This week’s Book Blogger Hop question: Were you a born bookworm or did somebody get you into the habit of reading?

Is “both” an option?  I feel like a born bookworm–I’ve loved books for as long as I can remember.  I don’t know that that was just ingrained, though…it probably has a lot to do with my parents reading to me.  The first book I ever “read” was The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree, which I memorized before I could actually read.  It wasn’t until I looked at the book again as an adult that I realized the vocal inflections my parents always put in weren’t at all indicated in the text (and trust me, there’s a big difference between “yes, they dare” and “Yes–they DARE!”)

I also went to the library every week as a kid, and still do.  I live in the same city I grew up in, and I still have my first library card.  I don’t know how old I was when I got it, but even though it was in my name, it originally had my mom’s signature–which has pretty much faded past legibility now.  I go to a different library now…but I scan the same card.  I keep waiting for a librarian to comment on how old it is.  They never do!

If you’re here, you’re probably a bookworm. 🙂  So how did you get into reading?

This week’s Book Blogger Hop question: How do you organize your books to be read?

So what you’re asking for here is a glimpse into my obsessive organization?  Well then…

I have a ToBeRead List in an Excel document (tracking titles, where I heard about the book, and when I added it to the list).  I also have a Word document keeping track of my current annual reading challenges, including (where relevant) specific books I want to read for them.  For example, for my “Finish the Series” challenge, I have a list of all the series I’m trying to finish, with notes on progress and number remaining.  I sometimes throw in some color coding–green means the book is on my shelf and purple means a book is relevant for the current “Experience” from Stainless Steel Droppings.  (Colors are totally arbitrary, by the way.)

So–I look at all the lists and pick what I want to read next.  That’s influenced by which books are on a more immediate timeline (review copies or something for a three month “Experience” or my Chunkster challenge, where I’m trying to read one a month) or which goals I need to make more progress on, but it’s also largely a question of what do I feel like.  Which is largely influenced by what I’ve been reading, as I often find myself seeking some kind of balance (too much fantasy, time for sci fi; or if I’ve read lots of thick dry books, I need something light and quick).

I usually have a mental queue of my next four to five books, or about two weeks of reading.  That’s how long I have to anticipate to be able to request a book from the library with reasonable assurance of having it come in (and having time to pick it up!)  Planning too far out means running the risk of needing to return a book before I get to it.

I did warn you–crazy organized!  But I find I enjoy my reading more when I do all of this.  I’m not sure I’m reading better books than back in my days of browsing (I doubt it, in fact) but I anticipate my reading more, which brings another level of enjoyment to it.

And I do every so often ignore the lists and throw something onto the library hold list just because it popped into my head and I want to read it now.  Well, a few books down the queue, typically.  But relatively now. 🙂

Now I’m very curious–how do you pick your next book(s)?