For What It's Worth


Tuesday, May 21, 2019

tell me something tuesday


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?


38 comments:

  1. 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!

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    1. It's so weird - innocent - but weird lol

      The 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!

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  2. That is great that you use your library, I do as well but probably for review purposes 10% Great question topic.

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    1. It'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.

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  3. Yay - Blogger acknowledges me today it’s a great day!!!
    I 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!

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    1. Yes! You can try out anything and just return it with ZERO GUILT.

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  4. I 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.

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    1. Almost 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.

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  5. Aw, 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.

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. It sounds like we're in the same place Lauren lol

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  6. I used to review more requests but not anymore. now I just what I want.

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    1. That's what I'm trying to head towards. Obligation free reviewing!

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  7. I 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.

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    1. I'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.

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  8. For someone who couldn't find an audiobook that worked, like what a year ago, you're killing the audio game!

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    1. I'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!

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  9. Nice 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!

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    1. I only use it for ebooks or audiobooks. I'm too lazy to actually go & don't like to borrow dirty physical books lol

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    2. I have that problem too. I've checked out some nasty books lol and occasionally wondered if I'm catching some disease from them!

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  10. I 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.

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    1. i'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!

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  11. Wow! 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

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    1. It's a lot of pressure and a chore when it's not fun anymore.

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  12. I 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.

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    1. I 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.

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  13. That 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*.

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    1. Well, 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.

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  14. Most 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... :-/

    The 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.

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    1. I need to use KU more. I got the 2 year subscription during Prime days and have read less than 5 books so far :-(

      I got sidetracked byt he move and now the library lol

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  15. I'd loooove to have more audios to borrow, but in English? Not so much

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    1. Are there many translated to your language?

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  16. I get from netgalley & edelweiss and the library. I need to do better with the reviews but lately I have been reading books :)

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    1. You seem to be reading and reviewing a lot - at least according to my daily Goodreads updates :-)

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  17. You 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!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. 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.

      I'm not going to any this year :-( so it will be interesting to see how that changes my reading.

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  18. I would find the baby statue disturbing also. Weird. I love the boy and his cat statue though. 😀

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  19. So 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.

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  20. Yay 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.

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