This weekly Tuesday Top Ten, hosted by The Broke And The Bookish, covers a different topic each week. This week, TBATB has asked us for our Top Ten Book Problems. So here are mine:
Fleetwood Mac and The Clan Of The Cave Bear – a long hot summer! (see no. 4)
- Easy-peasy. Too many books, not enough time. Probably every blogger is nodding their head at this one. Theoretically, it should be fairly easy to get through all the books I have. However, this little thing called life gets in the way…And as for the “too many books” part, well I could hand over to Mr Crimeworm to testify to this, but I’d never get the laptop back. And you’d have a six-page rant to read…
- As a blogger, it really helps to be organised. I’m not, massively. I talk to other bloggers who have all their posts for the next two months (!) already written, to be posted when the time comes. I don’t know what book I intend to read next, a lot of the time. I know what ones have to be read imminently, and I’ll choose from one of them, depending on what I’m in the mood for…
- Weird one, this. I can only read non-fiction in the morning (if I’ve time); fiction in the evening. It’s probably some kind of weird throwback to when I was studying, but it’s a habit I can’t seem to get out of!
- I won’t read two books by the same author one after another. I used to binge on authors when I was younger (one summer, when I was about 14 or 15, I read the first three – huge – Jean M Auel Clan Of The Cave Bear books, out in the sun, while listening to Fleetwood Mac’s Tango In The Night cassette over and over.) To this day, I associate each with the other. I can’t hear Little Lies or Everywhere without thinking of Ayla, being rejected by the Clan. Still brings a tear to the eye. So I have to have a book or two in between works by the same authors. I call it a palate cleanser. Because that sounds posh.
- I stick to my comfort zone. That’s crime fiction, some bits and bobs of literary fiction, a bit of historical fiction (depending on the era), the odd ghost/supernatural story, and modern history (another throwback to Uni.) I don’t do fantasy. And chick-lit or any kind of romance-centric book gives me the dry boke, as we say in Scotland.
- I can’t help but look at what strangers are reading – even if it does involve bending my neck at a ridiculous angle. And any keen readers who say they don’t look, I denounce as liars. It’s so illuminating. I think you can tell if you’d like a person by their choice of reading matter. Which is ridiculous, as probably even serial killers read. Ted Bundy would have got me with the latest Michael Connelly – never mind all that “arm in a sling” bollocks.
- I’m a bit of an insomniac. So I read every night until I literally fall asleep. Highly obvious tip to others: don’t do this with your Kindle. Or you’ll end up with a spider-web of cracks across the screen (though I am getting it fixed soon – yay!) When I start getting tired, I swap to a paperback, which Mr C generally prises out of my hand when he comes to bed.
- I find it easier to write reviews about books I didn’t really like. Because there are only so many ways to say, “I loved this book.” And that’s probably why I’m taking so long to write my review of The Miniaturist.
- When I’m looking at other blogs, I’m more likely to read reviews of books I’ve read, or ones I fancy reading. Which is sort of pointless, really, because I’m not going to come across any totally new books that way. Maybe it’s a “checking I’m on the same page as other bloggers” thing.
- I totally judge a book by it’s cover, contrary to the maxim (which is tripe, if you ask me.) Okay, I know it’s meant to be about people and stuff, not literally books. But when it comes to books, “do judge a book by its cover” has served me well. Two recent examples: The Ice Twins by SK Tremayne and Silent Scream by Angela Marsons. Before I even read the blurb, I knew these books were “my kind of thing.” And I was right.
Well, that’s ten of my bookish foibles. Do any of these ring a bell in your head? Or do you have any to add? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
crimeworm 