Your bio says you have trouble not finishing books, but you don’t like stories where you hate all the characters or where a character has a stupid name. Is there anything that does make you put down a book unfinished? Do you look for a redeeming factor if it’s a book you’re not 100% enjoying?
Ooh this is a good question. Like you said, I have a hard time not finishing books. It really has to be an accumulation of sins for me to not finish a book. Even if I hate all of the characters, I can power through if the plot is interesting. If I’m bored AND I hate everyone? That’s a no go for me. Or I hate the characters and the voice or tone or something with the narrator bothers me, there’s potential I won’t finish. There was one book I listened to this year that I didn’t finish. I hated all of the characters, the story was just not pulling me in, AND the narrator’s voices annoyed me. I thought to myself, “I’ll just fast forward to the end to see how it all goes down.” But I was so uninterested in the story that I FORGOT to skip to the end before the audiobook went back to the library! That’s pretty bad.
Which do you find easier to write, a five-star or a one-star review? (I must admit I enjoy reading your one stars: “I wished everyone blew up at the end.”)
I definitely love writing the one star reviews. I’m actually not sure that “love” is the right word though. They’re usually powered by hate / rage / annoyance. Sometimes I find myself taking notes on my phone to remember how much I hated a specific scene or person. I’ve actually hate written an entire review on my phone in the notes section because I had to get it all out and I couldn’t wait until I was by my computer! I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed writing the reviews for the Thursday Murder Club. I just loved those books so very much and wanted everyone to read them. Those are definitely fewer and farther between than the hate reads though!
How many times have you participated in Cannonball Read? Has it changed the way you read?
I started my first Cannonball Read with number 6. I think I started with a quarter Cannonball, then graduated to a half Cannonball for CBR 7 because I was gaining faith in myself! I just looked back at the website though and I legitimately posted like 12 reviews on December 31st. The reading is a breeze. There are so many interesting books out there I want to read. I think sometimes the writing part is hard for me, because I write a lot for my job. I finished my first full Cannonball with number 8, and then made it up to 57 books for CBR 9, played CBR bingo in 10, and made it up to 62 books. I still hit a full Cannonball for CBR 11 with 54 reviews, then dropped off the face of the earth for CBR 12? A pitiful effort was made (4 books) for CBR 13, but then I finished CBR 14 strong with 61 books (final posts on 12/30, not 12/31!). Then I started CBR 15 with a vengeance to stay on top of reviews. My last post for CBR 15 was mid-July, but most of July was spent getting ready to and moving into my new house! Sorry, that was a lot of words and numbers. Basically I’ve been here for a while and been more successful some years than others! Participating has ABSOLUTELY changed the way I read, because I’m always at least starting my review in my head while I’m reading. And it’s made me even crazier as a “must finish book” person, because I want to hit my Cannonball!
Tell us about your adorable reading companions! Bunnies?? And your adorable profile picture!
My reading companions are my cats Osiris and Horus, and my bunny Bun Bun. Here they are just going with the flow while I pack:
I’ve fully embraced being a crazy cat lady. I’ve learned quickly that I need to leave a few shelves empty in a few rooms because cats will cat wherever they want. I don’t have any pics of my kitties in bookshelves yet, because they’re too fast. I’m sure I’ll get some into my upcoming reviews thought!
My previous reading companions were my dogs Oscar and Ernie. They made it into a lot of reviews because they were always around while I was reading. They’ve been gone for a few years now, but they’re always in my heart! Some of my favorite pictures of them:
You’re assigned to bring snacks to the next meeting of the Thursday Murder Club. What do you bring?
This is so hard! I don’t think I’d bring a baked good, because Joyce’s would be better than anything I could make. Maybe a nice cheesy dip? You could totally chow down on some queso or crack dip while looking at crime scene photos and solving murders!
Now that you’ve learned all about kfishgirl, find out which books require her to warn that you should “Be prepared to feel things though!“ Or meet other Cannonballers we’ve interviewed.