Read-a-Thon days 3 & 4

Alrighty, I am a day behind in all of this, but I am going to try and catch up...NOW!

Day 3 was hosted by Kate herself, and she wanted us to share the blog love: "They can be new, old, or just underappreciated."

Easy peasy.  Maybe.  I mean, I certainly have 3 -- but there are so many of you!
But I made my little Sophie's Choice, and there are certainly 3 bloggers of loveliness whom I always read, always make time for, and think everyone should follow:

1. Velvet of vvb32 reads.  I'm sure you've heard me mention Velvet before, and I'm sure you will again.  Velvet is one of my absolute favorite bloggers.  She has a great mix of stuff I like (she likes Jane!  she likes zombies!  she likes steampunk!  she likes Japanese lit!  the list goes on and on!).  I like her take on the books she reads, and I think she has a great heart and  a great mind, and that makes me happy.

2. Rhiannon of Rhiannon Hart.  I first came across Rhiannon last summer when she was doing a whole dystopian thing, which obviously caught my interest.  So glad I did, as I now never miss her blog.  We seem to have very similar tastes, so I love to see what she is reading and loving, because there's a good chance I'll love it too.  Plus, she is soon(ish) to be published herself, so I can't wait to see what she's written!

3. Jennifer (JG) of The Introverted Reader.  JG was my Goodreads buddy long before the whole blogging thing, so I always got to read her reviews and chat with her about books.  Now, though, I get so much more than that.  She shares her favorite books a lot, she tracks down great ones for Waiting On that I have to add to my list, and she starts awesome new memes like Character Connection.  So glad she came out to play with the rest of us bloggers. :)

Sorry you didn't make the list, rest of the world.  I love you too.



For Day 4, Teens Read and Write want to help you keep the TBR Beast in check and help you clear away that clutter.  They have a few questions they ask:

1.) Is there at least one book on your growing TBR that has been there forever and (if you were honest) you could give up without to much trauma?
Oh god, yes. Since looking at the mess of my shelves yesterday, I've pulled out an entire box of books, and I am debating more.  I also have a lot of books that I read when I was younger (VC Andrews, Mary Higgins Clark, etc) that I don't read anymore, and haven't for years, but people would always buy them for me because they thought I still read them.  I think I kept them out of guilt -- the whole 'throwing away a present', not that they would actually be thrown away -- but it's silly, because they are just sitting there taking up space and being useless when someone else could be enjoying them.
But if I'm honest, it's more than that.  I have this paranoid fear when it comes to books that makes me a hoarder.  Every time I debate getting rid of a book, I am instantly seized by "what if I suddenly decide I want to read that, or I read a great review, or it turns out I would have loved that book...maybe I should just hang on to it until I've read it."  But I never read it.  And I know I likely won't.  It's ridiculous.
 
2.) What is your latest "Gotta Have It" book? (that you can get once you've given up that one in question #1)
I think right now, my gotta have it is probably The Dead Tossed Waves, but there are a few coming out soon (Monsters of Men, the 3rd Chaos Walking book; The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet) that I know I absolutely will get my greedy little paws on, and I need to make room for them.

3.) What are your classics - you're 'comfort books' that you never want to give up?
I have multiple copies of Jane Austen books (all of them except Mansfield Park, which I only own 1 of).  I don't need multiple copies, but some are especially pretty, and 1 is a collected works, so it's bulky, and...yeah, I have excuses to keep them.  But I may send them off to happy new homes for Jane in June.  Except that they are so very read, I don't want to give someone a creased-binding book...I don't know.
Also, Anne of Green Gables (and other LM Montgomery books) and many Louisa May Alcott books, Harry Potters, various favorite kid books, various favorite adult books -- I have a lot that I don't think I'll ever part company with.

4.) What are your best tips for keeping that TBR in check?
My best tip is to read what you own -- if you're buying it, make it a priority.  Nothing against libraries, because I love them dearly, but I have a crazy habit that I am trying to break, where once I've bought a book, I am content with having it -- I know I'll get around to it eventually -- so I read my library books first because they have to go back at some point.  But there are always new library books to pick up, so it's never-ending, and the book I wanted so bad never gets read just because I own it.  It's absurd.  Books are meant to be read, so read them; if you didn't like it, or aren't going to read it, but you know someone who would like it, pass it on.

Alright.  Putting it down like this, being so specific about why books are made to be read and how I need to pass some on...I'm off to dig through my shelves again.  I have more lurkers I've been letting slide...
Maybe they can slide right on into the prize pool...Did I mention that was coming? ;p