One day my sister Michele and I were having a chat about our TBRs. She had just added a bunch of new books and lamented that she would never get ahead, because she was always adding more than she was reading. I told her that she would always have a good selection to choose from and asked if she thought that she would finish her TBR someday. Michele said no, but that she wanted to feel like she was making progress and also not forget about books she added at the beginning.
That got me thinking - as readers, do we have expectations for our TBRs? When I started this year, I had 158 books on my TBR; at the time I'm writing this post, there are 123 books on it. Even though I've read A TON of books this year, I'm always adding new titles. If I stopped adding books, I could probably finish my TBR in about a year.
But that's unrealistic, right? I don't think most readers actually expect to read their entire TBR and get it down to zero. New books are coming out all the time and then there's all those backlist titles that you find out about. However, is it realistic to have some sort of expectations for your TBR?
There are a few things I want out of my TBR:
- A manageable number. I do try to keep the actual number of titles on my TBR pretty small. There are already books that I've put off for a couple years, and I want to at least have the possibility that I will see these books, remember I wanted to read them, and then actually pick them up. I feel like I'm too picky sometimes, though, and I haven't added enough to my TBR. Even with over 100 books, there are some days where I feel like there's nothing to read.
- Routine purging. I go through my TBR every once awhile and get rid of those books that I'm no longer interested in, wonder why I put them on in the first place, or have seen too many poor reviews of. I don't want the books I'm really interested in to get lost among those I'm not.
- Read my unread physical books. Although there aren't a ton of these, I do sometimes have a bad habit of buying books and then not reading them. One way to cut down my TBR would be to actually read some of those books! Likewise, instead of constantly getting new books from the library, one month my sister only read the books that were already on her e-reader, and that really helped her focus and cut down her TBR.
How big is your TBR? How do you manage it? Do you ever purge your TBR? Do you have any TBR expectations (i.e. getting it down to a certain number or finally reading all those unread physical books on your shelf)?
Oh my TBR is definitely always growing. I would love to say it is manageable but it is not. I so need to go through and purge some. I know there are some I can get rid of. I agree wirh reading my unread physical books would totally help!
ReplyDeleteI know, I don't know what my problem is when it comes to those books!
DeleteI had a TBR before 'TBR's' existed. Ha! All my life I guess. I didn't used to know so much about books. The internet has helped with that. And knowing where to look for suggestions and blogging, etc. All I used to have was what was on the library shelves and very little money to buy books. I'll admit that I do buy books on impulse. I also add books to whatever list (my TBR is on lists everywhere - online, on paper, in my head) and then can't remember why. I also purge my lists and my actual books fairly often. So many good causes to donate books to and so I do that. I know that at my age (61 now), I'll never get to read all the books I want to, but what reader could ever manage that? And if one is constantly focused on the new or the TBR, one never has time to revisit old favorites or go down a rabbit hole of a subject or author. I'm just glad I can read, I can still see to read, and I have books as an escape or relaxation device. Good luck with your TBR! ;-)
ReplyDeleteHaha, thanks, Kay! I agree, blogging has made my TBR really grow. I used to just keep a Word document of 20 or so books I wanted to read. Sometimes I will just browse the library shelves and grab something that looks interesting, and there goes working on my TBR for that week!
DeleteI got my TBR close to 0 at the end of last year. Now it’s back around 60 books. I wish it was smaller. I feel guilty when a book sits on my shelf for 6+ months before I read it. I know that’s a stupid thing to feel guilty about, but I feel like I’m spending money on things I don’t really need. If I have 60 unread books, I don’t need another one.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
No, I totally agree! Every time I see those books sitting on my shelf, I feel bad that I haven't made time for them!
DeleteMy TBR is very large and I know I will never read all the books on that list, but I would like to read more of my purchased physical, ebooks, and audiobooks. Each year (right around this time) I start contemplating how I can make that a priority when setting reading goals for the upcoming year... participating in the now-defunct TBR challenge for the first quarter of the year, stop buying books for 6 months, read one owned book for every borrowed library book, etc. I'm not sure what I'll do for the upcoming year, but the first thing will be to stop purchasing "kindle daily deals" unless I plan to read them right away.
ReplyDeleteOne other point to make is that I've stopped feeling guilty about having so many books around - being surrounded by books makes me happy!
I know, I love being surrounded by books, too!
DeleteAs for reading your already-owned books - I think doing 1 for 1 (one owned for one library) is a great idea! Or maybe just a whole month where you just read those books.
I guess it's the accountant in me, but I like making lists and then seeing them through to completion. My TBS isn't wildly out of control, but I do also make lists on my library's page that I don't have on say, Goodreads. I also make a bunch of different TBR's on Goodreads (2018 releases, 2019 releases, audiobooks, books I own, etc) and I guess that's my attempt to be able to actually see a category get to zero at some point. I do go through my lists periodically to purge books I am no longer interested in or really have no way of obtaining.
ReplyDeleteI love a good list, too! Maybe if I made smaller sub-TBRs, that would help!
DeleteI have too many books on my TBR. I have lots of books that I will probably not read but I'm unable to get rid of them. And that's just my physical TBR. My e-book TBR is much higher. *sobs* xD
ReplyDeleteHaha, oh no! Sometimes I have a hard time getting rid of books or titles on my TBR, but I have to be really honest with myself - do I really want to read this?
DeleteMy TBR is out of control and I suspect it will always be that way, lol. I do try to purge it periodically but really need to be better about that. I'm not too bad at getting through the physical books I've purchased, but I'm awful at the ebooks, I guess because they're tucked away on my kindle and not piled up staring me in the face.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think that would be the problem I would have with an ereader, out of sight, out of mind!
DeleteMy TBR list sort of goes by years, with usually about 30 left at the end of a given year. I've become better at only putting books on it that I'm truly interested in, and like you I purge from time to time.
ReplyDeleteYes, purging is definitely good. Sometimes I'll just come across a book that I have no idea why it ended up on there.
DeleteAhh, the TBR... I have a huge one. And I don't particularly manage it.
ReplyDeleteWhat I do though is keep a couple of different TBR piles - my immediate one which is my 'very next' list and then the big one onto which goes the books I'd like to read but probably won't get to in a hurry and I can choose from there which ones to add to my 'very next' pile.
I also find that I am constantly adjusting things - I get ARCs I didn't expect/request and then something I forgot about or didn't know about comes up so then that needs to be slotted in! The goal posts move all the time. So long as I'm reading though that's the actual goal.
Great post!
Thanks, Di! I agree, just reading is the most important thing! Sometimes my TBR is controlled by my library and what I can get NOW. Those move up my priority list!
Deletethis is such an interesting post. I haven't been thinking about the books I'm piling up on my Goodreads TBR too much - and it has grown A LOT since I started blogging. I really need to do some spring - well, maybe winter, now, for me - cleaning at some point, because I am certain that there are some books I'm not interested in anymore. Yet, I like having a certain amount there, because it gives me the sense of endless possibilities and new books to choose from and to get next. that's exciting. but... it shouldn't be overwhelming either ahah :)
ReplyDeleteLovely post! :)
Thanks, Marie! I agree, I like having a TBR that's a little bigger because there are always those days where practically nothing looks good and I need a lot of options.
DeleteWhat a good idea. I need to go through mine as well as my pile is out of control. I have stacking in my living room and not just on my bookcases. I have even made my daughter a book hoarder. OMG, what have I done?
ReplyDeleteMary
LOL, oh no! I love having a lot of books, but they take up so much room! And I figure, if I'm not going to read it, someone else should!
DeleteI don't really have one technical TBR. I just have a vague list of books I maybe want to read, some more than others. Lately I've been trying to put together an "immediate tbr" list just to keep track of those books I absolutely want to get to w/o forgetting about them. But then, like you said, I'm always getting more books, so I have books I've been saying for years I'd get to but still haven't. But I also would like to read my unread physical books at least!
ReplyDeleteHaha, the unread physical books seems to be a common problem!
DeleteYou should be proud!!! Your TBR is so small and manageable!! Mine has over 600 on it.... okay now that I just realized that, I feel I should probably panic!! I read way too slow to be over 600!!!
ReplyDeleteHaha, that is a lot of books! But you'll never run out of options!
DeleteI have a tbr problem. I actually have over 2000 books on my goodreads TBR and I'm too intimidated to try purging. It doesn't help that I go through many of the new releases coming out each quarter to write a post about which one I'm most looking forward too. That always grows my TBR by at least 100 books - ah! I may need to try zeroing it out and starting over.
ReplyDeleteI'm not great about my physical TBR either, with probably 50-100 unread books around at any given time, but I'm doing a little better job trying to work on that :)
Oh, my, 2000 books?! I would be overwhelmed! But yeah, with all the new books coming out all the time and all the older titles you find, it adds up!
DeleteMy TBR is more of a wishlist. There are some books I own and many books I don't own on it. I used to purge it more, before they blocked GR at work, but mostly, I just add new books, which is why my TBR is over 1000 books.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I don't own most of my TBR and probably never will! I do try to purge it occasionally because there are things I'm no longer interested in reading and I'd rather them not take up room!
DeleteTBRs are so weird like that: they're a list of books that we intend to read, but we never actually intend to finish the list! :)
ReplyDeleteI do think it's a good idea to try and keep it manageable though, which is why I definitely need to do a TBR purge soon. I haven't looked back through my full TBR in ages, and I imagine there's going to be some books I added ages ago that I no longer want to read, or that I've just completely forgotten what they're even about. Great post! :)
Thanks, Laura! Haha, YES, that is so true about TBRs! Good luck with your purge!
DeleteI will never acknowledge my ebooks TBR (damn freebies) but my goal is definitely to read my physical books. I've gotten pretty good at getting rid of books on my shelves that have been collecting dust for years.
ReplyDeleteGreat tips!
I need to be better about the unread books on my shelves, and I just bought 9 more!
DeleteThanks, Amber!