minimalist_coach t1_j69peca wrote on January 28, 2023 at 7:33 PM

Choosing what to read is my biggest reading challenge, I suffer from decision fatigue so I do a couple of things to narrow down my choice and to allow myself to have to make decisions less often.

I rarely buy books. I used to love to browse both new and used bookstores and pick up things that looked interesting, but I ended up with hundreds of unread books and multiple large bookshelves in my house. So I purged my books and now only buy books I know I want to read and that I can't get at my local library. I'm down to a single small shelf and I'm committed to not outgrowing it.

Now when I see a book that looks interesting, I just add the title and author to a list I keep on my phone.

I like to choose themes, set goals, and join challenges. Last year I wanted to explore new genres so I joined a community that had a genre of the month club and I set a personal goal to read 2 books from the 12 genres I selected. This year I want to explore authors from other countries, so I set a goal to read fiction and nonfiction books by authors from 195 countries, this should take a few years.

I like variety and I have a few favorite genres, so I like to mix things up. I like to read a few challenging and emotional books each year, so I make sure I have something easy and lighthearted to read after my harder books.

Because I get the vast majority of my books from the library I'm happy to give a book that sounds interesting a chance. I'm also fine with DNFing a book if I'm not enjoying it. Exploring genres last year helped me get a feel of what to expect by reading the descriptions of books, I've also discovered that there are some books I enjoy in genres I didn't think I liked.

I envy people that have a defined taste in books. For me books are a lot like my fashion sense, I can't describe it, but I know it when I see it.

jebodiah93 OP t1_j6bhax8 wrote on January 29, 2023 at 3:29 AM

I rarely buy books as well but so many for so cheap was impossible for me to turn down.

I think trying new genres sounds great, so far I have tried to branch out a couple times with mixed feelings on the result. I am hoping to find some other genres that may surprise me and become a favorite, I think your method of switching it up sounds great.

The one area I do struggle with is choosing to not finish a book. Right now, I am reading "Player of Games" as I have heard endless praise for the series. It really is not resonating with me after about 120 pages (which was just the first chapter) but I have a hard time quitting a book that people say is so well written. How long do you give it before quitting usually?

minimalist_coach t1_j6bnsw9 wrote on January 29, 2023 at 4:23 AM

I rarely read reviews, but there are a lot of books that others love and they just don't work for me at this point in my life. There are books I read when I was younger that are a slog to reread. A book can be a masterpiece, but not right for you right now. I have DNF'd books a few pages in, I've DNF'd books nearly to the end and everywhere in between. I recently gave up on a series after book 4, which was nearly 4000 pages.

My reason for reading is to enjoy some time getting a glimpse into a world different than my own. Sometimes I'm in the mood to read books that are filled with a lot of characters and unfamiliar worlds and sometimes I want something that is more familiar and less complicated. The 2 things I don't want are to be bored or annoyed, and most times I don't want to be stressed.

Sometimes if I'm reading a book I feel like I "should" finish, I'll do what I like to call a slow read. It becomes a secondary book, I'll read a few pages a few times a week and it may take me months to finish it. I'll read other books at my normal pace for the rest of my reading time.

When I was doing the genre of the month challenge and my own genre challenge I had an expectation of exploration. I wasn't expecting to find great books but was reading to see what other types of stories were out in the world and how to understand how to decipher book descriptions. I will say I read some crap books early in the year and became more selective as time went on. I did decide to DNF a few books about 1/2 way through the year, I feel I'd moved far enough outside of my comfort zone and I didn't need to torture myself.

I love goals and joining challenges, but I also reserve the right to change them when they stop working for me.