Libraries are great since a gamble is simply the time it takes to travel back and forth, thankfully for me I am within walking distance.

Thank you for the sub recommendations. Even searching for books I already like has yielded a ton of possibilities. Sometimes finding a book I want to read is more fun than actually reading it so I have a feeling I will lose some time on these subs.

I have never seen the term "travelogues" and did not realize genres got so specific. Cool to look into.

I do know what you are saying about getting a craving for one style. I do not think I have enough fiction under my belt to really understand what I am looking for all the time.

For example, early on I was asking about books similar to "Children of Time" and I got tons of sci-fi set in space. But I don't really care about far future or space as a setting, it was the feeling of seeing the growth of characters and cultures throughout generations.

Goodreads ratings were really helpful for me today as I was looking through the book haul and deciding what to do first. I am definitely a sucker for colors and cover marketing. There was a book called "Here I Am" that had a great cover and caught my eye from across the room. The description did not grip me but the cover was top notch.

That is how I started with library checkouts. But I have found that my list is only from one genre essentially so my list is a bit stale after 30 or so now. I am hoping that breaking out of the comfort zone will expand the list but there are a lot of choices and even more recommendations.

I do not think I could handle several books at once. That being said, I tend to finish a book in 2 or 3 days anyway so I can shift from one to the next pretty quickly. I have a tough time remembering details from one story to the next, I do not think I could keep it straight over several!

Do you read from several different genres to help keep everything straight?

Buying fiction never made sense to me before as it can get so expensive. I have a home library of theology and philosophy that were useful for my studies and job but fiction seemed one use. But now that these used books are available all the time, it will take work to be selective.

I rarely buy books as well but so many for so cheap was impossible for me to turn down.

I think trying new genres sounds great, so far I have tried to branch out a couple times with mixed feelings on the result. I am hoping to find some other genres that may surprise me and become a favorite, I think your method of switching it up sounds great.

The one area I do struggle with is choosing to not finish a book. Right now, I am reading "Player of Games" as I have heard endless praise for the series. It really is not resonating with me after about 120 pages (which was just the first chapter) but I have a hard time quitting a book that people say is so well written. How long do you give it before quitting usually?

I appreciate the solid input. I think part of my issue is simply owning them rather than renting them, so putting the rest away while focusing one at a time is a good idea.