Bookish Ways I Waste Time!
Happy Tuesday! Today we were supposed to give updates on our reading goals. I had moved back to this site from my self-hosted site, and therefore, lost my original post. I know I will do an update in December, so I thought I would talk about bookish ways I waste my time.
Time is such a precious commodity to me, yet, I find myself knocked off track or distracted by bookish things. I will start doing one of these things, and then realize how much time has passed. --Sigh-- I just can seem to resist the lure of these bookish things.
- Edelweiss and Netgalley are two sites I can get lost in. I am always checking to see what books are coming out, requesting review copies, checking my due dates, posting feedback, cross-posting on pub day, and making lists. I have always shelved books on Edelweiss, but that list option is a new feature on Netgalley. I really did not need another place to keeps lists of books, I now put time and energy into doing so on Netgalley.
- Overdrive - I like to make daily visits to my eLibrary as well. Once upon a time, the library website was updated on pub day with new books or "coming soon" books. Now they do the drops randomly, so I do quick searches each day, but I also do wishlist clean-outs, check my holds, and even rate books there. I have no idea what drives my compulsion to do the ratings, but I feel like I must when I really like a book.
- Libby - This app allows me to tag books from my library or books I wish my library had. I am a big fan of the Notify tag and drop that on all books I want to read, but are not owned by the library. Should the library acquire the book, I will be notified. I also check this list because there seems to be a bit of a lag between when the book is acquired and when the notification is sent.
- Goodreads - Like on the other sites, I maintain lists, post feedback, check out new releases, but I am also social here and seek out contests to enter.
- My Kindle - I often like to tidy up the library. I will make sure I have returned library books or deleted books that are read. I like to just have unread books on my Kindle. It's easier to find things that way.
- Amazon Cloud - I will checkout my cloud at least once a week. Usually to find my Book from the Backlog, but also to see if there are any books I forgot I had that I could be in the mood for.
- Amazon - I like to work on my wishlists here. I will check my wishlist for sale books, but also add books.
How do you "waste" your time?
Let us know in the comments!
Let us know in the comments!
I waste some time on Goodreads, although not as much as I used to! I actually have a Goodreads account for Henry, so I have two to keep track of now. I am usually cross checking Amazon and Bookshop.org to see if books I want for Henry are on sale.
ReplyDeleteI am not as compulsive as I used to be about checking for price drops on my Amazon wishlist, but I still do that too
DeleteI spend lot of time on my bookish lists...like, I see a book that piques my interest somewhere (say, on NG or EW or GR, or in a friend's post), look for it on the other bookish sites, mark it TBR on GR, request it (if there's an ARC available), put it in a spreadsheet with its release date (and the site where I made my request if I did), look for the author's site or socials (and peruse them to be sure they're nice people LOL), bookmark them, look for a sneak peek/excerpt, repeat some of these steps if the book still isn't available for request or doesn't have an Amazon page where to read the first chapters...I can spend hours in the process 😂.
ReplyDeleteI didn't even touch upon my spreadsheet. I forgot all about that! I track my reading and all my challenges, and I spend quite a bit of time looking for books for my prompts. It's wasted time, but I enjoy it
DeleteIf only it didn't eat into actual reading (and reviewing) time LOL.
DeleteIt's all part of the total experience. =)
DeleteI waste time with those first five, too! I love this topic switch.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteAh, such a good topic idea! I definitely can get lost looking at Libby or Hoopla to see which books have been added or old ones I might want to borrow. I can also get lost looking at KU titles on Amazon.
ReplyDeleteI prefer using the library website (Overdrive) to search the catalog. I have three library cards, and it's a pain to search via the Libby app, but I will set alerts there. I have not fallen into the KU trap. I had a subscription when it first started, and I would spend a lot of time searching for possible books. Then they would disappear from KU. Now, I look when I am picking my weekly TBR and download immediately
DeleteI should spend more time on Netgalley, honestly. And Goodreads I never go to anymore, even though I kind of really like the site. So much bookish goodness there. Like you said, time is the issue.
ReplyDeleteI used to spend a lot more time being social on GR. I have cut back a LOT, but I always enjoy my time there.
DeleteI enjoy both NG and Edelweiss, but I don't spend THAT much time on them! LOL. GR is the bookish site where I spend most of my time. I love to organize and reorganize my lists, check out what my friends are reading, add books, etc. It's such a fun site that I get sucked in really easily. Glad I'm not the only one :)
ReplyDeleteHappy TTT (on a Wednesday)!
We all are some big time organizers. I should really consider giving other areas of my life as much attention as my bookish life. When everyone was leaving GR, I stayed. I like it.
DeleteI also like to have just unread books on my Kindle!
ReplyDeleteIt's more practical and easier when I am hunting something to read.
DeleteLove your topic, Sam! I haven't used Edelweiss in years, and only check Netgalley very rarely (like every few months), but I definitely still waste time on bookish stuff. Like GR, or Fantastic Fiction (where I look up the pub date order of an author's back list), or the romance reading tracker than Renee shared last year. I am so hooked on the reading log tab and update it obsessively. Definitely a time suck. lol
ReplyDeleteI don't request a lot from EW, as I don't get many approvals there, but I like to shelve books. Their system is a bit better than the lists now available on NG. I have a fairly extensive spreadsheet I maintain as well. I have quite a few reading challenges to track, and I don't want a million GR shelves.
DeleteI spend way too much time on Netgalley, Libby, and Hoopla.
ReplyDeleteI like to keep abreast of what books the libraries obtain. The Chrome extension I have makes it so easy too
DeleteI can fall down a rabbit hole on Netgalley or Edelweiss. I wish I tidied up my Kindle more often. I do leave some favorite books on there even if I have read them. Just in case I want to do a re-read at some point. Realistically I probably wouldn't anytime soon but it's a comfort knowing there already loaded. Like I couldn't download them again, lol!
ReplyDeleteThe books are in my cloud, so I don't feel the need to keep them on the kindle, but honestly, I don't re-read
DeleteI spend way too much time on NetGalley and Edelweiss. Instagram is my other huge time suck. I usually do those things at my day job so it doen't really take away any reading time.
ReplyDeleteYou had a goal to build your IG, and your time investment paid off. If it's something you enjoy, I say it's not a waste. You are lucky you can do that stuff while you work. I cannot. I can't even check Goodreads. We have an impenetrable firewall
DeleteI didn't even know Netgalley had a new list option! I've been avoiding Netgalley as much as I can so I can read off my backlist. But I can also spend way too much time perusing titles. ;) Great tips about Libby. I've been doing very well reading books from Libby this year, but I really need to become more familiar with the app. And cleaning up my Kindle is one of my goals this year. It hasn't happened yet... Ha!
ReplyDeleteI set a limit of 8 review books per month. That's two a week, and I fill the other three slots with library, shelf, and KU books. I don't use the Libby app so much. I rather do things on a computer, so I visit the eLibrary that way, but I like the tagging option that is available via the app.
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