Our Lost Library discussion

I thought it would be nice to have a section where we could all just chat. So if you want to chat about this Group, the book you are currently reading, or ask members questions...here's the spot!

Hi!

I keep getting false starts lately and I wanted to see how others feel.

You see, I think I'm being very smart when I choose books. First, I look up the GR score. If it's not above a 3.75, I will shy away. This may cause me to miss out on quite a few amazing books. This I know! BUT I have to be picky, bc I can only get books for bdays and holidays. Therefore, I have to make every choice count.
Secondly, I research. I find my friends on GR and see what they rated the book and WHY they gave it the rating. I also send out a Tweet and ask followers for their thoughts. Then, I scour Booktube and Blogs for all info.
Third, I assess all info and come to a conclusion based on my person likes and dislikes.

Yet, I've still DNF'd more books in the past few months than in my entire life. Ugh!

To be fair to the books, I've been in a rut. Maybe it's me?? Though its quite hard to review books for IG when you can't seem to finish any LOL! This leads to yet another rut!

Have you been loving the books you've been reading? How do you get out of a rut/slump?

I'm not 100% sure if I'm out of my rut yet, BUT I'm feeling optimistic about it. The main reason behind my slump was that I had a hard time picking up a book and just READING. I was fine when I was reading, but when I wasn't, I just put off continuing a book or starting a new one. Last week, I picked up a random book in my favorite genre and pushed myself to read it. (Sylwia @ Wish Fulfillment inspired me to wrap a bunch of my TBR books last year and I still had them sitting around.) I've done a similar process with two other books and sampled a bunch of books I randomly pulled from my shelf (in order to keep myself used to simply starting to read).

Hopefully it all works . . .

Another idea I have to push myself to read is to get a friend to pick my next read for me. :D I recently did that with anime after not watching anymore, and I ended up watching that right away. I'm thinking it'll work with books as well. I don't know when I'll try that, though.

Those are great ideas!! Im a very emotional reader, if Im not feeling it...its never gonna happen. So, I like the "read a little bit" idea.

I think Ill purposely read a few pages of the next books I consider and see which one pulls me in.

I do have the trouble of picking the book back up, like you mentioned. Ill get distracted and not read when I do have the time. It does go hand in hand with the my desire to read that particular book though. Ultimately, I want to read.

Great thoughts and advice! Thanks! :)

I also made a spot on my shelf for the books I sampled and ordered them by my current interest level. Unsurprisingly, there's a bunch of short books at the far right (highest interest level): The Wizard of Oz, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Never Never, and Carmilla. But there's also books that I didn't realize I would be so interested in reading anytime, like Chasing Power!

Reading a little bit of random books is a nice way to renew your interest in books that you tend to overlook when thinking of your next read. :)

Thats very true!!!

I did rearrange my shelves. Now all the high priority books will stare me in the face everyday! Lol They will mock me till I read them and also remind me that I really dont need anymore books! Haha

Haha, yeah. They're a great reminder that you don't need more books just yet. :D

Guys! I finished two popular books this weekend and then I was like "hmm I need something gritty and slightly grown up and a little spooky and magical" and then I remembered I had a #backlistbook on my Nook that I kinda started that was intriguing! So anyway, I'm finally on the Lost Library train and started officially reading Don't Breathe A Word and I'm so exciitteeddd.

I have been on a reading high recently which is amazing considering I was in a reading rut for a long time. Guess the reading challenges are doing me some good.

Yaaay! Challenges make everything fun!

I recently put all my owned books on papers and in a jar, because I kept noticing that I kept grabbing for the books I recently purchased and was neglecting books that were on my shelf for more than
a year.
I just finished reading One Rough Man and absolutely loved it. This was definitely a book that I wouldn't have picked up in the near future weren't it for the TBR jar.
I am still a mood reader so I do check if i'm in the mood for reading that specific book otherwise i'll pick another paper.
because if i'm not in the mood i'll probably won't read it or take a whole month and that does take away the pleasure of reading

I'm currently reading The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume 9. This is a bit of a departure from my normal reading habits as I'm not usually a big fan of short stories. However, I've already read two stories that I liked A LOT which in turn has introduced me to new works I don't think I would have found otherwise.

Also, though I usually read a lot of fantasy, I'm a bit of a newbie in the science fiction genre, so I think this is going to help steer me toward some SF authors I'll really enjoy.

So I noticed that a decent amount of stories follows this: A main character is in a relationship but it soon becomes a love triangle. The s/o of the main character is nice but as the story continues turns out to be a terrible human being only for the main character to break up and justify the otp getting together at the end.

Is there a trope name for this because I can't find it on tvtropes?

Ohhhh you are right, Minnie. Hmm I guess its not a Love Triangle trope per say. Its definitely very common though.

So sorry Frankie!! I totally suck and didnt respond after reading! Lol I thought I did, but didnt!

Im newish to sci-fi as well, but Im so glad that you are liking the short stories! Ive heard of a few great sci-fi books I want to get into :)

FrankieReads wrote: "I'm currently reading The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume 9. This is a bit of a departure from my normal reading habits as I'm not usually a big fan of short st..."

Yessss, short stories! I've been getting more into them this past year. I hope the others are stories in the collection are going well. I just found that book in my library's catalogue and now I really want to check it out. :D

On the trope subject: there's a similar one where one person in the love triangle dies near the end of the story, then the remaining two get together. I'm not sure what its trope name is (there must be one), but it's one that really annoys me when it happens. I normally don't mind love triangles, but that particular trope is frustrating. :/

Kaitlin wrote: "On the trope subject: there's a similar one where one person in the love triangle dies near the end of the story, then the remaining two get together. I'm not sure what its trope name is (there mus..."
"Settle for sibling" kinda fits? Pretty sure it's not what you're looking for though :///

No, that's not it, though that's another that might annoy me. I haven't seen it in awhile, so I don't remember how I react to it. :D

I found the trope I was talking about! It's called "Death of the Hypotenuse."

From TV Tropes:
"Alice, Bob, and Charlie are in a Love Triangle. Alice loves Bob, but also has feelings for Charlie—or maybe she doesn't, but can't or doesn't want to turn him down. Maybe she's even in a relationship with, or married to Charlie, while pining after Bob. However will she resolve this dilemma? Well, fortunately, she doesn't have to—Charlie meets with a convenient illness, accident, or other such fatal situation, freeing Alice up to go after Bob without guilt. If Charlie is aware of Alice's feelings for Bob, he may tell her with his dying breath that she shouldn't mourn him too much, because he wants his beloved to be happy."

I believe the one you were talking about is called "Derailing Love Interests!"

--> "When the author supports a relationship or resolves a Love Triangle by turning the hero's romantic rivals into complete jerkasses."

I think I'm going to have fun with this website. :D It's my first time checking it out!

Edit: It's my second time! I now recognize it as a website I stumbled upon when I was searching information about an anime I had started.

Kaitlin wrote: "No, that's not it, though that's another that might annoy me. I haven't seen it in awhile, so I don't remember how I react to it. :D

I found the trope I was talking about! It's called "Death of th..."
Thank you for finding that! And I agree those tropes also annoy me

Lol that website sounds like a lot of fun!

What us everyone reading at the moment? I'm curious! (And feeling talkative.)

I'm reading Hunted by Meagan Spooner and I'm really into it. I don't read retellings very often, and I can be pretty picky when I do. But I really like how the author has blended Beauty and the Beast with a Russian fairytale. It feels both really familiar (because apparently the live action film is still fresh in my mind) and new, which is an exciting combo. :)

I'm also reading Scythe by Neal Shusterman, and while it's a really cool book, it's kinda on the backburner? I think I've been in the mood for other books, so I keep picking up other stuff instead of working on finishing that book. (Whoops.) But I definitely will finish it!

Kaitlin wrote: "What us everyone reading at the moment? I'm curious! (And feeling talkative.)

I'm reading Hunted by Meagan Spooner and I'm really into it. I don't read retellings very often, and I can be pretty p..."

I just finished The string of pearls which is where Sweeney Todd first appeared. I'm not exactly a fan mostly from this:
'Ah! but, Arabella, I know you well. Yours is one of those fleeting passions that, like the forked lightning, appear for a moment, and ere you can say behold is gone again. Mine is deeper in my heart, so deep, that to divorce it from it would be to destroy its home for ever."
Can I just say this happens alot for what's supposed to be a thriller

PS: Ok Megan Spooner won me over that "is this clean" question.

I don't know much about Sweeney Todd, but I guess that's kinda surprising for a thriller. :D

I should really look into that question because I haven't seen it yet!

The String of Pearls
here's a link if anyone's interested

I'm really curious: how many people have spooky/fall-themed TBRs this month? I was checking out October TBR booktube videos and noticed that a lot of people have made themed TBRs, and that seems to be a popular thing to do every year. I don't think I usually seek out spooky books anything with a fall vibe this time of year, though.

I’ve noticed that as well!! I am doing a spooky TBR for October. Im participating in Spookathon, but cant possibly read 5 books in one week. So Im spreading them out throughout the month :)

I totally forgot about the Spookathon! What are you hoping to read?

I also have a spooky TBR. I am participating in Empty Shelfie this month and they also have it spooky themed

Ohhh Ive seen the Empty Shelfie stuff around! It sounds fun!

Im planning on reading the Lockwood & Co books. I have all 5. Then, I have The Girl With All The Gifts. Im quite excited about that one! After that, Im gonna wing it lol

I loved the Girl with All the Gifts when i read it a few years ago.

i'm currently reading A storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin and The haunter of the dark by H.P. Lovecraft

and i'm definitely going to read Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt and Bound by Sarah Bryant

I haven't heard of Empty Shelfie! I really like that title, though, so I'm really curious about it now. :D

There’s a hashtag on twitter! Check it out! :)

I got a new bookshelf yesterday and ended up dedicating one shelf to spooky TBR books. :D I was surprised by how many I had. I guess I'm drawn to books that give off that spooky vibe, but don't end up reading them very often. It's a fun shelf to have! I mostly organize my books into sections of sequels, standalones, and genres, but I don't normally go with sections for themes like spooky reads.

Thats a clever idea!!! I like the idea of shorting them by topic. That way when you want a good mystery, you can see all of your choices at once. Or a good fantasy, they are all lined up. So smart!

It does make it really when you're searching for something to fit your mood!

Yes! Thats exactly how I read too. Im very much a “mood” reader.

I'm actually don't feel as much of a mood reader as a lot of people. I do pick up what I feel like reading, but I do really, really like trying out different ways to organize and kinda "plan" my reading. It motivates me. :) So, I kinda read by mood within experimental plans, if that makes any sense.

It makes total sense! I wish I could do that! I always make plans, but almost never follow through. If I try and force it, I end up never picking up the book or DNFing.

Glad for the motivation of each lostathon! 📚
I anticipate May's newest adventure ... thanks for hosting !!