I suppose this comes under ‘rambles’. I’ve written on this subject elsewhere before and Alice has covered it on this blog. Whilst it may not be that reading in itself is social – exceptions: reading to others, sharing an audiobook – it still kind of is.

Reading becomes social. It becomes social once we’ve finished the book. (And, to some extent when we discuss it as we read, but I’m going to stick to the ‘aftermath’ here as it lasts longer.)

Reading becomes a social activity as a result of it being solitary. Unless we wish to read in a bubble, unless we never tell a soul about our interest in books, it changes the minute we finish. The desire to understand an ambiguous ending leads us to seek the opinions of others and whether it’s in person or online, we’re moving beyond isolation. We like to discuss themes. Good books make us want to recommend them, bad books make us rant and tell others not to read them – which is still discussion. Even the questions ‘have you read much?’ or ‘what are you reading?’ asked by distant relatives who don’t actually care cause reading to be social.

If we take it to its core, reading is a dialogue, a book created by both author and the reader. It’s a passive discussion, an ‘I’ll do this part and then send it over to you’ working process. We can’t read without the author getting us off the ground and a book lies dormant without a reader’s imagination and thoughts to bring it to life.

I’ve changed my stance, replacing the opinion that reading doesn’t have to be solitary, can be social if wanted, with the opinion (fact?) that reading is a social activity full stop.

At what stage do you think reading starts being social?

Do awards affect your reading choices? This is a somewhat similar to the question of whether or not best-sellers affect your choices, but awards feel more compelling, somehow. There are limits to a longlist, to a shortlist, and it’s more dependant on opinion rather than both opinion and sales. The books have been curated, discussed, debated, and for all we try to get away from it, the thought that it’s a better signifier of quality is hard to shake off.

Awards affect my reading choices more than best-seller lists both due to the simple fact that there are fewer out there (thus easier to choose between) and because there is a lot more attention given to awards in general. There are more reviews to read, especially once the books are on the award radar, and the difference in coverage can and will have an affect on what you remember and keep in mind. It also seems to be the case that people find it easier to be honest, to speak out when they hate an award-winning book.

Best-seller lists are numerous and everywhere; award shortlists tend to be easier to find and the lesser quantity means you’ll remember them more. I’d also say the variety of books is broader due to genres being more involved.

And yet amongst all these opinions and general thoughts of excellence, the fact that awards are judged by a set small group of people is often all too apparent. Shortlisted books can be ones the public thought bad – what were the judges thinking? The book makes no sense – are the judges in on something no one else knows about, are they just too far removed from everyone else? Is it truly an objective decision? This is where reviews are important, particularly reviews by those you trust and share reading tastes with.

I’m currently (still, now) working my way through the Orange Prize shortlist for 2011. I’ve also one more book from the Young Writer Of The Year shortlist and some Man Bookers I hope to get to. These last few months mark a change for me – other than that Orange shortlist, when I’ve read shortlisted books it’s been accidental.

Awards definitely affect my thoughts and choices at the moment. I’m not sure how long that’ll last, if it’ll be a one time thing or a progression point, but I do like knowing I’m reading a book that many others have. I’ve found what works for me is a balance of popular books (in part so I understand what’s going on!), random choices, and books I’ve found by myself.

Do book awards affect your reading choices?

I was ready, when I set out this post, for a potential upset when I realised how much I hadn’t achieved. It turns out I had one goal (pardon my use of the same photograph) and I accomplished it – I read as much as I comfortably could. Granted, it was a simple goal and I accidently took advantage of it – that 56 books is my second lowest number since blogging – but looking back at that post makes me feel better. It is nicer to not see a list of goals you didn’t complete.

That said, I want a bit more to work towards this year. Just a bit. (I’m aware the fact I forgot to check my goals last year means I may forget these…)

As I mentioned in my year round-up, my male to female ratio was awful; I want to improve it. I’m not going to aim for 50/50 because that’ll restrict my ability to choose based on the book itself, but I’d like a bit more balance. My reading was pretty skewed towards American and English literature; I want to ‘remind’ myself of my youthful reading this year, put into practise the idea I had a while ago to go back to Asian literature. This may include a couple of re-reads and I might just get to that biography of Ci Xi I’ve had for a while now. I want to read another Dickens, another Némirovsky, the Isherwood Alice recommends, some Murakami.

I’ve some blogging goals too, namely to get back into commenting and back into responding to your comments on my posts, but I’d also like to get back into using Twitter on a day-to-day basis.

What are your goals for the year?

A timely post today, inspired by this article about the question ‘Have you read the book yet?’ I wanted to write my own take on how to deal with the issue, if it can be called an issue.

There are two parts of the tale and they both come under the umbrella question, what do you do? – What do you do when someone asks you if you’ve read the book they gave you and you haven’t, and what do you do when you’re the gift giver? It’s easy enough when you’ve read the book, at least to some extent – it’s difficult when you’ve read the book and didn’t like it – but pretty uncomfortable when you haven’t. I’d put bets on the likelihood that the book you haven’t read is the one you weren’t expecting, specifically a book you’d never heard of that may not have tickled your fancy. That surprised ‘oh’ sound that fades to silence pretty quickly.

I’d place another bet, too – you’ve given books yourself and asked about them. Perhaps you don’t do it any more because you’ve learned from personal experience that it’s awkward, but you’ve done it at some point. And perhaps you no longer ask but you take surreptitious looks towards the person’s bookshelf when they’re not looking, not that that would give you any answers. I know I have. I know I do.

I no longer ask people if they’ve read the book I gave them yet. I figure they’ll tell me if and when they do and that the lack of those words is answer enough. It may make things more comfortable than if I asked, though it’s never going to be completely comfortable. That book is an elephant in the room, you can stay silent all you want but both of you will be thinking about it. But it’s easier to be quiet. It’s easier to not make someone try and find the words to explain why they haven’t, especially when you both know it may not have been a good fit. Only give a friend a book you loved if you genuinely think they’ll love it too.

The last person I gave a chapter book to was heavily pregnant at the time. (Chapter book as opposed to fun, short, books because the actual last book I gave her was the timely Go The F*** To Sleep – hopefully appropriate, too… she’s not told me if she’s read it yet.) Being heavily pregnant is excuse enough but regardless I’d have been silly to think she’d get to it soon even though I knew she might well be reading books up to the last minute. I gave her a book that I loved that I realised, through discussion of favourite genres, she would likely enjoy and she’ll get to it when she gets to it. Similarly she’s not asked me about the book she gave me that I’d mentioned I was interested in, and knows I’m a blogger and editor. We continue to converse on books and from my point of view at least there isn’t an elephant in the room (there’s a baby instead, a lovely one, I might add.)

Unless it’s a book that’s on the person’s wishlist it’s probably best not to ask. I got someone a book I reckoned they’d like because it seemed in keeping with their interests. I hadn’t and haven’t read it but it was pretty popular upon release, enough information for me to make a fair call. I’m sure they’ll tell me if they do read it but considering I wasn’t one hundred percent sure anyway, I am staying well clear of that question. At this point I’m almost hoping they never read it.

Taking an unintentional tip from a relative, reference books and coffee table books may be the way to go. More pictures, less writing, no book of the sort that needs lots of attention or reading cover to cover. I’m a recent recipient of Abandoned Places which features awesome photographs of that derelict, cliff-edge, hotel and Tatooine from the Star Wars films. Generalised reference books work well.

I’m glad the person who gave me book #40 when I’d only read up to book #7 hasn’t asked me if I’ve read the book yet. And I’m thankful that the person who gave me the next book in the series I was reading gave it to me just before I started reading the copy I already had because it was a superb gift regardless of the duality and I wanted to show them I appreciated it. It’s one of the most thoughtful, effort-full, gifts I’ve ever received.

I find blogging provides its own easy answer – ‘no, I haven’t read it; I have to get through my review copies first.’ To which you add the requisite hand gesture to show how tall your pile is and increase the height by half again if it’s not large enough to be an acceptable excuse. That last joke aside, it’s not a lie – book blogging pretty much ensures you have an extensive list of books to read and may well involve an inability to change the order round. Unless you say it in a bad tone of voice, blogging is an acceptable answer to those who know about your hobby, and whilst it may surprise others it might just result in an interesting conversation. I expect authors saying they’ve still research books to get through works in a similar fashion.

What do you do about the question? And have you any stories to share?

My TBR from last year. I’ve read eight of them.

As I mentioned on Alice’s post, this is a meme I can get behind. I don’t often do them but this one is right up my street. Here are my answers to questions about that fearful literary concept – the to be read pile.

How do you keep track of your TBR pile?
When I say to-be-read pile it depends on the context as to what I’m talking about. I have my all-in TBR which is every book I own that I’ve not read, then I have a basic middling pile which is a general idea of what I might like to read soon, and then there’s my immediate pile which I don’t often end up seeing the bottom of because I’ll make some progress before opting for a different to-be-read. My book database – physical books only – has a column I mark when I’ve read a book, otherwise I keep track in piles. I recently ran out of shelf space so I’ve made a couple of piles of my newest books: those I’ve read, those I haven’t read but don’t plan to read soon, those I want to read soon.

Is your TBR mostly print or e-book?
I tend to think in terms of print only because there are lots of free ebooks out there.

How do you determine which books from your TBR to read next?
A combination of which ones I want to read next and which ARCs I need to get to. If I haven’t specified a date for a review copy – if it’s unsolicited – they’ll often be lower priority.

A book that has been on my TBR the longest?
Immediate pile: The Girl On The Train, about 6 months. All-in: I honestly hate to think, probably about five years.

A book you recently added to your TBR?
Boy, Snow, Bird. It will be my next read after I finish the Young Writer Of The Year shortlist and it’s staying on top even if I suddenly lose all my reading time until after Christmas.

A book on your TBR strictly because of its beautiful cover?
None currently, but I had Amy Snow, since reviewed, on my pile for months because the cover echoed a dream I’d had.

A book on your TBR that you never plan on reading?
Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett. This is purely because it’s #40 and I’m on #7 and have been for the last two years I’ve had it. From what I’ve heard I need to give it a few more specific books if I’m to appreciate it.

An unpublished book on your TBR that you’re excited for?
That’s a whole other list I like to forget about…

A book on your TBR that everyone recommends to you?
All of them, which was sort of planned. I figure if it’s full of recommendations I might actually get them read.

A book on your TBR that everyone has read but you?
Probably Cloud Atlas. It’s daunting!

A book on your TBR that you’re dying to read?
The Oyeyemi. I tend to be dying to read the newest additions to the pile, and that feeling lessens as more books are added. This book, however, is one I reckon will remain in my mind until I get to it – there are a few of those – and I have to be wary of that because it can be accompanied by high expectations.

How many books are on your TBR shelf?
3 on the will-definitely-get-to, want-to-read-around-Christmas, pile. 14 on the main pile.

I’m not going to tag anyone specifically; go ahead and copy the questions if you like the idea and let me know if you do so I can read your answers.

How many books are on your current TBR?