People foisting books on you

Fried Egg

Fried Egg

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Do you find you have books foisted upon you all the time by others? I have somehow accumulated a pile of about ten books that have come completely unsolicited from others and I was too polite to refuse.

Actually, that's a bit harsh, I probably wouldn't mind giving them a read if I didn't already have a large pile of books that I've chosen to read but just haven't gotten around to yet (because basically I buy books faster than I can read them). Books that I an dying to read and each time I pick one up to read, I have that huge pile of books lent to me by others demanding to be read, I feel like I should, but really just want to get stuck into my own.

I really should take advantage of books from others; it widens out what I'm reading a bit, but you know how it is...

Anyone else find themselves in similar situations?
 
Many. And I'm thankful for it. I like having books, and even though I'm MORE than backed up with the ones I already own, hey, I just might get to some of the others. And if I don't? Well, they make my shelves look nice, or will serve as gifts, or as inventory if I open a bookstore, or whatever.
 
I am neurotic about having books I haven't read on my shelf. So it bothers me to have people hand me stuff. I had 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' from a friend for a year and never read it. I finally took it to the used shop, hehe.
 
I've had people hand off books they like. usually I've been looking for something to read anyways. only one person has ever managed to annoy me with the practice. Acquaintance who loves movies, and King especially. was given a pretty extensive collection of the books, and never read a single one. Any time they hear I'm between books and bored here comes the suggestion I read a King book...... pick a book any book, not a cover has been cracked.....
 
Personally I am happy to take any free books, I'll read anything, I am a total book whore! :p:D
No such thing as too many books!
 
bloodfiredeath said:
Personally I am happy to take any free books, I'll read anything, I am a total book whore! :p:D
No such thing as too many books!
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Me too! I can't get enough books. I even read stupid books that I don't like just for the sake of having read them.
 
I have your problem Miranda- most of my friends aren't big readers of anything, so I'm the one trying to foist books on to them.
I find it's not That big of a problem though - I have 15 books unread on my shelf at the moment, and my To-Get list grows larger by the day (it needs it's own organization to sort through all the books I want to read).

I will say that the one book someone lent me was a fantastic read, and really got me in to his works - it was The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
 
Taltos said:
Of course there is - at some point you'll have to find time to read them, if they are not just some pretty things to show others.
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Indeed, a serious problem that I have atm. To many books, not enough time.
 
I'm also foisting more books to others than they give to me. Usually I accept and read the books people lend me, although I've got one friend whose taste is well, not so good. She gave me Eragon as 'a brilliant book', and recently gave me Twillight by Stephanie Meyers, which is, according to her, even better than Eragon...:confused:
I don't know if that's a book I would have picked myself, but I will try it.
 
No body has foisted book on me since junior high school and i was an ignorant kid that didnt see whats so good about reading a book if it wasnt a must for school.

Im usually the one that foisting books on others. I have made me two brothers who dont read SFF usually read Dune,Foundation,Gemmell,REH and many others.

I think though i have given up any hope there was for my 3 years younger brother.
I could understand his taste for any generic high fantasy but to see him rereading the hole Eragon series when he had promised to read other fantasy made me sure to not try foist any other SFF books on him. There is no hope for him. A friend of his gave him a book of "the amazing" Goodkind too.

We have historical fiction,crime genres a passion in common but in fantasy wow....
 
Alas, I have no one who gives me books to read. Although I on occassion have tried getting my brother to read a few. Of course he lives in a different city than me and I never can get the book back when I am looking for a reread. I lent him A Game of Thrones and had to ask him to bring it back at Christmas if he isnt going to read it so I can do the old reread.

I seem to find enough books on my shelf that I put there so I dont mind no one foisting books on me
 
I am really more of a foister. I push books on my partner every chance I get, same with my 12 year old neice who I have nurtured into a geek akin to myself from a young age.

I think it comes from my Dad, who would load me up with books from the library, where I would eat themup with a fervour and now I just want to pass on the joy I get from them onto those I'm sure would enjoy them.
 
I find myself resistent to reading books that have been foisted upon me, yet I can't seem to help myself from foisting onto others.

I also find that most people are stuck in a genre of reading and really don't care for venturing outside of it. This irks me to no end, and I've found that most of my recommendations to fam and friends go unread. I have one daughter who only reads fantasy unless I guilt her into something else, which she'll enjoy thoroughly and then fall right back into her rut. I don't get it. My mother reads a ton, but mostly Nora Roberts, Dean Koontz, and things that fall into the same categories. I've sent her Poisonwood Bible, Time Traveler's Wife, and Water for Elephants, all radically different, but she couldn't finish them. She, in turn, sent me a whole case load of religious historical fiction (which I loathe) and can't read. I only tried one book. Couldn't do it.

I guess we want to share what we like with others to feel some sort of bond or someting, but it rarely works out with books for me, except maybe from recommended reads I get off this site.
 
BookStop
I also find that most people are stuck in a genre of reading and really don't care for venturing outside of it. This irks me to no end, and I've found that most of my recommendations to fam and friends go unread.
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That's probably my problem. I am generally stuck within the genres of fantasy, SF & horror and rarely willingly venture outside of these. It's not so much that I don't want to venture outside of these genres, it's more that I have so much that I want to read within these genres that I end up sticking to them. They just excite me more.

Of course, if I was just sitting there with nothing to read, I would happilly read other stuff.
 
Duchessprozac said:
I am really more of a foister. I push books on my partner every chance I get, same with my 12 year old neice who I have nurtured into a geek akin to myself from a young age.

I think it comes from my Dad, who would load me up with books from the library, where I would eat themup with a fervour and now I just want to pass on the joy I get from them onto those I'm sure would enjoy them.
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I'm more like this as well. I tend to be the foisting them on others (Particulaly my Dad or my sister who read the same kind of books as me) and because of that I ever really have books foisted on me. Although if some are foisted on me I really do try to read them on the persons recommendation.
 
I constantly give books to my mum to read, and she likes them 9/10 except for when i pick up something more my age then hers, and that even goes for things like War and Peace, which is too thick a read for her. It's like a bonding thing we have, a point of common ground
 
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