Reader Problems Tag

This tag was created by Tiffany of About To Read over on BookTube and has been around for a while. I might have answered the questions before but I saw it recently and figured I'd do it again anyway. As always if you want to join in, consider yourself tagged!

1) You have 20 000 books in your TBR, how in the world do you decide what to read next?
I've got about 1350 books that I own but haven't read-a mixture of physical and digital. I generally try to take steps in deciding what to read. Do I feel like fiction or non fiction? If fiction am I in the mood for horror, apocalypse, Tudors, prepper, SF, urban fantasy? If it is apocalypse, do I want EMP, nuclear, pandemic, zombie etc. If non fiction, do I want mountain disaster, history, royalty, politics, disaster etc. Then I browse my physical or Goodreads shelves and pick.

2) You're halfway through a book and you're just not loving it. Do you put it down or are you committed?
I wouldn't get halfway through a book I wasn't enjoying. As soon as I lose interest in a book I DNF it and move on to read something else. I never force myself to keep reading something that is slow or boring or that I'm just not connecting to.

3) The end of the year is coming and you're behind on your reading challenge? Do you try to catch up? If so, how?
I always try to catch up, even if it means going to the short stories and novellas. They all count off my TBR and would get read anyway. If I'm way off, I'd adjust the book target down to take the pressure off but I don't do that close to the end as that is kind of cheating!

4) The covers of a series you love do not match. How do you cope?
I hate that! It makes me really twitchy! My pet hate is when halfway through the series it switches from a design I love to something I hate. Take a bow Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld series for that! I just have to deal with it or prepare to buy a new set with better covers! (which I've only done twice, for the Mercy Thompson series and Sookie Stackhouse!)

5) Everyone and their mother loves a book that you do not. Who do you bond with over your shared feelings?
I either talk to online bloggers with a similar view of the book but I mostly rant about it to my dad, who always likes a book discussion!

6) You're reading a book in public and you're about to start crying. How do you deal?
I'm never reading books in public now that I don't have a job, but when I did this never happened to me. I rarely read genres that make me cry.

7) The sequel to a book you loved just came out but you've forgotten a lot of what happens. Are you going to re-read it?
I'll usually read my review to refresh my memory or do a quick skim rather than a re-read. The only exception is if I read book one many years ago and I'm doing a series catchup. For that I really do need to get back into the story and the characters.

8) You do not want anyone to borrow your books. How do you politely say no when someone asks?
The only person who gets my books are my dad and I watch him like a hawk for signs of spine damage! I only loaned my books out twice-once to a work colleague who never gave it back and once to my uncle who decided to smoke while reading them, despite my orders not to, and they came back stinking.

9) You have picked up and put down 5 books in the last month. How do you get over this reading slump?
I used to get over reading slumps by re-reading an old favourite like Harry Potter but I find my slumps are now mostly through being tired so it isn't that easy. I just veg out in front of the TV, do a craft project or something and wait until I feel like reading again.

10) There are so many books coming out that you're dying to read. How many do you end up buying?
I used to buy all the books but now I'm running out of space! I try to switch more to getting reduced price or box set e-books to try an author or series and only buy the paperbacks if I totally love it. Indie books can vanish quickly so you tend to have to grab entire series as soon as each book comes out in case they go out of print, so that can be hard! I don't generally have a big list of new releases that are on the must buy list.

11) After you purchase all of these books that you're dying to read, how long do they sit on your shelves before you get to them? 
I have some urban fantasy series that date back to me reading book one and starting to buy the rest from 2010, which is pretty shocking! I'm trying to get some of that backlist dealt with but all these shiny new books are a distraction. Most books sit about three or four years before I get to them but there are a few exceptions that I read as soon as I get them or maybe they fit into a current challenge I'm doing.