Daisy Discussion: Audible!

So today I'm talking about Audible. It may not be like my usual Daisy Discussions, but it's still a discussion.

I was contacted by the lovely people over at Audible, asking if I wanted to try out Audible as part of the outreach program and then write about it on my little old blog here. I've been getting so many recommendations to try out audiobooks and I'd heard good things about this particular site to get them, so I was pretty excited to give this a go!

I've been exploring the site and searching for random books from my TBR list and I have to say that I was pretty happy with the selection they offered! There were hardly any books that I couldn't find and I'm not even sure if the books I couldn't find even had an audiobook.
The site is very user friendly and easy to navigate and I like that you can make a wishlist. I got one free credit and it felt a bit like shopping in a candystore with just one dollar when I was a kid and couldn't decide what to spend my saved up allowance on!

In the end I chose Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay and guys, I'm loving it! It's so nice to be able to do mindless stuff around the house and not have it feel like a complete waste of time because I'm listening to a book while doing it!

I liked that Audible has an app for your phone, so I can walk around or go pretty much anywhere and still always have my book with me, because you know, I take my phone with me everywhere. The app is pretty handy with bookmarks and such, though one time I accidentally skipped to the next chapter and it was kinda hard to get back on track after that. But that is mostly due to my clumsiness I think.

I really think Audible.com is a great resource for audiobooks and I've actually extended my membership beyond the free trial because I like it so much! I'm hoping to get a bit more into listening to audiobooks this way and make my travelling and chores less dull. I can also see how this would be great during the 24-hour read-a-thon, because sometimes I have to go places and I hate not being able to read during those times!

So if you're interested in trying their services, the lovely people at Audible gave me a link to share with you so you get a free trial membership:

http://www.audible.com/t1/30DayGoldFT_at

It only works if you've never had a free trial before (I tried clicking it to get the link, but that didn't work ;) )

Have you tried Audible before? Have any recommendations for me as to what should be my next audiobook? Let me know!

Disclaimer: I received a free trial membership from Audible, but this in no way influenced the opinions expressed above

Daisy Discussion: Book Snobbery

So it's been a while since I last did a discussion post, because really, my brain has just been so relieved when I wasn't working, it didn't really have the energy to come up with something besides ....

But today I would like to talk with you guys about book snobbery. The event that triggered this is that recently I went to my local bookstore and saw Dan Brown's latest, Inferno, lying around being pretty for a price I just couldn't justify NOT bringing it home with me.
So I went up to the counter, the guy behind it took a look at it, sneered a bit, asked 'is it a gift?' and had this sort of pitying look on his face when I told him it wasn't and didn't even say anything after he'd handed over the bag with the book after I paid for it.

So this could be a coincidence, he could have just been having a bad day/hour/life, but it seemed like he was just dismissing me because I was purchasing a book that didn't live up to his standards!
I was a bit huffy at this and only good manners held me back from telling him something like "well, you know what, I've probably read more books in the past year than you will in a lifetime". Because I also realized that would make me as much a book snob as he appears to be.

I've always been a firm believer that anyone should just read what they want and not be looked down on because it might not be the next work of a literary genius, as determined by the masses. Some people like to read classics, some like chicklit or historical romance or fantasy or any number of the amazing span that is all of the genres you could be reading. And who is anyone else to judge what qualifies as what you 'should be reading'?

I feel that you 'should be reading' what you enjoy reading, because what other point (except for required reading) is there? I do agree that there are some books that I enjoy for the time being, but I know they will probably not still be read in 10 or 20 years, some books will stand the test of time, while others may not. There are books that will BE classics in the future, but I'm just not the kind of reader who only wants to read those books, because I would surely miss out on some gems that may not become classics, but I still do love with all my heart.

I don't think anyone should be looked down upon because of what they read. Because they READ. I'm still a big fan of the Book Depository bookmark that tells me I burn 50% more calories while reading than I would while watching TV, which only burns a couple more calories than sleeping. So yeah, I don't care what you exercise your brain with, I'm just glad you're reading (not that there's anything wrong with watching TV either).

So can we just start accepting that not everyone wants to read the same thing and not look down on each other for whatever it is that floats your boat reading-wise? Anyone else had an experience like mine? What do you think on this subject?

Daisy Discussion: Collector or Reader?

Guys, I'm just going to throw this out there: sometimes I wonder if I'm more of a book collector than a reader. I mean, I have this compulsion to just buy ALL THE BOOKS and then I hardly ever read them because most of the time I feel guilt over the review books I still need to read.

As of this moment I have 264 unread physical copies on my shelves. That's a scary number. At least 3 books are making their way to me as we speak and I've pre-ordered another 25.
I think I might have a book buying problem.

And while the fact that I buy this many books doesn't bother me in the slightest, I am bothered by all these pretty books staying unread and knowing that even if I just read my own books for a year and not buy any new ones, I'd STILL not have read them all.

I'm very much aware this falls firmly into the first world problems category.

And I know that with 143 books read this year so far I can definitely call myself a reader and not just a collector, but sometimes even I wonder when I'll find the time to read them all.

So I'm going to challenge myself to read more of my own books, I mean, I bought them, I shouldn't feel all this guilt over reading them! I've dedicated a shelf on Goodreads towards my failure when it comes to reading the next book in a series and I REALLY want the number of unread sequels to go down from the embarassing 24 it's at now.

How about you guys? Ever feel like you're just collecting books instead of actually reading the ones you have? Feel guilt over reading your own books instead of review books? How big is your TBR pile at the moment?

Discussion: Book Endings

So the book I just finished got me thinking about book endings and what sort of endings I like and dislike.

I'm a happily ever after kind of girl. I am, I'm not ashamed to admit this. It's probably not very literary of me, but it's just the way it is. I love it when a couple rides of into the sunset together and I love it when my hero and heroine have kids and/or get married and go on to live their lives blisfully in love with each other. I cheer when the bad guy get put into prison and the innocent gets his life back.

But I don't necessarily need to have all obstacles the characters face cleared away so they can be happy. I don't need the happily ever after, but I do love it when I finish a book that I'm either smiling or at least left with a sense of hope for the future. The ones where the main characters are still overcoming their difficulties, they have suffered heartbreaking losses and/or know that all will not be right, maybe never, but they still have something to believe in, some sort of goal or something to work towards. And the thing I most like: they are not defeated, there's still some fight left in them and a sense that they can make it better. They can survive these awful things that have happened.

Sometimes, however, I admit that if I know it'll end badly, I don't read the book or watch the movie. I refuse to watch Marly and Me because I've heard someone say what happens in it (and I know that I would cry and be heartbroken over it). I still haven't finished watching I Am Legend. I stoppend when that thing happened to the dog (I don't want to spoil anything, but it made all my hope vanish), it's been 3 years and even though one of the guys I went to college with tried to convince me Will Smith and those nasty creepers would be dancing around beneath a rainbow throwing flowers everywhere, I don't think I believe him.

The exception for this is historical fiction, cause though I know Anne Boleyn's head will get chopped off in the end, as well as another of Henry VIII's wives, I am endlessly fascinated by them and the stories different authors can spin around these historical figures.

So yes, I like my endings to be happy, but mostly I like the ending of a story to fit the rest of the book. I'm looking at Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini when I say this. And I imagine it will be the same if George R.R. Martin ever finishes his A Song of Ice and Fire saga. You can't have so much darkness and depression and death in a book or series and then just have everyone be ok in the end. I would be like ending the Shrek movies with Shrek and Fiona dying a horrible death.

Also, I don't mind not knowing everything that will go down in the lives of these characters after the last page, but I do very much dislike it when major plot points are left unresolved and I feel like I'm left hanging. Or getting swept under the rug cause it's more convenient than dealing with it. This tactic works while tidying up because your relatives are coming for a surprise visit, not with a novel.

So those are my thoughts, what about you? What do you like when it comes to book endings? Are you a happily ever after kind of person as well? Or can you handle the empty feeling of a hopeless situation better than I can? Is there a book that you thought had a perfect ending? Ones that disappointed you? Let me know!

Discussion: Books You Shy Away From

I'm gonna be completely honest with you guys and admit that there are certain types of books that I will probably never pick up. And it's not because I dislike the genre, but it usually has more to do with the topic these books discuss.
You see, in my line of work (for those who don't know it, I'm about to be a doctor) there's a lot of good things happening. I mean, babies get born, people are cured or we're able to help them in some way that makes their life better.
The other side is much less pleasant and a day at the hospital can consist of me telling a patient that he or she has cancer and there's nothing we can do about it. Or actually helping someone be as comfortable as possible in their last few hours/days.

I wouldn't trade what I do for anything in the world, but I have noticed that since starting my internships, I have started to avoid certain topics. When I'm at home, reading, I just want to relax and get lost in the story and not be confronted with how harsh reality can be sometimes. And maybe this will change in the future, but right now I need magic, romance and nothing that comes too close to that reality that I see in the hospital every day.

So while I know that there are some amazingly beautiful books out there dealing with cancer, death, suicide, war, drug abuse, eating disorders, physical/emotional/sexual abuse, I will probably not read them anytime soon. These are the topics I shy away from. For example, I know that everyone and their great aunt is raving about John Green's The Fault in Our Stars but after I read the summary I couldn't bring myself to jump on the bandwagon.
I used to love books dealing with these types of stuff and I used to read SO many of them. But right now, everything in me flinches away from it.

Also, I cannot bring myself to read anything that has to do with World War II. I am not even entirely sure why, but it might have to do with the fact that my grandmother lived through this war and it just hits a little too close to home. Because Germany is right next door (seriously, I live about 20 minutes from the border) and it all happened here as well.

I also know that it's crazy that I don't read contemporary or historical novels dealing with war, because hello, in those fantasy novels I love so much they're at war a LOT. I know this, but when it's swords their fighting with it doesn't seem so real. This is also why historical fiction dealing with war where they still fought on horseback with swords works.

So what about you? Are there topics you can't bring yourself to read about? Books you would recommend that would convince me I need to abandon this fear?

Discussion: Stress and Blogging

So I remember a time way back in July 2010 when I was a naive young blogger and I thought it wouldn't be that hard. That I wouldn't be stressed out by it sometimes. That I would *always* have time to read and write posts and all that. That it would always be easy.

Yeah, I learned some things since then.

I don't mean to sound negative or discouraging, blogging is something I love with my whole heart and I plan to continue on for a long time. But it's not always easy to actually do it.

Most of you guys are probably in the same situation I'm in: having a job, going to college, having a busy family life with or without kids. And there's always the thing where sometimes other people just seem to want some of your attention. Or pets do (my parents' dogs just sit on my computer when I'm staring at it too much for their tastes). The point is: life can get in the way.
For me, that's sort of happening right now. I started a new internship on Monday and it means working 1-2 hours a day more than my last one (which amounts to 5-10 hours a week). That's a lot. Based on previous experiences this will probably mean I'm out cold come tomorrow 9PM. This also leaves me so tired sometimes that my brain can't form coherent sentences (I apologize in advance if this happens somewhere along this post). So blogging gets shoved on the backburner a bit because of this.



And if I allow myself to think about this too much, I can really freak out about it. Because I want to do EVERYTHING. Being a friend, girlfriend, daughter, sister, doctor, reader, blogger, music-lover, food-lover, shopaholic. And I want to do it all the best I can. And I could do this, if only there were about 100 hours in the day...

So yes, enter the stress. For me, the stress comes from having A LOT of books I need to read and review and not getting to them in time. From writing up the posts in time. And, because I alsy want to be a social blogger, the reading and commenting on other blog posts.
This is also meant as an apology to everyone on whose blog I haven't been leaving comments lately: I'M SORRY! I love reading everything, my mind's just been going blank lately, but I promise I'll do better!

I used to solve stress by making lists. But making lists doesn't exactly help if you can't cross off stuff on it. Then it's become a list of doom. So now I'm list-free and I just try not to stare so much at the virtual pile of egalleys I need to read. Soon. It's the world renowned ostrich-method. Works like a charm (except for those moments when I still freak out).



But mostly I just take a deep breath and try not to let it get to me. Blogging and reading are things I love and sometimes I just need to work around all the other stuff going on in my life. While I"m not someone who's easily stressed out, I can usually rationalise everything, sometimes it just gets to me a bit.

I don't know if anyone's made it all the way through my rambling, but if you did: how do you handle stress and blogging? Do you even have stress at all? Any tips that can help me on the way to zen-hood?

Discussion: Medicine and Fiction

So you guys probably know I'm studying medicine and this always makes me a bit hesitant to read a book or watch a movie dealing with health related issues. Or at least where it's a huge part of the plot. Cause there are SO many inaccuracies there and I almost always spot them and it bothers me.

Why does this bother me? Well, I'm living and breathing this stuff sometimes 50-60 (and sometimes more) hours a week and if you can manage to research whole time periods as an author/movie/TV producer you can't tell me you can't research a disease. It sometimes seems a bit sloppy to me.

I always annoy people around me with my shouting of various forms of: 'that SO doesn't happen like that'...

Some basic examples of what has bothered me and basic stuff:

*If you're a doctor, that doesn't mean you know EVERYTHING about EVERY specialty. I mean, really, I want to be a GP, that doesn't mean I will know how to do complex surgeries. Especially not by myself.

*Not all brilliant doctors are jackasses:

I think pretty much everyone knows the character this man plays. Med School isn't very accepting of this kind of behaviour. Not even if you're a genius.

*You don't take X-rays of a head to see if there's infarction/bleeding/tumors etc. It's a CT or MRI, X-rays are for bones.

*On the same note: I read a book recently in which they checked for ligament/meniscus damage with an X-ray of the knee. You can't see those on an X-ray.

*If you're mortally wounded and will die within seconds, you usually don't have time/strength to do anything meaningful in said seconds.

*If while making love the man pulls out before the finish line so to speak, the woman can still get pregnant (this annoys me in historical romance).

*On the pregnancy theme: if it's a woman's first time giving birth, it takes hours for the baby to arrive from the first time you feel a contraction. Seriously, some take 24 hours (or even more). So the frantic screaming of 'THE BABY'S COMING' right after the water broke is a bit premature. Unless you're really lucky (but believe me, that doesn't happen a lot).

Ok, so I can't think of more examples at the moment though I'm sure I've rolled my eyes at other stuff and I can tell you more things that don't happen like they do in books/movies, but some of those have gruesome details that aren't very pleasant to discuss. I may in the future post more on this when I come across it.

So, have you ever come across anything medical-related that made you think 'wait, does that really happen like that?' or do you do the same thing when you come across stuff that's related to your line of work? Cause I'm positive mistakes aren't only made in my field ;)

Discussion: DNF-ing

If you follow me on Twitter, you probably already know that the last two books I read were disappointments. And with one I even went as far as DNF-ing it.

*To DNF: to not finish a book you started reading

I always, ALWAYS feel sad when I do this. I never used to in the past, cause I feel frustrated not knowing how it ends. Or there's the chance of missing out on a great book if it picks up. Those are both things that make me hesitant to DNF a book. But with the amount of books I have both on my e-reader and on my shelf and the limited amount of time I have nowadays to actually do my reading, I've become for lack of a better word 'better' at DNF-ing.

I don't want to read something I don't like. It's as simple as that. I do a lot of things I HAVE to do for my internships and life in general, reading should always be something I WANT to do and not something I force myself to do. So now when I don't feel excited about continuing with a book, I ask myself if it would be better to DNF it and move onto something that I will enjoy.

Sometimes I'm not invested in a story enough to want to continue, sometimes it annoys me so much I want to throw the book across the room. A sure-fire way for this to happen is to have a whiny protagonist. Things that are also discouraging to me: insta-love in the first 15 pages (I mean, seriously?), unbelievable storylines, insta-power (instant mastering of complex skills with no good explanation for why this happens), the main character attracting 5 love interests, nothing happening for 200 pages. There can be any number of things going on, but most important: I find myself not enjoying the book.

I always try to make it to 100 pages to give a book a fair chance. I mean, that's about 2 hours of my life, I can usually pull through to do that. Sometimes I dislike the book so much I only make it to 50. And I think only once or twice I've closed a book after 5 pages.

But then comes the next part: I'm a blogger, what do you do with books you DNF?

I've seen some bloggers post periodically about the books they DNF-ed. Some choose to review them. Some rate them on Goodreads.
As for me, I don't post reviews on the books I DNF-ed because I feel I can't do that based on 50-100 pages. I do however rate them on Goodreads. It could be argued that's not fair if it's not based on the full novel, but I think it also means something if I dislike it enough to DNF, because then I REALLY disliked the book. If there's any hope it will turn up for me, I keep reading.

So, what about you guys? Do you DNF books? Feel horribly guilty and sad about it (like me)? Do you review/rate them?