Bookish Rants and Rambles: DNF

Bookish Rants and Rambles is basically where I either rant or ramble about something dealing with books.

I remember when I first started blogging I was very optimistic when it came to books. If I did not like a book, I kept reading. I thought that maybe, just maybe, it would get better. There were books like Starcrossed, Sweet Evil, Anew, and The Demon Trapper's Daughter, that had so many positive reviews, but I absolutely hated them (sorry, folks). I thought that there must be something I was missing, so I read them to the end. In Starcrossed's case, I actually read the entire series, even though I hated every minute of it. 

I think that was when I stopped having that optimistic approach because if I really really don't like a book, pushing through the rest of the book was not going to make me like it more. It was going to make me hate it even more for making me finish it. So, I did eventually start marking books as did not finish (DNF). If I really am not liking a book, then I should not waste my time on it and read books that are more for me. I admit that since I started marking books as DNF, I've rated fewer books 1 star. The year I really started marking books as DNF was probably 2014. I marked only 1 book as one star, compared to 9 books the year before. The same goes for 2-star reads. Since 2014, fewer of books I read are being rated 2 stars. 

Also, after reading the entire Starcrossed trilogy, I now don't bother to continue a book series if I did not like the previous book.

But lately, I've been thinking about DNFing books. I've been interning at publishers which requires reading a lot of manuscripts. When reading manuscripts, I usually don't read the full manuscript, I judge it based on the first couple chapter, or first few pages, etc. When I switch from manuscripts to reading for fun, I've realized that I have taken that way of reading into my normal reading life. If I'm not feeling a book, I have an itch in the back of my head that I should go read another book instead. I try not to have this affect my reading too much. as I worry at times whether this is negatively impacting my reading. But, through my manuscript reading, I may just be recognizing what does not work in a book for me from the get-go. 

I am curious about how others review DNF books. I don't like to post DNF reviews on my blog (although I had to once for a book I got for review. Yeah. That's another reason why I should not get all grabby-hands over getting a review copy). I also don't like to give DNF books ratings because I don't want my experience with the beginning of the book to negatively impact the average rating. But I do like to post comments on Goodreads to tell others why I couldn't finish a book and to also let myself know what did not work for me so that I don't make the mistake of reading a book with a similar concept. 

While I worry at times that I am marking books as DNF too often, sometimes it's best to not push myself to finish a book I'm not enjoying. The only book I marked as one star this year was a book I wanted to DNF but did not because I had already marked another book as DNF that week. I should stop worrying about that. There are too many books I want to read. I shouldn't waste time on books I don't want to read.

Do you DNF books? Has your ability to DNF changed over time? 

Do you review DNF books?

Bookish Rants and Rambles: My Diminishing Interest in ARCs

Bookish Rants and Rambles is basically where I either rant or ramble about something dealing with books.

ARC, or Advanced Reader's Copies. When I first joined the online book community it did not take long for me to find out about ARCs. The idea of reading books before they even came out sounded amazing to me! I used to faithfully watch Epic Reads unbox all of the HaperTeen ARCs during their ARC Parties and hoped that I would be one of the lucky viewers that would win an ARC.

Then I started my book blog and realized that many of my fellow book bloggers would receive ARCs for review. I would stare longingly at their stacks of ARC copies that received for review and would dream about getting my own ARC copies in the mail. Unless I won an ARC, found one at a book convention, or a used book sale, that never did happen. I did not quite do enough to warrant physical ARC copies. I was able to get ARCs on Netgalley and, very rarely, Edelweiss, but I still got so excited to read those ARC copies!

What is my point in all of this? I've been thinking about ARCs lately and realized that they don't really interest me anymore. As much as I was dying before to get my hands on an ARC, I'm now fine with waiting. Part of this comes from my extra long hiatus. I wasn't exactly getting ARC copies or books for review when I was away from my blog, but it also comes from just looking at my TBR. 

As of writing this post, I own 724 books that I haven't read. There are 722 books on my to-read list (that I don't own). I also have 450 ebooks that I own but haven't read. Oh, and the 185 books on my come-out-already shelf, let's not forget those.

That's a lot of books and just looking at some of these books, how many of these did I desperately want? There's no telling the number, but I know there are books I preordered because I really really wanted to read them, yet they are still sitting on my shelf.  Also, while I have sooooo many new releases on my to-read list (that's what happens when I am interested in almost every genre), sometimes the older releases don't get enough love and maybe I need to focus on those. 

I still get tempted by those ARCs, but I remember that with those ARCs there is pressure for a review. Nowadays I review what I want to review. I don't review everything I read because I'm already a ball of stress and I don't need any more stress!

Anyway, right now I'm content to read the books I have. I can still read the newer books, but I can preorder those or put them on hold at my library. I can read the early reviews from you guys. Right now, I'm okay with waiting. 

How do you feel about ARCs?

Bookish Rants and Rambles: What I Miss From Days Before Goodreads and Blogs

Bookish Rants and Rambles is basically where I either rant or ramble about something dealing with books.

I love Goodreads and I love reading book blogs. My reading life has changed so dramatically thanks to the two, but there are some things that I miss.

A little backstory, I discovered Goodreads in April of 2012. I discovered Goodreads after Googling books. Every time I finished a book, I would look up the sequel to see when it would come out. More often than not, my Google search would lead me to Goodreads. I would always mark down the release date on my calendar for future reference, but I began to have trouble keeping track (especially when the release dates would sometimes change). One day, when my Google search took me to Goodreads yet again, I noticed that there was a way to keep track of books on the site. Now, I thought that would be a marvelous way to keep track of sequels, so I made an account. My little booknerd brain was blown by how I could keep track of books read, own, want to read, new releases. How I could join a group of nerds, review books, and enter giveaways. It was all so amazing! 

Now 4 years later, I realize that there are things that I miss from those days Before Goodreads. Back then, I read what looked interesting. I didn't have a To-Read list and all of my recommendations came from Yahoo Answers (which were mostly the popular books). I didn't have a long list of new releases I wanted to read, the only new releases I knew about were sequels. Back then I would literally go up to bookshelves, read the synopsis, and take it home. I didn't care what bloggers thought of the book, what the average Goodreads rating was, or if the book was on my To-Read list. I never even heard of the book before going there, I just picked it up.

Now I rarely ever get to do that. I have so many books on my To-Read list that checking out or buying books not on it seems crazy! But I miss how that used to be so simple. I found so many books just by picking it up on a whim.

Do you guys miss being able to do that? Do you still?

Bookish Rants and Rambles: 4 Things That Would Be Handy at Book Conventions

Bookish Rants and Rambles is basically where I either rant or ramble about something dealing with books.

I'll be going to two different book conventions this month, RT and NTTBF, so I decided to create a post of things that would be handy at book conventions. Now, obviously, you should bring books. Tote bags, post-it, pens, lists, business cards, and snacks are other things I like to bring.

But I'm going to go fictional here. Here are things that would be handy, but I would have a really hard time getting my hands on.

Time Turner

Book conventions oftentimes have lots of panels to go to. At NTTBF, there are some hours where there are eleven different panels at once. And there are even more panels throughout the day. Each panel has different authors, talking about different things, and I WANT TO GO TO THEM ALL! If I had a time turner, I could.

Hermione's Bag

I oftentimes have to carry 4 or 5 bags in order to take all of my books. Wouldn't it be great if I could fit all of my books in one bag?!

Teleportation

I don't really have a gif for this one, since it's not from a specific book or show, but teleportation would be so handy! I could teleport all of my books back home, without worry. I couldn't have to deal with shipping horror stories. I wouldn't have to take an atrocious amount of suitcases. I wouldn't have to worry about the weight of the books on the airplane, or the airplane losing my books. I wouldn't have to worry about there not being enough space in my suitcase for the new books I get! Heck! If I could teleport myself, I could easily go to almost any book convention!

Doofenshmirtz's Copy and Paste-inator

I've been watching Phineas and Ferb a lot lately (don't judge me. It's a fabulous show). Anyway, there's an episode where Doofenshmirtz invents and inator that makes copies of himself. He does this just so he doesn't have to wait in lines. Just saying, at book conventions, there's a lot of line waiting. And sometimes you are under a time limit and it's hard waiting in long line when you're worried that your favorite author will leave before you finish getting books signed from another favorite author (I'll get you this time, Soman Chainani)

So, what fictional items/inventions do you think would be handy at book conventions?

Bookish Rants and Rambles: Crying is Good?

Bookish Rants and Rambles is basically where I either rant or ramble about something dealing with books.

I think all of us can relate to this. All of us have read a book that left us in tears, but is this a bad thing? Tearjerkers sometimes get a bad rep and I know many book nerds that just will not read them. Why? Yes, crying isn't fun, but in my experience, the books that make you cry are the ones that can be the most brilliant.

Sounds crazy, right? But stick with me here. If a book makes you cry, that means that you care. You care about the characters, the story, the book in general. It's a mark of a great writer when they can make the story feel so real that you feel all the feels. That even after you finish the book, you finish the book, you still think about it. 

Still don't believe me? Well, I've read many books that made me feel the feels and I've given almost all of them high ratings. The only one that got a low rating was Allegiant, but I still count it since I cared about the characters in the previous book (still cared in the last one, but the story sucked). A whole lot of them are now some of my all-time favorites. 

That doesn't mean that books that don't make you cry aren't good, there are plenty of amazing books out there, but most of them at least make you feel and they impact you in some way. Also, you don't have to cry tears of sadness! I've read many books that just read me cry just by how beautiful they were, such as Wonder.

I think where I am going with this is that you don't have to be afraid of the tears!

Some Tear-Worthy Recommendations

So, what books have you shed tears over?

Bookish Rants and Rambles: False Security

Bookish Rants and Rambles is basically where I either rant or ramble about something dealing with books.

So, there's a trend in books where every book in a series ends in a cliffhanger. It is a horrible feeling when you stay up late finishing a book only to reach a cliffy and face a year of waiting for the next book. I hate this feeling and I come across it so often. It's because of this that when I read a book in a series, I come to expect that feeling and and constantly dreading the end.

You might be thinking, where are you going with this?

Well, I have been misled multiple times--either by myself, Goodreads, or other readers--into believing that a certain book is a conclusion to a series. Sure, I am saddened to have a series end, but an ending means I finally get my answers, that the characters will (hopefully) get their happy ending, and no more cliffy. 

Sometimes, I go into thinking a book is the last book, only to reach the end, which happens to be a lovely cliffy! This is what I call FALSE SECURITY. I was not expecting an ending like that and I would've been more on guard if I knew that it was not the last book. 

Anyway, this is just a subject that has been on my mind thanks to Salt & Stone. I was fully expecting this series to be a duology, so I was thrown by the fact that there was, well, no conclusion. Only a cliffy. 

Have you ever had this false security when it comes to series?

Bookish Rants and Rambles: When a Series Ends...Then Another Book Comes Out.

Bookish Rants and Rambles is basically where I either rant or ramble about something dealing with books.

This is a HUGE pet peeve of mine! Something that I see happening more and more is a series that I thought was over with, have another book come out. I was thinking about this just the other day when I saw this on Goodreads:

So, I don't hate Maximum Ride. It's an okay series. But this series ended 3 YEARS AGO. Everything was tied up. It's done.

I have completely moved on to other series. Whenever a series comes back after obviously ending, I feel like a lover I broke up with wants to get back together with me, when we broke up YEARS AGO! IT'S OVER!

Now, why do I hate series being revived so much? 

1. The author ended the 'last' book in a satisfactory way.

The bad guy probably died. The main character is happily kissing love interest. All your questions are answered. There may even have been an epilogue, which to me, means the series is over. I feel satisfied with the way things ended. I may be sad that it's over, but I'm happy that I read such a (usually) great series and that the characters now get to live in peace. 

Which brings me to my next point...

2. Another book means another conflict
I remember at a book event Elizabeth Eulberg talked about sequels. She mentioned how people kept asking her to write a sequel for her book, The Lonely Hearts Club. What her fans wanted was a book full of the main couple being all happy and dandy. Newsflash: That's a pretty boring book. A book needs conflict in order to actually be interesting. This is why I hate it when a series is revived. If another book comes out, so does another conflict! I really don't want to ruin my image of them being able to live in peace! 

Now, a major issue in the book-sphere is that most people think that when an author creates another book after the series is over, they're milking the cash cow, so to speak. Meaning, they know their series makes money, so they're going to write more. I just want to mention that I disagree. Authors often write these books because they either love the world they wrote and don't want to leave their characters and/or their fans beg for more (much like the case with Elizabeth Eulberg). 

I would also like to mention that I'm completely fine with spin-off and companion books. I like seeing little glimpses of the world or characters from the other series, as long as there are new characters and a new storyline.

What are your thoughts? Ever come across a series that just didn't want to finish?

Bookish Rants and Rambles: Bookshelf Tour

Bookish Rants and Rambles is basically where I either rant or ramble about something dealing with books.

So the other day I was on Goodreads and noticed a new comment on this photo:

This was my library in early 2013. It was seeing this photo two years later that I realized how I really need to update this picture. 

This is my library back at home. I have read all of these books in these photos.

Now, these are at my apartment near the college I am currently attending. Pictured here are the books I own but haven't read. Except for the 3 library books on the very top (I have bought many books that were previously library books, so the books with library stickers within the shelves (Bone Season, Reunited, etc.) are books I own. 

Yeah, it's a lot. There are even a few books under my bed...

I'm sure you can tell that I have a book buying problem, especially when it comes to cheap used book sales (hence all the old library books). I love my library, but I'm running into a big problem where I have no more space whatsoever. I only have one little smidgen of space left on my shelves at home and I have no clue where I can put my black cubes when I go back in the summer. 

Anyway, anyone else have the same problem as me?

Anyone want to show off their bookcases?

Bookish Rants and Rambles: I Don't Do NA

Bookish Rants and Rambles is basically where I either rant or ramble about something dealing with books.

There has been an explosion of NA (New Adult) books in the blogging world. I've been noticing more and more NA books on blogs I follow and on Stacking the Shelves posts. For those who don't know what NA is, it's a new age genre of books with main characters in their late teens and early twenties, usually in their college years. Most of these book are contemporaries, though there are some dystopian and paranormals out there as well.

*NOTICE: I'M NOT TRYING TO OFFEND FANS OF NA*

Despite the fact that I'm 18 years old and a college student, I have never had the compulsion to pick up an NA book. Now, I would like to read books that take place in a college or from a college student's perspective, but from what I know about NA: They are steamy and I don't do steamy.

First off: There's the covers.

What originally turned me away from NA was the covers. Almost all of them feature two of my least favorite cover tropes: Half naked people and kissing. Some even have both. Not all of the covers are like this anymore, but I'm still hesitant about NA.

From what I heard about NA most of them are contemporaries and most of them have the same exact storyline. Usually the girl is a virgin and possibly has a broken life, meets another broken individual that's probably a bad boy. Not all of them all like this, but this is a common plot. To be honest, the common plot isn't what deters me, it's that almost all of them are contemporary. I like contemporary, but I prefer sci-fi and fantasy. 

Now, the real reason why I just can't do NA: I AM A PRUDE.

I really have no problem with people having sex in books, but from the few NA books I've read, they like to go into detail and the sex takes up the plot. Frankly. going into detail is very very gross to me. I find sex gross in general and cannot deal with books that has a lot of it in it. If it's not detailed, as in, the couple is kissing and then cuts to the next morning, I am fine with it! Actually, that usually means my ship sailed! But I just can't deal with the details.

I had the notice in the beginning of this rambling that I'm not meaning to offend fans of NA. I'm a firm beliver of freedom to read what you want to read. If people like to read NA, that's fine. I'm glad you found books that you enjoy to read! I waited to write this post to explain why I decided not to hop on the NA train.

My question for you: Do you know any books with older characters, technically NA, that are more sci-fi/fantasy? And don't have an atrocious amount of sex?

Bookish Rants and Rambles: Do You Ever Stress About Books?

Bookish Rants and Rambles is basically where I either rant or ramble about something dealing with books.

This might just be a me problem, but I have been really stressing over books lately. I stress easily in general. I don't quite know why. I just feel like I have so many things to do (school, work, do homework, write books, write reviews, read books, check email, be somewhat social, etc.). Some of these may not seem time-consumingg, but they are and I feel the need to DO ALL THE THINGS! But I can't do ALL THE THINGS because time is very limited, even though I feel like I have to do ALL OF THE THINGS!!!

What does this have to do with books? Well, my friends, this is my life:

I have a HORRIBLE addiction to buying books! I know every booknerd has this problem, but it's becoming worse and worse. I love cheap books, (who wouldn't?) so I am constantly going to used bookstores, used booksales, and finding deals online. The problem? While I'm not spending much money, I buy a ton of books at one time. I go to a used booksale at least once every month and I always find 10,15, or MORE books! Oftentimes they're books that weren't even on my TBR list in the first place! 

Already this year, I have...

• Checked 31 books out from the library
• Bought 15 books from used booksales
• Bought 32 books from used bookstores
• 22 books bought via internet (Book Outlet, Amazon, B&N, etc.)
• 14 review copies

This is actually very scary considering that it's only the second month of the year. 

This blog is titled The Psychotic Nerd for a reason. I am crazy. If you ever seen a Stacking the Shelves post from me, you would know that I read more than most people. Again, common for a nerd, but I try to read a book a day. I get a lot of stress from that. If I don't read a book a day, I feel like I just missed the chance to read some book from my TBR list sometime in the future. It's crazy, I know, and so much of my stress comes from this. I HAVE to read a book a day and also do other things like, oh, homework, write reviews (made worse by my New Year's Resolution to REVIEW EVERY BOOK I READ!), talk to friends, go to work & school, check email (which I get over 100 each day thanks to Goodreads and numerous blog follows), and other various things I have to do within a day.

But lately my book stress has been made worse because I feel like the books I NEED to read are piling up on top of my head, forcing me to collapse. Every time I look at my bookshelf of unread books, my stress overwhelms me. I have 119 books I own but haven't read. I also have 12 books currently checked out from the library and 8 books for review.

So, I am trying to prevent myself from checking out any books and requesting books for review. Those numbers are not extremely high right now, but both library books and review books have set times to read them. I do not need that. I need to focus on those 119 books I own and stay away from libraries & review sites. Also, NO MORE BUYING BOOKS! For now. I really need to make a dent in that stressful pile.

Anyway, do you ever stress about books?

Bookish Rants and Rambles: When You Wait and Wait and Wait...

Bookish Rants and Rambles is basically where I either rant or ramble about something dealing with books.

I know everyone has been there. When you read a great book then realize that you have another year or more until you can read the next book?

I'm talking about when you read a great book and the next book isn't out yet. Maybe you add the next book to your TBR list even though the publication date is unknown. Maybe the next book isn't even on Goodreads yet.

But you wait.

and wait.

and wait.

You constantly check Goodreads. You check the author's blog (which may not have been updated in a while). You check Amazon, Barnes&Noble, whatever site to see if there is even a hint of the next book only to turn up with nothing.

You may not understand what I'm talking about, but this is something that I have been through before. There are quite a few series that I'm still waiting for any news of another book and it makes me sad. No, it doesn't make me angry that the next book isn't here yet.  I know that there is some reason as to why it isn't there. The author could be busy, the publisher never picked up the book, the author could have been writing and rewriting it. There are a number of things that could cause this book to be put on hold and I can understand that.

It's just hard to sometimes. I feel lost without completing the series, especially those that ended in a cliffhanger. Sometimes I almost give up on searching, though, and I do end up finding the next book. I was worried that The Shadow Cabinet would never come out, but it now comes out just next month!

Anyway, has this ever happened to you?

Bookish Rants and Rambles: Commenting

Bookish Rants and Rambles is basically where I either rant or ramble about something dealing with books.

For awhile, I would never comment on blog posts. I was just that random lurker, reading the posts, and thinking things like "That was a great book!", "THEY GOT THAT BOOK!", or just "All of the yeses! I completely agree!". But instead of commenting, I would just on and read the next blog post.

So, why did I do that? Why would I never comment?

I would see these people commenting that the bloggers actually knew around the blogosphere. I, again, felt like just a random lurker. I thought that the bloggers would look at my comment funny, thinking, "Who in the world is this chick?". 

I now know that this is completely ridiculous. Being a blogger myself, I love it when anyone comments on my posts, it makes me happy and it makes me feel like someone is actually reading my posts! 

This doesn't mean I comment on everything. I only comment when I actually have something to say. But even though I'm willing to comment, I still will not comment on popular blogs. When a blog has thousands of followers, I just feel to miniscule to comment.

Anyway, what are your thoughts on commenting?

Bookish Rants & Rambles: Recommending Books

Bookish Rants and Rambles is basically where I either rant or ramble about something dealing with books.

It's been awhile since I've done one of these, but just today I was thinking about my pet peeves in recommending books.

1. Recommending the obvious

Yes, no one has read every book, but there are some books that almost everyone has read and if not, have at least heard of it. The most common offenders are Hunger Games, Twilight, and Harry Potter.

There are others, but if you even attempt to recommend me these, my opinion of you will be very very low. Yes, not everyone has read these, but those who have wanted to probably have or some may already plan to! And everyone has heard of these! If not, you must be living under a rock!

2. Recommending your own book

I see this a lot on Goodreads. Someone asks for a book recommendation and an author replies with their own book! I'm okay with authors promoting their books, as long as it's in a separate Goodreads post, but it's just too much to tell people to read their book.

3. Recommending books I've already read

I can understand this one. You can't possibly know what all someone has read. On Goodreads, though, someone may ask for books like _____ or list some of their favorites. It's annoying when someone comments and lists the same exact books!

There are more things about book recommendations that bother me, but these are the big ones. Thankfully, more often than not, I get great recommendations!

What book recommendation pet peeves do you have?

Bookish Rants & Rambles: The Twistiest of Plots

Bookish Rants and Rambles is basically where I either rant or ramble about something dealing with books.

I have a confession to make: I love plot twists.

I love it when an author surprising me. I love that moment when I am taken completely by surprise and then look back and see that everything was planned out from the get-go! That there were so many hints to that plot twist that I didn't see! IT'S JUST SO GENIUS!!!

A plot twist in a book can be a defining moment for me. If a book bores me, if the characters annoy me, or if I'm just not feeling the book, a plot twist can completely change my opinion on a book. I just love being shocked so much! But the most surprising fact about plot twists, is that I love it when an author screws up my mind.

I could be like this on the outside, but still love it! This is what messed up about my opinion on plot twists: I can hate an author for what they did to my characters, but love them for being such a genius and surprising me.

Some books with plot twists:

What do you think of plot twists?