Tell Me Something Tuesday is hosted by Rainy Day Ramblings and discusses a wide range of topics from books to blogging.
Question: Are most of your review books for publishers or are you reviewing books of your choice?
Answer:
In the past, most of my review books came from book conferences, with a lesser amount (maybe 20-30%) coming from publishers, Netgalley or author requests.
These days, I’m running low on the conference books and I'm not attending any this year so almost 90% of my reading and reviewing now is from my own TBR pile. And almost exclusively via the library.
I have another year and 1/2 on my FL library card and they have a great selection so I’m still using them for my e-books and audio. I also signed up for my local library – they have both Libby (which I’m already using and love) and Hoopla.
And I’m increasingly borrowing audiobooks! I still struggle somewhat with the format but about 50% less than I used to lol
There’s a bit of a wait for most books – anywhere from 2-6 weeks but that helps me space out my reads and switch between my TBR, an audiobook and a library e-book.
Here’s a picture of one of the statues outside my new library. They have several and one is a baby with his bare butt sticking up in the air and I find that one disturbing lol but a boy reading to his cat is perfect.
They also have a rose garden that’s almost ready to bloom and I can't wait to go back for a visit.
Where do you get most of the books you review?
That bare butt baby statue sounds so strange, haha. Yay for libraries! And that's awesome that you still have some time left with your Florida card. I love the library, and I love how stress-free it is!
ReplyDeleteIt's so weird - innocent - but weird lol
DeleteThe FL library has a bit more variety because you have access to most of FL. At least it gives me time to get used to the WA one without going cold turkey ha!
That is great that you use your library, I do as well but probably for review purposes 10% Great question topic.
ReplyDeleteIt's really new to me! I hate checking out physical books but I found a library that used the Libby app and it was a game changer for me.
DeleteYay - Blogger acknowledges me today it’s a great day!!!
ReplyDeleteI love the library. I request a lot of books and then can try them and abandon them if they aren’t my thing. So much less pressure than having review books that I dislike and not being sure whether to review or DNF or pass on!
Yes! You can try out anything and just return it with ZERO GUILT.
DeleteI get a lot.of my reads from Netgalley and my shelves. I am going to BEA this year so I assume I'll have books from there.
ReplyDeleteAlmost all of my books for the past 9 years have been from conferences. It's weird but it became a burden to me. There are so many books glaring at me that I felt overwhelmed. The library has been freeing for me.
DeleteAw, I love that statue! Too cute. I probably get most of my books from the library or Netgalley. I have some physical ARCs I was sent for review - and I got a bunch from ALA Midwinter that a friend sent me (I didn't attend). I get a lot of LGBT+ books from Netgalley to read and review. Otherwise, I'm trying to use the library more (both physical and e-library). I need to focus on my own books too, so hopefully I can read a lot of those this summer.
ReplyDelete-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
It sounds like we're in the same place Lauren lol
DeleteI used to review more requests but not anymore. now I just what I want.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I'm trying to head towards. Obligation free reviewing!
DeleteI am glad you are making use of your new library. We have a wonderful library system in Portland, I have two library cards from two different counties. That way I always have a huge selection. Yes, there are long waits, but I have about fifteen books on hold so something is always coming in.
ReplyDeleteI'm so jealous. FL used to let you get cards from different counties but we can't here and I'm in a very small county. But I have my FL card for a while longer and it gives me time to find other sources.
DeleteFor someone who couldn't find an audiobook that worked, like what a year ago, you're killing the audio game!
ReplyDeleteI'm getting better at finding what works for me. I still don't prefer that format vs reading for full length/romance - I can read those SO much faster on my own - but genres I don't normally read, poetry, some bios...yup!
DeleteNice pic, love the boy reading to his cat. :) I don't use my library nearly enough, but they're building a new one here and when it's done I'm gonna try to use it a lot more!
ReplyDeleteI only use it for ebooks or audiobooks. I'm too lazy to actually go & don't like to borrow dirty physical books lol
DeleteI have that problem too. I've checked out some nasty books lol and occasionally wondered if I'm catching some disease from them!
DeleteI haven't attended a convention since 2017, but it takes a lot to get me to read my physical books anyhow. I am trying to be more balanced - half my books, half ARCs from NG/EW/tours, but I am sort of failing at it.
ReplyDeletei'm really bad at looking up books and staying current with new releases so the cons were how I got those books. I'm loving the library right now though. No pressure!
DeleteWow! I'd sure love to hang out at your library, and that sculpture looks fantastic. I stopped reviewing books years ago because books from publishers, authors and the those I was reading for fun all started to come together, totally confusing me(lol) Hugs...RO
ReplyDeleteIt's a lot of pressure and a chore when it's not fun anymore.
DeleteI used to read a ton of review books but authors but had to scale back on that for family reasons. Now I pretty much plough through reviews for all my own books with just the odd review request from authors I know.
ReplyDeleteI felt like I grabbed all these books I HAD to read at conferences then chased new books and it's endless... I never ended up reading what I had.
DeleteThat statue is so incredibly adorable. I hope one day be at 50% books I chose and 50% ARC's but it's going to be awhile *sigh*.
ReplyDeleteWell, you're doing the Horror site now too right? But that seems more fun and closer to what you enjoy so maybe it's not too bad.
DeleteMost of my reading material is backlist or KU at the moment but the books I actually review are from Netgalley! I'm quite bad with writing reviews at the moment... :-/
ReplyDeleteThe idea of a naked baby butt statue outside a library is just beyond me, lol. I understand the boy and the cat but the baby? Nope.
I need to use KU more. I got the 2 year subscription during Prime days and have read less than 5 books so far :-(
DeleteI got sidetracked byt he move and now the library lol
I'd loooove to have more audios to borrow, but in English? Not so much
ReplyDeleteAre there many translated to your language?
DeleteI get from netgalley & edelweiss and the library. I need to do better with the reviews but lately I have been reading books :)
ReplyDeleteYou seem to be reading and reviewing a lot - at least according to my daily Goodreads updates :-)
DeleteYou get SO many books from conventions, and it's really hard to limit yourself (at least it is for me). Sometimes I think I'm better off when I don't go. LOL!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
The first time I went I was like a kid at the candy store and grabbed everything. I'm MUCH better now but still come away with too much.
DeleteI'm not going to any this year :-( so it will be interesting to see how that changes my reading.
I would find the baby statue disturbing also. Weird. I love the boy and his cat statue though. 😀
ReplyDeleteSo I love this topic...because I do love talking about books for sure. I get my books from lots of places, yes some of them are ARC's, but I have great romance selection at the library so I grab some from there and then I have a book budget every month. So I can grab the new ones that come out that my library doesn't carry.
ReplyDeleteYay for being able to choose more of your books and also for making the most of your library! I usually either get them from publishers and mostly, I buy them for myself! I want to start using a library in July.
ReplyDelete