A Novel Experiment #4: A Bookish Family Results

A Novel Experiment is a feature of mine where I try some experimental reading over the space of a month or so, and then report back at the end of the month. What is experimental reading, you may ask? My goal is to try different ways of reading, such as reading only ebooks, only one genre, only non-fiction etc, for a month, and then see whether it affects how much and how eagerly I read. Obviously this is not going to be something I repeat every month, but rather every couple of months or so. Previously, I have tried sticking to a monthly TBR list, which went quite well.

For September, I decided to read only books from my parents’ shelves. So how did this go?

• I read four books from my parents’ shelves, and am currently reading a fifth
• I read one book from my friend
• I read one book from my sister
• And I read two books from my own shelves

So maybe it didn’t go 100% to plan – but I did branch out and read slightly different titles to what I normally read – however, I still stuck to my ‘usual’ genres, in a way. I’ve still got a pile of books I chose for the month from my parents’ bookshelves in my room, and they’re pretty much all historical fiction, travel and a few classics, so things I would read anyway. So maybe I wasn’t branching out as much as I thought?

I also found myself looking longing at my own shelves, bursting with science fiction and fantasy books, almost every day. I just REALLY want to read some epic fantasy right now (in fact, I really really want to re-read the A Song of Ice and Fire series, and have for months), so that will probably be my next read. I don’t know whether it was the timing, as I’d just been reunited with my own entire book collection, but so many of my own books have been calling out for me to read them throughout September.

So how do I think it went?

I was actually very distracted this month. I couldn’t focus on several of the books, and some were truly disappointing. I had to divert from the challenge a little bit in order to still be able to take part in the DC versus Marvel challenge, but still most of the books read in September did not belong to me. In fact, the one book of my own, Stranger of Tempest, was probably the one I struggled with most, and was really very disappointing. My absolute favourite of the month was Wild, borrowed from my mum’s books – but I’d already known I wanted to read it, after watching the film, and I love travel books anyway.

So whilst I perhaps didn’t branch out as much as I meant to – sticking to familiar genres like historical fiction and travel – it was still an interesting experiment. I had a lot of mixed feelings about the books I did read, but I also felt myself pining for my own bookshelves. I don’t think I’ll be depriving myself entirely of my usual SFF diet again!

Advertisement

A Novel Experiment #3: A Bookish Family

A Novel Experiment is a new feature of mine where I try some experimental reading over the space of a month or so, and then report back at the end of the month. What is experimental reading, you may ask? My goal is to try different ways of reading, such as reading only ebooks, only one genre, only non-fiction etc, for a month, and then see whether it affects how much and how eagerly I read. Obviously this is not going to be something I repeat every month, but rather every couple of months or so. Previously, I have tried sticking to a monthly TBR list, which went quite well.

For September, I’m going to make the most of being back home and read books only from my parents’ bookshelves. This should help me to expand a bit in terms of the genres I read, and try something new. Plus, well… there’s a LOT of choice.

And that’s not even all of them! I do wonder how I’ll get on with this challenge, seeing as I have just been reunited at last with my own entire book collection. We’ll see!

Do you enjoy setting bookish challenges? Are you the reader in your family, or do others read too?

A Novel Experiment #2: Monthly TBR Results

A Novel Experiment is a new feature of mine where I try some experimental reading over the space of a month or so, and then report back at the end of the month. What is experimental reading, you may ask? My goal is to try different ways of reading, such as reading only ebooks, only one genre, only non-fiction etc, for a month, and then see whether it affects how much and how eagerly I read. Obviously this is not going to be something I repeat every month, but rather every couple of months or so.

For May, I decided to try and stick to a monthly ‘to be read’ list, and shared my chosen books in my previous post.

So how did I do with a monthly TBR?

• Although I really liked the idea of a monthly TBR to work through review copies and pick out the books on my shelves that I most want to read, I also know that I am a huge mood reader so I was a little unsure of how it would work for me.
• However, I soon discovered that this really worked for me. Whether it was because I chose the right books – books I really wanted to read, rather than books I felt I had to read, or because planning my reading actually works for me, I don’t know – I’ll guess I’ll see when I try this again!
• I read every book on the list – although I’m still currently reading two of them.
• I read one extra book – The Enemy (The Enemy #1) by Charlie Higson. One of my best friends lent it to me, and I couldn’t help myself!

Would I repeat this ‘Novel Experiment’?

Yes, yes I would! I’m not sure it would work for me if I chose books I felt I had to read, but I would definitely do it again for books I was really looking forward to.

A Novel Experiment #1: Monthly TBR

A Novel Experiment is a new feature of mine where I try some experimental reading over the space of a month or so, and then report back at the end of the month. What is experimental reading, you may ask? My goal is to try different ways of reading, such as reading only ebooks, only one genre, only non-fiction etc, for a month, and then see whether it affects how much and how eagerly I read. Obviously this is not going to be something I repeat every month, but rather every couple of months or so.

For the month of May, I’ve decided to try sticking to a monthly TBR list, meaning I can only read pre-selected books. It’s a good way to get through review copies and new releases, and I was inspired by Amber when she started posting them. It will be interesting, especially since I’m quite a big mood reader.

So what are my selections for May?

That should be enough for now! I’ve chosen these particular books for a reason. They are a mix of Books of the Month for Dragons & Jetpacks as well as a Buddy Read, some books from my top ten brand new books on my shelf, some to fit the DC vs. Marvel Challenge and one more because I can’t wait to read it!

I’ll report back with my progress at the beginning of June! 🙂 Have you ever set up a monthly TBR?