"I apologize if you've already covered this topic, but I would love to know how you manage your reading schedule... Do you dedicate time each day to reading? When do you read most often? How do you decide which book to read over another? Do you put review books over books you want to read personally? And... on the review side... do you take notes while you're reading, do you keep a word document open while you're reading and write your feelings at different intervals during reading? Or are your reviews written all at once?"
Thanks! - Sallie Mazzur
As bloggers, I'm sure we all struggle with this issue, having an overabundance of books to read with not enough time in the day. I, myself, am finally getting through my review books in a timely manner and I've been able to get to a few of my personal books which is amazing. I haven't been requesting as many books as I usually do, and I've been refusing a lot of requests, becoming more picky with what I do agree to review. However, when I finish a book I still need to decide what to read next, right?
Too many books, not enough time!
Looking at my review shelf (not counting ebooks) I have probably over 20 books that I've received from publishers and need to get through. Most of them are finished copies, or older ARCs, but I still have the obligation to read them! I try to dedicate at least an hour a day to reading, sometimes more if I'm on a deadline. It's hard to juggle blogging with reading, between trying to comment daily and get a good amount of reading done, the entire thing takes up a lot of my time. Now that I'm on summer vacation, I have a lot more time to read, since I'm pretty much just working, so finding time to dedicate to reading is a lot easier. I usually get in bed around 8 and spend about 4 hours reading :)
Which book to read next?
My review pile is my first priority when it comes to what to read next. I have the release date written on a post-it and placed on the cover of each book so I know around what time I'll need to review it, and I try to have it read and reviewed about a week before that date. I like to have about a months worth of review books read before I pick up anything from my personal stack, so most of my reading time is occupied with review books. After that, I sort of just grab whatever looks good off my shelf :) According to my review policy, this is a rough order in which I'll read books:
- ARCs: 1-4 weeks before release
- Finished copies: In the order I receive them (hopefully)
- Ebooks: Whenever I have time
- Personal books: Last priority, whenever I have time HA!
How will I remember what I read and liked?!
I don't take notes as much as I used to. What I like to do is right after I finish a book I write up a review on Goodreads. So my reviews are always posted on Goodreads first, and then when it's time for my review to go up on my blog I just copy and paste it, and do a bit of editing. Sometimes I'll add ideas that I forgot about the first time, but I've found it easier to just start writing while my emotions and feelings are still fresh. If I find a quote or passage that I particularly enjoy I'll mark it with a post-it so I can come back and use it for a teaser or something of that sort. Sometimes I put them off and then I get that anxious feeling where I've forgotten something important or I don't remember how I felt about a certain character, etc. That's probably the worst feeling I can have as a blogger, because then I feel like my reviews are doing the book it's due justice. Because of this, it's gotten more important for me to just sit down and write my reviews right away so I don't leave anything out.
*****I would love to hear how you manage your reading piles! Do you read in a specific order, or just pick up what you want, when you want?
