My (Everlasting) Quest to Catch Up on Review Books. Let’s Discuss.

Posted December 18, 2018 by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction in Let's Discuss / 44 Comments

I know I’m not alone when I say I’m behind on books I have for review. Sometimes it’s because my eyes were bigger than my … eyes? (Yeah, that metaphor doesn’t work for books the way it works for food.) Or sometimes it’s because a book that I really wanted to read somehow lost its luster along the way and I wasn’t excited about it anymore. For whatever reason, not every book I have for review has gotten read. But recently I’ve been making a concerted effort to read some of those older review titles that have been waiting for me.

Some strategies I’ve used lately to catch up on those review books:

  • Sign up for blog tours.

Nowadays, when I sign up for a blog tour, it’s almost always for a book I already have for review. So, why bother signing up for a tour, you ask? Because then I have a deadline. I mean, you could argue that the release date is a deadline anyway, but no one’s checking my blog on release day to make sure I posted that review. And no matter how much I tell myself that I need to get the book read before release, sometimes … I don’t. But I always have a review up for my tour date. Plus, I get to offer up a giveaway for my readers, so it’s really a win all around!

  • Listen to audiobooks.

Here’s a weird thing: In my mind, audiobooks are like “bonus” books. They aren’t required reading, and I don’t push myself to get them done faster. Anything I read via audio feels to me like just extra use of time that would otherwise be ignored (like while I’m in the car or while I’m sorting laundry or doing dishes). I get lots of “extra” reading done via audiobooks, but lately I’ve also been finding audiobooks at my library that I have for review that I never got to. I listen to them and it feels like I somehow snuck an extra review book in! Plus, this strategy is great for books that I was originally excited about reading but then sort of lost interest in for one reason or another—especially if it’s because some so-so reviews came in and people said the book was slow. I’ve discovered that I have a way higher tolerance for books with pacing issues when I listen. Probably because I listen in snippets anyway, so the pacing isn’t as critical. Plus, listening to a great narrator read to you is just generally entertaining.

  • Request WAY less.

Obviously, I can’t ever catch up if I keep requesting at a ridiculous rate. Lately, I’ve been a whole lot better about this, though. Which brings me to my next point…

  • Review one book for every one I’ve received.

Some of you have seen that I do this because I have it as a goal in my monthly wrap-up posts. I’ve made it a point this year of making sure that I’m reading at least one review book for every book I receive for review (even if it’s unsolicited). This way, I don’t get even further behind. As of November, I was ahead of the goal on this, so it’s been working well.

  • Clear out those really old books. 

Okay, so there are some books that I’ve had for years that I’ve never reviewed. Some of them are from events like BEA, some are random unsolicited books that were sent to me, and some are NetGalley books I accepted early in my blogging years but never got to. I had good intentions when I took these books, but at some point, I just have to cut my losses and realize that I’m not going to manage to read them all. I finally took some of the physical books off my shelf and donated them (much guilt was involved). For the NetGalley ones, I’m doing my best to read one now and then, even if I’m fairly certain I’m not going to like it, but I’m giving myself permission to skim read if one really isn’t working for me. If I can’t give it at least three stars, I put a basic review in Goodreads and move on. This gleaning of books has been a semi-painful process, but it’s necessary.

 

Are you good about keeping up with your review books? What strategies do you use to stay on top of them? I want to know!

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44 responses to “My (Everlasting) Quest to Catch Up on Review Books. Let’s Discuss.

  1. I have been signing up for tours of books I have. Never thought of it as a way to motivate me to review the book, but it definitely does. My subconscious was telling me something there, huh? I have also started listening to audiobooks for past due reviews (doing it right now, as a matter of fact). I do, as a rule, review every book I read, but sometimes I don’t review as fast as I read.

  2. I definitely try and accept a lot less books, though I don’t get asked to review a ton…so really it’s down to me not requesting things on Netgalley (and again, I don’t get accepted for a ton; I find it’s hard for me to get YA books for example) so overall, I feel like I’m doing well. I definitely want to do even better in 2019 though so I can keep reading all those books I own, though I’ve certainly had to cull some of them that I just know I probably won’t ever get to.

    -Lauren

  3. I definitely have a problem with books losing their luster. If I don’t read a book within a few weeks of getting it, there’s a good chance that it will sit on my shelf for a year before I force myself to read it. Smaller hauls are going to be my plan next year.

  4. Ali

    I’m definitely behind on review books. It’s really hard to keep up at times. Back when I started blogging/reviewing Netgalley didn’t keep up with percents or anything like that so I requested a lot of books. Books that I never should have requested. I really need to do what you’re doing and skim some of them to get them reviewed. This year I have a goal to at least keep up with my new arc’s for 2019! I’m hoping I can at least do that this year. It’s really hard when I’m sent dozens that I don’t request for each month. We shall see. Great post and I love your ideas on how to get caught up!

  5. I am working hard to get caught up with all of my old arcs. I seem to think that I can read more than I actually am able to. I have been putting a lot of thought into my plan to get caught up in the next year. I want to limit the new review books that I take on to one per week or 52 for the year. I already have a spreadsheet set up to help me keep track of this. The other thing that I just started at the beginning of this month is to rotate a new review book, then an old review book, then whatever I feel like. When it is time to choose a new book to start, I must pick from whatever category is next on the list. I hope that by the end of the year, I should get a lot of these books cleaned up. Blog tours do help me get done by the deadline and I have been using audiobooks to catch up on books as well.

  6. I am hopeless when it comes to being caught up on reviews. Every once in a while I get on a reading jag and then all of a sudden I have 20 books that I’ve read … and not one review. I’ll have to come at it from some other angle.

    Have you ever noticed if you’ve lost something and you look for it, and think about it, and look for it, and worry about it. The more you look (and worry), I think we might not notice as much as per usual. Then I go do something else for a while and all of a sudden, voila, the ‘thing’ is back. Although, I guess my “something else” shouldn’t be reading a book….

    LuAnn Braley recently posted: My Book Challenge by Erin 10.0 Sign-up Post
    • I sometimes do that too where I have a bunch of books I’ve read but haven’t reviewed. We have good intentions, but sometimes it just feels impossible to stay on top of everything! And I think that if you’re going to do “something else” reading a book is a great choice. 🙂

  7. Thanks for sharing your tips on how to catch up on review books. I just did a clean up of two books that I had from Netgalley from a couple of years ago that I am not interested in reading anymore.

    I never thought of it before but I can see how joining a blog tour can encourage me to post reviews on time. I think I may adapt this in the future.

    The one that I try apply on myself now is to request books one at a time. It’s a first in, first out kind of thing. Once I got approved for a book I won’t request another until I posted a review for the first one. But sometimes I don’t have enough self-restraint to follow self-imposed rules like right now, I have two books in queue instead of just one.

    Jennilyn recently posted: Mini-Reviews: Some Mystery Books
  8. I can see how signing up for the blog tour would – because then you have a deadline. But then again, then you have a deadline. LOL Audiobooks are awesome. I almost always have one in the works. I’ve virtually stopped requesting arcs at all. I have a very small handful of favorite authors that I’ll request from but otherwise… nothing. I miss reading my own books on my own schedule and it feels good to get back to that. 🙂

    Tanya @ Girl Plus Books recently posted: WWW Wednesday #35 | December 19, 2018
  9. It’s funny, because I have been signing up for blogs tours so I actually write the reviews! Like- I am boss at reading them on time- but not so much the actual reviewing and posting! I only do it if I liked the book of course, but this way I KNOW I have to schedule the review, like you said. It’s really handy! I had been doing a really good job of requesting less. Until I didn’t. Idk what happened but somehow I ended up with 10 books that all come out on February 5th? It’s… a mess.

    And if I am being completely honest, I do not even count conference books or unsolicited books as “for-review” because otherwise I’d die. Like unless it is a MUST-read, sorry books!

  10. Jen

    It sounds like you have some solid strategies! ♥ I’m happy when I’m organized lol, so I usually have my review finished before I even start that next book. I’ll write it out really quick and then I will tweak or state my thoughts more clearly when I’m reading that next book. I let myself skip a few reviews a year, books I don’t have much positive or negative to say, and usually they are Kindle Unlimited books but I’ll still give them a rating on Goodreads.

  11. I can identify with your dilemma. I have some NetGalley books from 2015 that I still haven’t read…
    In the new year I intend to request much less (unless it is a favorite author of mine)
    My review commitments as of today stand at 188.

  12. I love the tips that you shared for culling the review pile. I can relate to requesting less books for review. As I cut back on the number of review requests that I accept, I’ve also been sent less request, which is helpful since (1) I don’t have the temptation to over-request and (2) the ones that I do accept are for books that I’m more invested in.

    A tip that I can especially use is the audiobook one since I commute over two hours round trip every weekday for work.

    I also like the idea of reading an old Netgalley ARC now and then. I only just realized how many old Netgalley books I never got to in my early days, and it’s been bothering me, though I know I should cut my losses. I’m going to set the goal to open one each month because it’ll make me happy to see that number of un-reviewed books go down 🙂

    Crystal @ Lost in Storyland recently posted: Vampirina in the Snow by Anne Marie Pace
  13. I try to stay focused on reading for a review and most times it works out. I don’t like getting too involved in reading just to review it for a tour. I like the option of reading what I want to read and not having that deadline. But, it’s nice getting a newer book to read once and a while.

    Mary

  14. I have so many books from past conferences like BEA, and now from last summer’s ALA.I’m also trying to sign up for tours that I do reviews on for books I already have if at all possible. Other than romance books, I sign up for authors that I love on those. But for YA, I have so many ARCs that getting scheduled on a tour makes me kind of accountable to read them. Great post! I’m like 8 books behind for the year, and I’d really like to get them all done before 2019.

    Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature) recently posted: L-L-L-Little Reviews: 3 YA Books and a Graphic Novel
  15. I’ve gotten to the point where I only sign up for blog tours where I already have the ARC as well. Having that added deadline really helps me too. You’ve got some great strategies here. I’m actually caught up with my review books at the moment but I know I’ll fall behind again soon so I’ll be keeping these in mind. Great post!

  16. Umm… I am terrible with keeping up with review copies :'( I have lost interest in reviewing ebooks which is really sad, because I have so many! I am much better at keeping up with my physical review copies because I usually have a deadline and I feel pressured to send back an email with a link because it actually goes to the publisher and receives a reply. I recommend ebook review copies a lot LOT less. Like, maybe once every three months, and then I actually review those ones. But I have a lot of old copies I need to clear out and at some point I am going to have to tackle them. I know that and hopefully I can apply some of these tips!

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