I decided to gather from around the house all the books I need for the various challenges I was unable to say "no" to. There are 81 books on that table. And there is a list of 19 additional books that I still need to get from the library, or otherwise acquire, for these various challenges. Adds up to an even 100 books. This is not good for a person like me, who generally manages to finish only 6 or 8 books a month. And of the six books I'm currently reading, only one of them is a challenge book. No, things aren't looking good, are they? And of course, Carl will be starting the Once Upon a Time II Challenge in just a few short weeks. And you know that proverbial snowball in hell...yep, that's about how likely it is that I'll not participate in that one.
Oh man, my head is spinning.
And related to that obsessive streak, I have the old anal retentive streak. That is why each of those books on that table now contains a post-it note inside the front cover listing all the challenges the book is for.
Anyone know a cheap psychiatrist?
17 comments:
You could cry, but, in my humble opinion, it'd be a waste of perfectly good tears :P
I think it'd be better to smile because there are 81 wonderful books on that table waiting for you to read them. Sure, it may not be for these particular challenges if you end up running out of time. It may not even be this year. But they exists, and they are great stories, and there will remain there, waiting for you to discover them.
This is what I told myself the other day, when I started feeling overwhelmed with all my challenges. I told myself to take a deep breath and not get stressed about it. Challenges are fun, and this is an exciting thing. The world is full of stories, my very favourite things, and for as long as I live I'll never run out of great ones to discover. Wheeee.
I'm just gonna say that this type of behavior keeps me sane. :) We all need to cut loose and go crazy. Books are perfect for that.
I keep a running tab of 30 books (both audio and paper) checked out at the library. My mailbox over flows with books coming in and do I stop? NO WAY! :-D (lol) It's too much fun!!!
You know, there's that article about bookshelves going around, and one of the opinions is that the books on our shelves represent who we want to be. So I say embrace it! And the post-it notes make perfect sense, since you were gathering them all anyway. (You're talking to someone who was really excited to begin a massive, year-long research project because then she could go to Staples and buy folders and a little crate for them and highlighters and index cards and...well, you get the idea; I also colour code my Russian flashcards)
I bet your organising is hugely handy when you're organising your home schooling!
:o
thats all i can say.
in fact, i'll say it again.
:o
HA! I absolutely love it! I say you embrace that big ole stack of books and just love it. Don't let it stress you out...that's what I'm learning to do :) These challenges are lots of fun, and I figure that if I don't finish them the world's not going to end. It's all in an effort to expand my horizons and read with a community. So even if you read one book for each challenge, you accomplished something! And you're much more organized than me in doing it with your post it notes! Thanks for the pic :) Love me some book porn ;)
You certainly need to master the art of having books count for multiple challenges! That way you get more bang for your challenge buck when you are reading.
That and just give up the idea of feeling bad about it. You're an addict like the rest of us and there is no hope for us at all. :)
Ha ha, oh my goodness, even I didn't sign up for 100 books worth of challenges! Although I have to admit that it's possible that the overlapping I had to do to keep it to 60-something book might be more time consuming than simply reading another 40 books would be! Maybe I should try your post-it strategy.
But don't stress about it. Even if you don't make it through every challenge this year, you still have all those great books to read eventually. And I think that's the point of challenges, to try new things. I think the time period is less important.
Well thanks everyone! You all are better than any old psychiatrist, and cheaper, too! :)
Enjoy the books!
I had to do a spreadsheet to keep track of my challenge books! I was able to cross-challenge a lot of them, so I don't have too big a stack.
Sure it's overwhelming, but gosh, isn't it exciting, too? I mean, looking at your pile of books kind of makes my heart go pitter pat just like all piles of books do. And hey, why not set your goals high? If you don't finish nothing terrible will happen (no large goons breaking your arms, no debt collection agencies calling on the phone, nobody shutting off the power - you'll just have more great reading left for next year!) And as many before me have said, there are many worse addictions than reading and reading challenges! ;-)
BTW, this might not be the best time to ask (LOL!), but I was reading your comment on my review of "The Translator" and wondered if maybe you'd like to have my ARC? I'm trying to get a few books out my door to make room for some more (you know, speaking of the double-edged sword of the many book piles), and I'd love to send my copy to someone who really wants to read it (even if you won't get to it anytime soon!) - so yeah, if you want it, please drop me an e-mail (toadacious1 at yahoo dot com) and I'll gladly send it your way!
OK, I just typed a really long response and hit post, and blogger messed up. Argh, I hate that!
Here's the short version - what a glorious photo! Love seeing books and knowing that there's a postie in each one, detailing the challenge it is for. Gives me the warm fuzzies :)
Happy Reading!
Wow, that's a lot of books you'll be reading, Debi! LOL. But hey, it's fun, and it's addictive! I'm sure you've fun reading them... probably that's one reason why I'm not going to participate in more reading challenges because I'm such a slow reader. Urgh!
Happy reading! :D
I was a psych major in college. Ready? Okay, lets get started.
So how do you really feel about that? Did you have a difficult childhood? When you say you have too many books to read, you aren't referring to your books, but your anxieties. What do you see in this ink blot?
You have book-challenge obsession-itis. The only cure is more reading to remind you how much you enjoy it. Feel better now?
(Disclaimer: I have not actually studied psych since college, so if you suffer any nasty side effects from my counseling session such as dry mouth or night time terrors, please don't sue me)
I still say there are worse addictions...
I agree - there are worse addictions! At least this is a good one. Even if you only get through a fraction of those, you are doing well in my book! If I had a book, that is! ;-) I can't even keep up with my blog reading, much less open a book!
That's a lot of books! You'll enjoy it though. And I was thinking that Stacy would love knowing you'd put post it notes in them and I see she commented on it.
I think you should scatter them throughout the house. They look overwhelming when they're all together :P
Isn't your blog the cheap therapy? Mine is!
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