How Fussy Are You When It Comes to Library Books?

In the last year or two I have gone back to my local library and read more of the books there.  I've joined a couple of library reading challenges and I've committed to checking on the library before I buy type of policy for myself - this year.

I am not super demanding on the shape the book is in, but I like it to be reasonably clean and in good condition.  Recently I reserved one - from another library - because I had been recommended the author and I thought I'd try her out.  I took the book home, examined it, thought yes okay, then no.  It was a large paperback and just not clean enough for me.

Today same story, I wanted to read the next In Death book before the end of the month as I wanted to move on to a TBR March pile challenge.  So I decided I'd read Portrait in Death from the library and duly put a reserve on it - again from another library.  I took it to the car and just felt - yuck.  I decided to take it home, and not be a wuss.  Then I opened it, viewed it, and thought no, can't do it, I'll just have to buy the ebook edition.  I like my reading to be a pleasant experience.  If I was a librarian I'd be moving it out.

Do you ever come across a book at the library you think to yourself - No!

To Challenge or not to Challenge - that is the Question!

This year I have signed up for about 22 reading related challenges all told.  ( A couple only run for a few months). As well signing up for 22, two of those I am hosting.

Some of us appear to be quite the challenge addict - and yes there is a challenge to cover that too! This year I've stepped a little outside the box and my comfort zone and even signed  in for a Discussion Challenge (reading related).

I enjoy a reading challenge for a number of reasons:

• fun and simple pleasure
• the satisfaction of ticking a book off the list
• helps me step outside the boundaries of my normal reading
• it extends my knowledge of books and blogs as I read others' reviews
• the satisfaction of completing the reading challenge by the end of the allotted time
• this year I am enjoying seeing how many challenges I can hit with one book!
• I quite enjoy entering a giveaway related to the challenge 

Why do you sign up (or not sign up) to reading challenges?

Reading challenges aren't for everybody and that's okay.  Why wouldn't you be involved?

Perhaps:

• it feels like a pressure
• too difficult to track and some reading challenges call for reviews
• just not interested

Last year I found one blog had completely been deleted when I went to link at the end.  Never mind I had completed the challenge.

One reading challenge host blogger got completely taken over by life and never updated links etc. She had a huge number of people who had signed up, and very few of the promises were carried out. I completed the challenge, but found other challenges to do in that area for this year. 

Organisation and Tracking challenges

Every challenge has variations about linking/not linking.  Some link at the end of the month, some never link, some link at the very end.... and so on.  When you are doing a number of challenges it can be quite difficult to remember what about which!

This year, along with my sidebars that help me visually track, I have linked all my challenges on one page so that I can quickly find them and I have written a note to myself in places about each challenge, although I am still a little muddled!!

What works for you organisation wise?

Hosting a Challenge

Last year I hosted a reading challenge and I learned one or two things.  I had link ups every month, but didn't leave the link posts where participants could easily find them, so that they could check if they had linked up a book or not.  I will remedy that this year.

With the final link up I closed it off at the end of December, but I see many challenges leave that open until mid January or so.  I am not sure about that, as I have forgotten all about last years' challenges, now I am thinking about this years.   

How long should the final link up be for?  End of December or Mid January? Or?

What are your thoughts on reading challenges?