Laurel County Public Library discussion

Vivian wrote: "I don't really have a set way to rate. Whatever feels right in the moment is how I rate a book. It's also different between genres."

I definitely agree. My rating system varies on genres too. But I also have an overall rating system too. But the genre of the book will achieve the ratings differently, if that makes sense.

Debra Digs wrote: ".
.
In general, my ratings work like this:

1. star = this book never should have been published
2 stars = I would not recommend this book to anyone
3 stars = good, interesting, worth reading
4 sta..."

That's a good rating scale. Mine is similar.

313. What books do you think deserve more hype?

The Last Train to London by Meg Waite Clayton

The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish

The Boy at the Door by Alex Dahl

Love and Ruin by Paula McLain

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

314. What books do you think deserve all the hype they get?

Deserved Hype

- Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx
- The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins
- Bird Box by Josh Malerman

Deserved More Hype

- Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
- The Devourers by Indra Das
- Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

315. What book(s) do you plan on reading this month? What is your March TBR?

March TBR -- completely flexable

Continuing from Feb
- The Winter People by John Ehle
- The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye
- Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon

Planned
- Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- A Kiss Before Dying by Ira Levin
- Vampyres by Tim Greaves

Maybe
- Semiosis by Sue Burke
- The Reversal by Michael Connelly

March TBR:

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
The Two-Family House by Lynda Cohen Loigman

These are ones I'm really wanting to read, but I have a few others I'm open to reading.

Debra Digs wrote: "March TBR -- completely flexable

Continuing from Feb
- The Winter People by John Ehle
- The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye
- [book:Swan Song|..."

Looking forward to seeing your thoughts on Americanah.

Vivian wrote: "March TBR:

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
The Two-Family House by Lynda Cohen Loigman

These are ones I'm ..."

You've got quite the list...some heavy ones for sure.

316. What do you use as a bookmark? If you use an actual bookmark, do you match it to your book cover?

If it's a library book, I'll typically use the check out slip as a bookmark. If it's one of my own books, I'll use a BOTM bookmark. Those are my favorite because of how sturdy they are.

I have a bunch of actual bookmarks. I have them stashed in a couple locations around the house so they are handy when needed.

I have a couple of old battered bookmarks. Otherwise, I use anything that is handy. An old envelope, junk mail, an emery board, I have even used kleenex before.

317. Do you keep a reading journal? (This can be a notebook that you jot down quotes from books, notes, thoughts, ratings, etc.)

I don't have a reading journal anymore. I do keep track of my reading stats on Google Sheets, and sometimes I'll jot notes down about a book on my phone.

Krystyna wrote: "316. What do you use as a bookmark? If you use an actual bookmark, do you match it to your book cover?"

I use the check out slip from the library usually for my bookmark. I don't match the cover of my book to my bookmark. I usually will match a bookmark with the current season that we are in if I am using a bookmark!

Jennifer wrote: "Krystyna wrote: "316. What do you use as a bookmark? If you use an actual bookmark, do you match it to your book cover?"

I use the check out slip from the library usually for my bookmark. I don't ..."

I never thought about matching it with the current season.

Vivian wrote: "I don't have a reading journal anymore. I do keep track of my reading stats on Google Sheets, and sometimes I'll jot notes down about a book on my phone."

Oh! I didn't know you quit your reading journal. How do you like your tracking system now?

318. What is your favorite part about the online book community? (Example: Goodreads, Instagram (bookstagram), YouTube (booktube), Facebook (book groups), etc.)

Krystyna wrote: "318. What is your favorite part about the online book community? (Example: Goodreads, Instagram (bookstagram), YouTube (booktube), Facebook (book groups), etc.)"

I would enjoy Goodreads more if it was updated, but I mainly just use it to track reading progress and to answer these prompts.

My favorite part is meeting new friends on Instagram, and watching BookTube.

Krystyna wrote: "Vivian wrote: "I don't have a reading journal anymore. I do keep track of my reading stats on Google Sheets, and sometimes I'll jot notes down about a book on my phone."

Oh! I didn't know you quit..."

I enjoyed the creative process of a reading journal, but I never had a ton of time or materials to work on it. I really like the simplicity of tracking on Google Sheets. It doesn't take a lot of time to do, and I can update it on the go.

The only online book community that I use is Goodreads. So, I will comment on that. I love discovering new books. Ones that I never heard of before plus ones I would never would have considered before.

Vivian wrote: "Krystyna wrote: "318. What is your favorite part about the online book community? (Example: Goodreads, Instagram (bookstagram), YouTube (booktube), Facebook (book groups), etc.)"

I would enjoy Goo..."

I agree. I'm used to using Goodreads as-is, but there are a lot of areas that could use improvement. But it is a good way to keep track of the books you've read, currently reading, and want to read, etc.

I also enjoy Bookstagram and BookTube. Those are my go-to platforms for bookish content.

I haven't kept up with my reading journal for quite a while now. I love the idea of it and the practice of it. I just found that I didn't keep up with all of the time and I didn't always have the time to work on it.

Debra Digs wrote: "The only online book community that I use is Goodreads. So, I will comment on that. I love discovering new books. Ones that I never heard of before plus ones I would never would have considered bef..."

If you're interested in branching out on other platforms that have really prevalent book communities, then I would recommend using Instagram and YouTube. You can find great book recommendations, book reviews, upcoming releases, readathons, reading challenges, etc. It's a lot of fun.

319. In personal copies of books, do you annotate? (This can be using page flags, highlighting, writing, etc.) If not, do you enjoy buying used copies that have annotations? Why or why not?

I will annotate my own copies of books. Highlighting is still hard for me to do, and I don't do that often. Sometimes I'll write in pencil in the margins. I don't think I have any books that have annotations in them already, but I don't think I'd mind it that much. I don't care for page flags already in a used book because they just get in the way of my possible annotations.

320. What was the last book that you couldn't put down? Why?

The last two books I've read (The Great Alone and The Office of Historical Corrections) were pretty great at keeping my attention. They were both hard-hitting books with incredible characters.

The last book I read was 11 Paper Hearts by Kelsey Hartwell. It was your typical contemporary romance. However, I loved the scavenger hunt that was included within the book. This was also the author's debut. I would highly recommend if you like YA romance books.

321. What is your rule of thumb on keeping books you own or getting rid of them? (Ex. do you get rid of books you rate under 3 stars, do you keep all of the books you own and have read, do you read them and then get rid of them no matter what, etc.?)

I used to keep every physical book I bought but after deciding it began to be a borderline Hoarders ep (and having dozens of tubs of books in the basement in addition to multiple shelves loaded),I started getting rid of most of them a few years ago. It’s still a work in progress. I keep ones I really like and will read again, books/series I collect by fave authors (quite a few of those), and ones TBR. The past couple years I started generally only buying physical books that I intend to keep, otherwise I just buy e-books.

I have slowed down on buying books I haven't read yet, so that's helped. I typically get rid of the ones that I'm no longer interested in, or ones that don't bring me joy. I'll look at ratings to also judge whether or not I should get rid of it. My system is different for every book.

Normally, I do not keep physical books. There was a time when I kept my very favorites, but they just sat on the self forever, never to be reread. So I stoped doing that. Ebooks I don't do anything with. They will probably sit on my tablet forever.

Krystyna wrote: "Debra Digs wrote: "The only online book community that I use is Goodreads. So, I will comment on that. I love discovering new books. Ones that I never heard of before plus ones I would never would have considered before...

If you're interested in branching out on other platforms that have really prevalent book communities, then I would recommend using Instagram and YouTube. You can find great book recommendations, book reviews, upcoming releases, readathons, reading "

Thanks, Krystyna. I have Instagram, but never do anything with it. I really don't understand it. I do use YouTube, so I might look into that more.

Debra Digs wrote: "Krystyna wrote: "Debra Digs wrote: "The only online book community that I use is Goodreads. So, I will comment on that. I love discovering new books. Ones that I never heard of before plus ones I w..."

You're very welcome. Instagram is honestly so much fun. In the search section type in bookstagram and you will find all kinds of book-related content. You can follow authors, publishers, or people that post pretty bookish photos, book reviewers, etc. It's really fun.

322. After you finish a book, do you immediately have to start another one or do you have to wait a little bit?

If I absolutely loved the book, I pause for a little bit...maybe 3 hours. Just to savour it a bit. Other than that, I usually have more than one book going at a time, so it is not a matter of starting a new one just continuing what I am already reading. So that might make it easier to immediately continue reading.

Debra Digs wrote: "If I absolutely loved the book, I pause for a little bit...maybe 3 hours. Just to savour it a bit. Other than that, I usually have more than one book going at a time, so it is not a matter of start..."

I typically only read one at a time. Even if I have multiple books going at a time, I tend to only focus on one and put the others aside until I'm done. But, I'd like to actively read multiple books at once. I feel like I would finish more that way.

323. What book(s) left you with a book hangover?
(A book hangover can be: the feeling of no book ever comparing to this one, struggling to reconnect with reality after finishing a really amazing book, not being able to start a new book because you're still stuck on the last book, or struggling to function because you stayed up all night reading.)

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain

The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

The Prince of Fools by Mark Lawrence

Changes and Battle Ground by Jim Butcher

324. What book has a great story but not a great cover? Typically, the cover draws a reader in, but you know what they say, "never judge a book by it's cover." Let's be real though, all readers kind of do. So what book surprised you at how great it was with having an "ugly" cover?

-The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

-Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

-Crosstalk by Connie Willis

-Arena by Karen Hancock

-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

He Started It by Samantha Downing

The Tenth Muse by Catherine Chung (this one isn't TOO bad, I'm just not a huge fan.)

Without Merit by Colleen Hoover.

Katelyn wrote: "-The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

-Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

-Crosstalk by [author:Connie Willis|1403..."

Omg! You don't like the cover for House in the Cerulean Sea? I think that cover is so pretty.

325. How do you decide on what book(s) to buy?

If they're on my TBR, and I see them in a used book store or online for cheap, I'll typically buy them. I don't shop for books very often, so this isn't a big deal.

Sometimes I'll pre-order upcoming releases if I'm really excited for them.

I'm not very strict with my book buying.

326. What was the last book that you struggled to finish? Why?