THE FINISHED BOOKS TAG

I’m doing another tag today. This one’s short and fast and a great excuse to post a picture of Benedict Cumberbatch reading.

I found this tag at HowlingLibraries. Read Destiny’s answers here

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1. Do you keep a list of the books you have read?

I only use Goodreads for this. I kept my GR shelves to a minimum so I don’t waste time trying to figure out which goes which.

Every December 31st, I do my year-end wrap up and make a post about all the books I read for that year.

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2. If you record statistics, what statistics do you record?

I don’t really pay much attention to statistics apart from the yearly tally of the number of books I read for the year.

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3. Do you give star ratings for books, and if so, what do you score books out of? How do you come about this score?

I do. I use a 5-star rating system. See below:

5 Stars – absolutely perfect
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step away
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits
3.5 Stars – that place between like and love
3 Stars – not exactly setting my world on fire but I liked it
2.5 Stars – far from hate but not quite a like
2 Stars – it’s a struggle to finish the damn book
1.5 Stars – bad to borderline terrible
1 Star – I feel sorry for the trees they killed for this book 

I’m happy to say I had more 5-star books this year compared to previous years. The ratings I most frequently give are 4, 3.5 and 3-stars. I rarely give 2.5 and below and rarer still for me to give 1 star.

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4. Do you review books?

Yes I try to review most books I read but I have a few books that I don’t know how to review or just can’t be arsed. And interestingly enough, most of them are shifter stories. I’m planning to just do a mini review of those.

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5. Where do you put your finished books?

I have a catchall bookshelf in my living room where I dump everything. I like arranging my bookshelf. I’m one of those people who wrap my book covers in plastic for protection. I don’t separate my finished books from the unread ones because I go by what fits where.

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6. Do you have any other rituals for when you have finished a book?

When I finish a book, I immediate think about what song would capture its essence. Sometimes, a story’s theme is easy like friends to lovers or second chances so I could just google songs about those. Sometimes, I couldn’t really pinpoint the book’s main focus so I had a harder time finding a song for it.

Once in a while, I hear a song that tells a specific story or captures a certain mood spot on that I knew it would be perfect for a certain book that I have yet to read. This is my favorite kind of book+song combination. It’s doesn’t happened often but when it does, it’s magic!

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That’s how I do it for my finished books. Not too exciting I’m afraid.

What about you? Any rituals for when you finished a book? Are you a weirdo like me who wraps their book covers in plastic?

Share your finished books habits below and have a great Saturday!