I've done the read it or unhaul it challenge before, but right now I have two piles of books I need to go through. I'm motivating myself to finish my book cleaning project. I intend to finish it this year. If I'm going to do that, I have to rid myself of the second chance pile before Christmas. Today's challenge is only the second chance pile.
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| Courtesy of Dreamstime |
1. I pick up a book at random from the pile.
2. I read at least 5 chapters.
3. I decide if I keep going or DNF (do not finish) it.
4. I review it.
The process above is what'll happen to these books. I'm trying to do at least three per blog. If I DNF two in a row, I pick five. If I'm not enjoying myself and I'm not compelled to keep reading I will put it down. Onward!
Sundays In Fredericksburg by Key, Sowell, Stevens, and Vawter
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| Courtesy of Ebay.com |
If you like cute, Christian romance you'll like this book (with four romances included). If you want faith-based romance in your library you can check it out for yourself. The writing is good, the faith message is sincere, and anyone could read it (since I don't anticipate steamy scenes in this). I just don't have the motivation to keep going through it.
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| Courtesy of Barnesandnoble.com |
I started with the prologue and it had my attention right away. This one had a possibility of being finished and fully read (especially after it's only 200-some pages) because it was not shallow like the other faith books I'd picked up. Chapters later I was still tuned in and saw no reason to stop. And I didn't stop. Nothing was shallow, nothing hit me as off. This was a solid four-star book.
The best thing about this book was that all levels of faith could read it. A new Christian could read it and an established one (me) could thoroughly enjoy it. It hit on deeper content and didn't hide from it. It was not a surface-level faith book. I was glad I didn't impulsively donate the second chance pile before I reached this one.
Why Her? by Nicki Koziarz
I thought I'd DNF this book right off the bat, but no, it started speaking to me. I don't necessarily find myself playing the comparison game consciously. Despite that, when I started reading this book I became aware that I might be and not realize it. The concept of this book is beating the comparison game through your faith in Christ, and being okay with yourself wherever you are standing. Then I got to chapters three and four (as I counted the prologue as a chapter for the five-chapter-rule) and my interest waned. It went from 3.5 to 3.75 stars to a 3-star book. Which means I DNFed it because it was less than compelling by chapter four.
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This book was not horrible, nor was it the greatest. It was just okay. Just okay does not stay on my bookshelf and won't be remaining in my home. I have to be decisive on this challenge because this is my donate or keep it decision. I stopped reading at chapter four and placed it on the donate pile. She also focused on comparisons with other women, while I do not struggle with comparisons with other women - I compare myself to other authors who are doing better than me, if I'm honest, and gender doesn't actually factor into it. That's where she started losing me. Everything else was nice, but it didn't have to be a she I was comparing to.
An Island At War by Deborah Carr
I read the prologue and the book was already quite heavy. I tend not to read this heavy of content. The last time I did it was worth it, but it took a lot of energy and dedication to finish. I started with the prologue and read up to chapter four. I was still not sure I wanted to continue. In that spirit, I pass on this one. I realize war is dark. This was on the second chance pile for a reason. In complete honesty, it isn't a bad book, but I need to make hard decisions while going through my second chance pile.
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| Courtesy of Audible.com |
The plot of this one revolves around a family on the Channel Islands, where the military left the Channel Islanders to their own devices without support. They were swiftly occupied and those that were there were on their own. If you couldn't get off the island you were stuck there. It is set in the 1940s through about 1944 (I looked ahead). Our main character has lost her father to bombing and gunfire in the prologue and has just sent her sister on the ferry to London despite her sister's cries and begging. She has her and her grandmother, both working on a farm together. If I wanted to struggle through this one and shove through the darkness and emotion attached I would, but I was still on the fence. That's a neon sign for "donate me to someone who likes this genre more". Well written, but just a little too dark for my taste.
At Home In Mitford
Okay, so this one I gave up on because I couldn't play the audio book CD on my disc-drive-less laptop. I looked it up on YouTube and couldn't find much, either. To be fair, I did judge it for being a Hallmark and I don't actually know enough to feel I'm missing out on anything. My coworker liked it, but that's all I know. I can't play it on my laptop to even test it. Long story short, I want to get on with the clean up.
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| Courtesy of Amazon.com |
Is it bad that I'm not giving it much of a chance? If I can't even play it, no. I can't even test it. It's worth nothing to me. I can donate it and give it to someone who can play it. I honestly believe that one might have left on its own, anyway, thus I don't feel guilty for plopping it into the donate pile untested.
conclusions
I'm doing this to motivate myself. I need to get through the large stack of books and decide whether to donate or keep them. I'll do this again because it's worked so well. Some of you might be wondering why I don't just dump the whole lot of it into a donation bin and be done with it. I've donated 4 out of 5 books in this blog alone. The reason is simply this; I found diamonds among the rough in this pile and don't want to lose out on good books out of laziness. Most of the pile is being DNFed rapidly, yes, but I'm giving them five chapters to prove they are worth keeping. Soul Tattoo is just one example of a diamond in the dirt.
Why five chapters? Easy, by then you should be into it. If you are not into the book you can stop wasting your time on it after those five chapters. If you are into it you'll go way past five and read the whole thing. This method ensures I waste no reading time. I can stop before that if it is worse than mediocre. Try this method at home to see if your shelf is truly representing you. It works.
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Jack Thomas is running from a past case. He's hiding in Wrenville. Is his past case catching up with him?
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