2022 is going to be the year of experiments! I’m still a fairly new reader, and I want to venture myself more and discover what I like, what I don’t like, and how I like it. Today, I’m taking you back to December, when I decided to read the last books I bought.

Something I do, quite often, is to buy new books and not read them right away. That’s what I’ve always been doing, so why not change it up? Would it affect my enjoyment of the books? Would it give me eagerness to read instead of bumping into a reading slump wall? I had no idea how and if it would affect me in any way. So I decided to test it out.

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14th December

Today, Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson arrived, and I still have four more on the way. The five books I’m focusing on for this experiment were all bought during the Black Friday sales week. I was a big spender this Black Friday and bought a total of 14 books. It’s taking them a long time to arrive due to everything happening at the moment, and these are the last ones to do so. And since I’m not planning to spend any money on books in December and January, this seems like a good time to experiment.

I’m currently reading Edokko by Loren Greene, and once I finish it, I’ll pick up Snow Crash. I would prefer to read the books days after purchasing them, so the excitement is fresh in my mind, although I’m not that lucky. And I’m starting off with Snow Crash because it’s the only one that has arrived. When the rest come in the mail, I’ll be able to pick something that I’m craving at the moment. To be honest, I have no idea what mood I’m in.

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17th December

Yesterday, the last books arrived. It took them a while, but they are all here. I also just finished Edokko, which means I can begin this experiment today! This is not a drill. This is happening!

The full list of books I can choose from are:

• Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, a sci-fi with virtual reality/game;
• Nemesis by Branden Reichs, a YA dystopian;
• Lullaby by Leïla Slimani, a murder mystery thriller;
• The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley, a New Year trip gone wrong with murder and blood in an And Then There Were None-esque manner;
• In a Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware, a mystery thriller that I have no idea what is about.

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22nd December

Lullaby done! I actually quite enjoyed it, and since it was a slowly developing story, for once, I’m grateful that I started this experiment with it. From the list, it was on my radar for the longest. I’m not sure what drew me into it, but it was a good choice. I think Lullaby is a book hard to find the right mood to read it. If I wasn’t reading it in this context, I think it would be one of those that would sit on my shelf for a couple of years before I even thought about picking it up.

But now, I’m on to the next adventure. I’m starting to get into a mood, and I need something more fast-paced.

28th December

Do I think I made the right choice by reading The Hunting Party to finish off the year with a murder set on New Year’s Eve? I thought I did! But this is a medium to slow-paced mystery, and I wanted something fast. And I’m slowly getting out of the mood to read this list. Maybe I really can’t do TBRs…

I’m starting to enjoy the story, and it’s picking up pace at times, but if I was not doing this experiment, I would be reading something very different. Also, this was never the best stack to work with. They were the last ones to arrive at my door and the last ones I bought, although it was so many weeks ago that all the excitement for getting new books has died down a bit.

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2nd January

The second book is done! I had a great time with The Hunting Party. Once I got used to the slow development and character-focus writing style, I was having a great time.

I was starting to think that maybe this experiment was pointless, and maybe I should drop it because what am I really trying to discover here? Although, after finishing The Hunting Party, my strength is renewed. I’m determined to read the rest of the books and even more all this month!

But one thing is for sure, TBRs really don’t work for me. As much fun as I am having, I want to read something quicker, and none of the books on my horizon is like that. Since I can’t get anything more fast-paced, I’m moving on to something more sci-fi instead of murder-y.

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8th January

I’m not going to lie. These books are a challenge right now. Both Snow Crash and Nemesis are medium to slow-paced, and seeing an hour of reading to progress only a little is slightly discouraging. But that is a post for another time.

I want to read, but seeing little to no progress each day, is hard. Usually, I would start reading something else to clean my palate, although I want to focus only on the last books I bought so I don’t taint the experiment with other books.

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12th January

Nemesis is done! I was expecting a different book. Something more thrilling. Although it wasn’t bad. I don’t know yet where the story is going to go. A lot of questions were left unanswered, and since this was a slow book, I know I have to read the next one in the series while the story is fresh in my mind because otherwise, it will die on my shelves.

Funny enough, I want to keep reading the books I just bought. Those are the ones that I have a reason to read fresh in my memory, even if it’s not as fresh as I would like. Although that means that the ones I already own are being pushed back even more. So after reading Snow Crash and In a Dark Dark Wood, I’ll see what my mood tells me to do. If I keep reading the latest addictions to my shelves or older ones.

25th January

Still reading through Snow Crash. This book is not what I was expecting at all. And it’s taking me longer than I wanted to. I kind of just want to ditch the whole idea and read something else, although I know that if I stop with Snow Crash now, I won’t pick it up again. Probably would DNF it forever. And I am already 60% done, so it should get easier from now on, right?

Another thing that is building up is the time is taking me. I’m somewhat enjoying the book, but it’s taking so long that all I can see is the books I won’t read by the end of January. I don’t want to take this experiment into February. I want to end on the 31st, but I guess I’m out of luck.

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29th January

Well, here is something I’m learning with this experiment. Not every book I buy give me an immediate need to read it, and I should listen to that feeling. Reading a brand new book I am not that excited about doesn’t change my excitement. I really should have DNF-ed Snow Crash. It was not worth investing the time to just say that I finished it.

Sometimes I buy books that I’ve heard before and want to read someday, but aren’t my priority at the moment, like Snow Crash. And those books are the ones that tend to get left behind on my shelves. It can take me a while to eventually get to them, like The Astonishing Colour of After by Emily X.R. Pan, but then, I’m reading it in a moment that I actually want to read it. Then again, if I enjoy the book or not has nothing to do with the moment I’m choosing. And picking another time to read Snow Crash would not change the outcome, but it would better my mood.

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4th February

And just like that, I found a new favourite book. In a Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware was the best way to end this experiment. I was really not expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. I wasn’t in the mood for a murder mystery and was expecting something to fall in the same lines as The Hunting Party.

Although, as I started reading the first chapters, I immediately clicked with the writing style. And after the disappointment with Snow Crash, I really needed something to bust me back up.

The results of the experiment

When I embarked on this idea, I didn’t have any objective in mind per se. I wasn’t expecting any sort of result. It was something new to try and evaluate my feelings throughout. Obviously, my opinion on the experiment would be clouded by my enjoyment of the books, and this stack was the worst I could pick. The testing subjects – aka the books – were only from two genres, sci-fi and mystery. And all from slow to medium pace, except In a Dark Dark Wood. So straight from the start, I was at a disadvantage. As someone who prefers fast-paced stories, I put myself in a slow and long TBR.

You can see how my enjoyment of the experiment was slowly going down as I progressed. I am a big mood reader, so I can’t stick to TBRs, and this experiment came to prove that even more. The fact I have a shiny new book in my hands isn’t reason enough to make me want to read it. I need to focus on the books that I actually want to read at the moment. If Lullaby is one that I am the most curious about, then just jump right into it without caring about any other book I have on the shelves

At the end of the day, this is a matter of guilt. I felt guilty for grabbing a brand new book when I have over 80 books I can choose from. I’m prioritising something new over appreciating something I already own. Although, I read for pleasure, not because it’s my job or “I have to”. Then, why waste time feeling bad about something I’m doing to get a sense of pleasure out of it? I’m already going to have my plate full of books that “weren’t exactly what I was expecting”, so why add to that even more negative emotions?

From here on out, I’m not going to read every book I buy in the next month or so. Instead, I’m going to read the ones that I want to read without caring about how long or how little they are on my shelves.