On reading multiple books at once

In the book community we often call this phenomenon of reading multiple books at once; 'book-affairs' or just 'affairs'. Because you can't stick to a single book. This definitely explains the guilty feeling you may have when you read more than one book at a time. I know that I for one sometimes feel like I'm neglecting the other books I'm reading and I definitely feel guilty and bad because of it.

When I first starting reading I couldn't even fathom the idea of reading more than one book at a time but now I, generally, read multiple books at once - mainly because I have so many books to get through. There is some downsides to reading more than one book at a time but I've found that I quite like it.

CONS
Some of the problems are; confusing yourself with the story lines, characters etc, the stress, indecisiveness when it comes to which one you want to read at that time and the feeling of guilt. I know not all have the same problems but these are definitely some that I've encountered while having my many affairs.

PROS
But what's the pros of reading multiple books then?
You can end up reading much more if you know how; I tend to have a current read in each format; an audiobook, an ebook and a physical book - and I also have a review book (no matter the format) going on with the other books. That way I can listen to the audiobook while working, cleaning or writing, reading the ebook on my phone, computer or tablet when I have a short break and at night I can read the physical book with a cup of tea. In the end I end up reading much more because I can take advantage of breaks and reading whilst doing something else - it's quite smart, if I do say so myself.
Some other good parts about reading more books at a time is you can switch between the books when you need a break from a certain book or you want to save or just devour the book slowly.

Personally I dislike reading big books because I feel like I miss out on so many other books while reading it so if I'm currently reading a big book I always have a smaller book on the side so I don't feel discouraged. It's one of the ways I get myself to read bigger books.


Advice when having these 'affairs'

• Read different genres; it's easier to differentiate between the books if you, for example read a horror book, fantasy book and a contemporary book 
• Different formats; I might be biased but this definitely makes me read more
• Don't read an insane amount of books at a time! 
• If some, or just one, of the books are on the bigger side keep a list of characters and notes so you won't forget - I have to do this every time I read a big book

Did I forget something or do you just want to add something? Tell me in the comments! 

Libib.com

I was introduced to libib back in December and I love it! Libib is a website and an app - it's a way of managing your libraries, whether its movies, books, games etc. I use it for my books, I've also created a separate one for review books! It's a bit like goodreads but it's more personal and I feel like it's easier to manage your personal library. The app has it's limitations, but it's the best way of adding physical books to your e-brary (see what I did there?).

I don't know how old libib is, but some books are not added and some are added with the wrong data (some of it you can easily correct, while you have to contact them to change other things) - You can also add new editions if yours doesn't show up - it's quite easy actually.


What I probably love the most about libib is, that I can see the status of my books very clearly:

My current 'statuses'

It's in the top so you can easily see how many TBR books you have on your shelves and how many you've already read. If you've marked books as 'abandoned' it will also show up on the status bar. There are 4 statuses in all; not begun, in progress, completed and abandoned. You can also add dates to the statuses. 

Libib also allows you to have multiple statuses on a book; if you've read it 3 times you can see that you've read it 3 times and when you've read it - because those statuses are separate! This is something goodreads does not allow you to do

On goodreads I don't really know how to find my notes and stuff easily, as far as I know you have to find your review, then 'edit' and scroll until you find them. That is something I like about libib; finding notes is easy - you literally just have to move the curser over the book's 'page'. You can also add tags (a feature I would love goodreads had instead of only having groups), group books together, review them easily on the page and you can edit them without being a 'librarian'. As you can see you can also easily edit in the information - if you want to report a mistake or add some information you just have to click on the flag (bottom-right corner)

When you hold the curser over a book 'page'

On the website you can also see your stats; how many books you've read per year, the average rating per year, how many books you've reviewed (if you've added a review that is), how many books with notes and books added per year. I absolutely LOVE this feature! 

Other fun features

• You can search books by ratings! If you want to see all the books you've given 3 stars you just press 3 in the search box!
• Ratings include half stars (e.g. 2.5 and 4.5)
• You can search for tags and for notes and other things! (just press the little question mark beside the search box to get a full list
• You can find books by letter: looking for The Fault in Our Stars? Just press F
• You can add multiple libraries
• You can see your total number of books and whether that number is growing or falling
• You can add multiple statuses - which I've mentioned before but I think this is something we've all been missing to I'll tell you again

I have to warn you though; it takes time adding your entire library, editing the information, making sure it's the right edition and then marking books as completed, not begun and so on. I began before New Years and I'm not done yet... 

Another thing; I still prefer goodreads for 'everyday' use. I only use libib for my review books and my personal library. Goodreads is my way of keeping track of every book I read - whether it be my own, review or borrowed. 

Have any questions? Just ask! 

Reflecting on 2014

In the beginning of the year I made some bookish resolutions and I tried to stick to them in the beginning of the year.. Until I forgot everything about them.

My first resolution was to read 50 books, which I definitely did - I've read a total of 105 books, one of them I read twice.
The second was to read 3 classics and I guess you could say I completed that one as well; I read Erasmus Montanus eller Rasmus Berg (a Danish classic), How to be Good by Nick Hornby, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. How to be Good and The Bell Jar are modern classics - but still classics.
The third was one of the ones I didn't really make since I wanted to read the books I already own - and that didn't go so well. I tried and I've definitely read a bunch, but I've mainly read books for review and some from the library. I still read some of the ones on my shelves though.
I really regret adding this one to the mix but in the beginning of the year I wanted to review all the books I read - which is the worst idea ever and I made a post about it not that long after because it sucked. Reading isn't fun if you have to review every single book.
I succeeded my fifth resolution which was to use the library more and cut back on buying books. These last 6 months I've bought 10 books tops and I used the library a lot in the beginning of the year but not so much these last couple of months - I've still not bought that many books!
My sixth resolution was to venture out of my comfort zone.. Meh.. I guess I ventured a bit, but not as much as I'd anticipated. I read some new adult, I tried historical fiction but I didn't really like it and I found that I really enjoy fantasy and women's fiction / chick-lit.
I also failed miserably at another resolution which was to participate in read-a-thons. I really tried, but I've been quite sick and I fell asleep after two hours of the 24-hour read-a-thon back in October.
I've succeeded my eighth resolution which was to read the books from Netgalley - although I had 7 books when I started and now about 30, my feedback ratio is still a lot higher and have reached 80 multiple times.
The last 2 resolutions was to create a mini-series (for the blog) and write a story - I failed both.. I also wanted to re-read some books and I re-read The Bell Jar (read it twice this year) and Alice in Tumblr-land.
I guess I reached most of my 'goals' which is great, I still want to try and reach some of the ones I failed at though.

In my Looking Ahead part in the 'End of the Year Survey - 2013' I said I wanted to buy and read The Book Thief at the first opportunity I got - I bought the book and I tried to read it.. But I hated it.. I tried to force my way through it but after 250 pages I had to stop, it's just not a book for me I guess.
I also said that my two most anticipated books were Unmarked (The Legion #2) by Kami Garcia, Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy and Shattered (Slated #3) by Teri Terry. I haven't even looked at Unmarked or Shattered and I absolutely hated Side Effects May Vary - great choices apparently.


Things that happened in 2014... Well, I made an account on Instagram and I'm kind of addicted now. I also became a reviewer for Hot Key Books (and apparently Piccadilly Books) and Lindhardt & Ringhof (a Danish publishing company). I also received my very first physical books for review as well as being nominated for the Liebster Blog Award.


That was 2014 for me! It was not that eventful but it was still a great year! How was 2014 for you?

TBR Jar!

If you follow me on instagram, you probably already know that I recently made a TBR Jar. I first found out about it on booktube and I loved the idea. The idea is that you have to write a bunch of books on random slips on paper and then put them in your TBR jar, you can either choose books you HAVE to read on your shelves, books you want to re-read or you can choose to write down every unread book on your shelves like I did - there is a bunch of other choices. I have also included some of the books I want to re-read, because I have wanted to re-read them for a long time. 

This "jar" will hopefully also help me with my TBR Pile challenge!

The first thing to do, is obviously to write all the titles (with or without the author's name). I chose to do mine on the computer and print them out, since I have slight OCD and I would seriously hate for the slips to be different sizes! 

Then you just cut them out, fold them up and put them in your jar! and there you have it, a TBR jar!

I have some rules for myself when it comes to this jar - and I will advice you to do the same!

Rule 1: If I draw a book that has been on my shelf for a longer period of time, and I don't want to read it. I have to get rid of it.

Rule 2: If I draw a re-read and I'm not in the mood for a re-read, I can choose to get rid of the slip or put it back in the jar and draw another book.

Rule 3: If I draw a book I have had for a shorter period, I can choose to "mark" it with a red x, and the next time I draw it I HAVE to read it. 

I will probably be drawing a book a month because I love surprises. 

Do you have a TBR jar?