Guest Blogger - The Book Muncher!

What to Do with All Those Books


First of all, I’d like to say how honored I am to have been asked to
participate in this, so thanks Heather! And now onto the rest of the
post.

As a book reviewer, I get a lot of books. Most of them I get for free,
from publicists, authors, and various reviewing programs. These books
account for the bulk of my incoming books. Yet despite receiving so
many books every month, I still occasionally shop for books by myself
(ah, gift cards!). And that equals almost too many books and nearly
overflowing bookshelves.

Getting lots of books at once is an exciting experience. It’s like my
birthday when I receive even just a couple of packages of books. I
just love opening all the packages to see what books I’ve gotten. At
the same time, though, it can be a little overwhelming.

Now, Rachael, how could getting and having so many books be anything
but amazing?

I generally know what books to expect in the mail since I only
sometimes request titles from publishers to review and keep track of
which ones I’m getting from which program or author. But sometimes, I
get books from various publicists that I didn’t request. Again, this
is good and bad, good when it’s a book I’ve been really wanting and I
finally got it, but bad if it’s a book I’m not really interested in.
When I receive books from publishers, I feel obligated to review them,
even if it’s not something I really want to read. But then, when I get
other books I’m more interested in, I push these new titles to the
front of my “to review” list and let the other ones collect dust at
the back of my shelf.

And then later on, I feel bad for not reviewing these books earlier.
Although, mostly, I want to read another book. I do eventually get to
them…usually. But I bet I still have some books to review from at
least a year ago.

Anyway, reviewing is pretty awesome with getting all those books.
Awesome, because a book lover like me thrives in a book filled
environment. Unfortunately, I don’t think my bookshelf agrees. I would
absolutely love to give away some of these, in contests, or trading
with other reviewers. Unfortunately for that, my wallet does not
agree.

So, I guess my bookish appetite could stand to be dieted.

But I highly doubt that will happen anytime soon. I love reading and
reviewing way too much to let my (almost) excess of books and lack of
shelf space bother me too much. And I generally find a way to give
away some of my books, to friends, cousins, the self-sponsored
contest, or the library.

What it really comes down to is this: things always work out. So even
if I don’t read that many books during AP season, I still have so many
reviews scheduled to make up for that since I read super fast during
the summer or when I don’t have that much homework. Even if I don’t
request this book that I really want from so-and-so, I still have so
many other books to read. Even if my initial reviews kind of sucked (I
mean, now that I look back at them…), my writing has greatly improved.
Book reviewing is one of the most stress-free things in my life. I
write reviews because I enjoy reading, and if other people can
appreciate or enjoy that, then my job has been well done.

First review ever: Cherry Heaven by L.J. Adlington