A few weeks ago, I set myself a challenge: to read as many of the 80 or so unread novels on my shelf as possible, by the end of the year.
So far, my progress has been fairly slow. More than a month in and I’ve only finished four books.
Some of these novels have been sitting on my shelf for years. I’ve been saving them for the right time.
But the right time seems to have come and gone. I’ve waited so long, the books don’t appeal to me the way they once did.
More than once I’ve found myself staring at the shelves, trying to choose my next read. I stare and I scan and nothing jumps out and grabs me.
Nothing demands: “Read me, now!”
So how do you choose what to read next, when you don’t want to read anything on your list of options?
Sometimes I grab the first thing that comes to hand. Sometimes I pick something short. Maybe a thriller that will make for a quick read. I might pick up the book I fancied a month ago, but quickly forgot about.
It might be a struggle, but I’ll read something, anything. And hopefully, once I’m inside those pages, that book will grab me after all.
Charlotte @ Books and Baby etc. says
I get this all the time. If I don’t like the sound of anything on my shelf I usually just pick at random and hope for the best!
Amy Lord says
Yeah, sometimes it’s the best way! Or I’ll stick with whatever I’ve been planning to read, even if I don’t really fancy it at that time.
Katie says
I’ve seen a couple of ideas for this online! One was to write the name of each book, put it into a jar and pick on out when you’re struggling. Another was to write down a genre, theme or whatever and put those into a jar to pick out! Then you just choose a book which fits that theme.
Amy Lord says
Good suggestions, Katie! I might have to do this next time I’m struggling to pick something 🙂