on NetGalley and just browse aimlessly. If I really want it, request it, otherwise, ignore it.

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  4. Your system sounds really good! I'm slowly making my way through all my e-arcs so I can get to the finished copies I've received, and then some physical ARCs. Luckily I'm not too behind on physical books, but like you, I went a little crazy requesting and downloading ebooks. They're SO SHINY and I can't resist. But I'm going back to my system from last year - trying to stay at no more than 2-4 review books at a time. That really worked for me.

    GOOD LUCK! We'll keep each other honest. ;)

    Molli | Books and Whimsy

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  5. I'm trying SO HARD to not request books from NetGalley ... I already have a TON on my ereader that I haven't read after I went through request binges last year. I love review books and all, but I find that the ebooks go neglected because I can't see them. Heck, sometimes the physical books go neglected, too, because I don't FEEL like reading them. I'm very much a mood reader and sometimes I hate that I requested review books because then I'm obligated to read them. This year I'm really trying to abstain from requesting too many (if any) since I want to enjoy my reading experience and read what I want, when I want. Maybe one day I'll get to all of those ebooks on my ereader!

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  6. MB suggested I sign up with NetGalley, I think it was, and get books to read that way but I passed because I knew it would be too much of a temptation to get books and then end up not reading them because of lack of time. The most I do is paperback swap and I haven't looked there lately because I'm trying to get through the books I own and am resisting adding to the piles.

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  7. I am so awful with resisting tempation. I just have this wful case of FOMO- Fear of Missing Out. On the next great book or anything really, so I say yes to all sorts of awesome looking books. And when authors write to me and ask me to read their books and they look interesting I hate saying no, because the last thing I want them to think is that I dont think their book looks good.

    I am so backlogged with review requests that I have had to say no to almost all books that I get. its hard but I feel like I will never catch up. This year I am going to try and make a real effort but I feel like I always say that and it doesn't always happen.

    If you see me with lots of review books, yell at me! haha

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~Marie

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