How to Read A LOT

I read well over 100 books a year. I spend a lot of time reading, of course, but I also spend time thinking about reading, planning what to read, finding books to read, and saving or sorting books so that I can read them later. So I thought, why not share the bounty of my experience with you, my beloved friends?

Here’s what you should do: 

Install Library Extension

This little browser widget thingy is amazing. You install the extension on your browser (Chrome, Firefox or Edge-- sorry Apple fans) and set up your local library collections. Then, when you visit sites like Amazon or Barnes & Noble and look at a specific book, the extension opens a little box on the webpage and tells you if it is available at your library, with links to borrow or place the book on hold! Amazing!

Get More than One Library Card - I Have Three!

You can pay to access some public library digital collections, usually around $50 a year. This Bookriot article is a little out of date, but some programs listed are still available. Also, many states and counties have reciprocal borrowing between libraries, so you may be able to apply for a non-resident card from your neighboring community library. 

If you are or have a teenager in your life, get access to a FREE DIGITAL LIBRARY CARD from Brooklyn Public Library.

Shop Literally Anywhere but Amazon

I use the library (yay Libby!), go to my local bookstore(s), shop bookshop.org or libro.fm for audiobooks, or I buy used from thriftbooks.com. Yes, Amazon is cheaper. But their low cost books directly affect whether or not you even have local independent bookstores in your community. Just embrace your inner bleeding heart liberal already and say no to Jeff Bezos. 

Sign up for Bookriot’s Newsletters, at the Very Least

Bookriot.com is a great site for readers. And they have email newsletters! For many different genres and formats! So if you want the latest news on audiobooks or sci-fi titles, you can get it delivered to your inbox. I also sign up for newsletters from book influencers, magazines and newspapers, publishers, etc. (if you have a great bookish newsletter, send it my way).

Ok, but, what if you are spending too much money on books? USE YOUR LIBRARY.¹ Bookriot and BookBub.com also send out book sales newsletters.

Track Your Books

Ever read a book and then forget literally everything about it? I do. I have bought the same book more than once, and checked out books from the library that I also own. There are lots of book tracking apps that will help you track what you read or keep a TBR list (to be read). Goodreads, Storygraph, Fable, LibraryThing-- all have their pros and cons. I use Goodreads because:

• It's very easy to find your set of read books.

• You can tag and sort books with your own vocabulary of descriptive tags.

• It’s tied to your Amazon account and your Kindle.  

  

To the Books!

I moved again this month, to my permanent home on the second floor of a two story building which will hopefully never flood. I’ve been packing and unpacking, sorting and cleaning, arranging contractors and plumbers and cleaners, and haven’t spent a lot of time reading (which is probably adding to my stress). Sorry to say, the lists are pretty sparse this month!

Books Added to my Wishlist

The Unkillable Frank Lightening by Josh Rountree: Frankenstein in the Wild West. Need I say more?

A Girl Walks Into the Forest by Madeleine Roux: Described as a mashup of fairytale, folklore and horror, which sounds right up my alley. 

Books Read

So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison: After a night out gone very wrong, two friends must negotiate their relationship and figure out how to live with the consequences of their choices. 

I really wanted to like this book. I’ve read almost everything Harrison has put out and enjoyed all of it immensely. But the main character was a stick in the mud for too long and I felt like the life lessons she had to learn to overcome her inertia were kinda trite. 3 stars.  

Books I Gave Up On

The Gunfighters: How Texas Made the West Wild by Bryan Burrow: The author said things like, “this hero of the west was actually a virulent racist and often killed Black and brown people indiscriminately" and just left it at that. Maybe later chapters connected the dots between western myth and systematic racism but I didn’t get that far.

Cat Pic of the Month

We’re all moved in and the cats are stressed. All this change over the past couple of months has not been good for them. I understand, it’s been hard on me, too! We’re not the most resilient of families, to be honest.

Pumpkin and Fiona are fighting a lot. Wallace hides all day and only comes out in the mornings and evenings to eat and get a few scratchies. I’ve invested in a couple of cat pheromone diffusers to see if that helps. I think, eventually, they will calm down and get used to the new place, it’s just going to take time.

Show me the Noods!

OKAY. Okay. I ate noodles this month, I swear. I mean, my household religiously participates in Spaghetti Sundays. But I don’t have any pictures to share.

I made a pasta salad out of this black bean and corn salad with cumin-lime dressing (gift link) and it turned out just ok. I added olive oil to make the dressing into a vinaigrette, made it noodles with ditalini pasta, forgot the avocado until about halfway through my bowl, and also added goat cheese. Sounds like it would be great, right? It wasn’t. It’s probably better as a salad. I’m still bummed about it. 3 stars.

In Conclusion

Well, we’ve all learned something today, haven’t we? I learned not everything should be noodles (a devastating fact I may never recover from). You learned how to read more books. I’m so happy for you! Hopefully, the cats will learn this home is permanent and become more comfortable in it. Learning is so powerful, right?

Love, Marcella

1  Seriously, it benefits you AND your community. Check out a book! Download Libby! Even if you don’t actually read the books, it still helps the library by showing usage of the collections.