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Ashley and I have been friends a while, a long while, and we’ve been reading together a bit too.  The quantity of years isn’t as long as we’ve been friends because the quantity of books during some of those years was…sparse, but when we’re on it, we are ON IT!  So much so that, when I text Ashley a number, she knows exactly what it means. Two weeks ago it went like this:

Nikki: New holds high 58!!
Ashley: oh geez woman
Fast forward a few days, we have the conversation about how this post needs to be a thing, a few days past and then last week we have:
Nikki: 60!!!
Ashley: wow
And as of this writing:
Nikki: 62
Ashley: 62 need to not be a number
Nikki: j/k only 61 because I got the boys a new audio book off the list an hour ago
See also:
Nikki: LET’S RECOMMEND ALL THE BOOKS
Ashley: um…

So, here we are.  I have 61 books on hold and you’re all likely wondering how and why and when am I going to read all those titles.  Let me take those one at a time.

How: Well, when one recommends a book to the electronic library, then one is automatically on the hold list for that book if/when it is purchased, regardless of the number of holds one has, even if one has exceed the maximum number of holds.  One may also suspend one’s holds for a very long time (a year is about my personal max so far). Yes, these are all on the electronic library. For the physical library, I only have five (two are for my children and ready for pick up, three are for me and suspended indefinitely because I need to be choosy about when I read a physical book so I get it read in time). 

Why: Why not? Yes, there are books I’d like to put on hold and can’t. Yes, this could stress some readers out (Ashley), but honestly, it doesn’t really bother me. If there’s a title I really need and can’t access without a hold, then there’s always the physical library (see above regarding those holds).  I’ve done this a few times and while it’s not my favorite, I do enjoy having a lot of books on my holds list, so it makes up for it. 

When: Oh dear readers, one eats an elephant (metaphorically speaking) one forkfull at a time, and one reads 61 books one paragraph at a time.  To be more specific, one is (as of an hour ago) an audio book for my children and checked out, two more are tentatively coming to the blog next month, and I have a general personal practice of only allowing a book to be on hold for a year, so that means one more book is coming up in April.  Either I’ll check it out and read it (because I’m definitely #1 in line by the year mark) or I’ll be sure it’s on my wish list and remove my hold. Two of my titles are audio books for me, and I’m not sure at this point if I’ll read or listen to those titles. As far as the quantity and my year limit go, I’m good to go on this until fall with only a couple of books a month until then. However, September has 8, October has 7, and November has 14 (with 11 of those coming through on one day)!  I feel like I may have a new outlook on holds by November, but we’ll see, especially as my reading goal averages to two titles a week (even though last year my average was more like three). One complication in this whole process has been a few Kindle Unlimited Subscriptions in the past oh, year and a half or so. I adore Kindle Unlimited, but it does change my reading habits a bit. I canceled my subscription earlier this month so that I will be forced to can focus more on my holds for a while and see what happens.  

Conveniently, three oldest holds, including the two likely coming to the blog next month, are all under 400 pages, so it feels very do-able, and like a great start to kick off some amazing holds list reading!  Who knows what will happen next? Will I read three books and lower the number? Will the library add 11 new titles on one day again? Stay tuned. I’m sure we’ll have an update at some point, but if you have questions between now and then, let me know!

~Nikki