Hello everyone,
It has been ages since I last wrote a discussion post. The truth is, I had just run out of ideas. Sometimes I lack belief in my ability to write fluently or authoritatively on a particular bookish subject, so I am really pleased to be sharing this post with you!
I think that a lot of you will be able to relate to having a frightfully long TBR list. I have attempted to devote 2019 to getting through mine, but this has proved harder than expected. There are two main reasons for this:
- The unending stream of new releases that just demand to be read. The whole of 2019 has just been a golden year for new books and I have bought more than ever.
- For each on my TBR that I read and can finally cross off the list, several more are added! Often when I read a good synopsis or come across a glowing review from one of my fellow bloggers, the book in question is added to my ‘to-read’ shelf.
The Problem
At the moment, my main problem is that there are so many books I really want to read straight away, but I can only read one at a time. The fact that I am a relatively slow reader does not help either!
I have never known for so many books to be on my ‘most anticipated’ list, so that has made it more difficult to choose what to read next. Every time I visit a bookshop, it is like a visual reminder of all the books I still have to read, and seeing how much others on social media have enjoyed my anticipated reads have added to that feeling.
How I Am Trying To Resolve It
The easy answer would be to devote more time to reading so I could get through my TBR more quickly, but with working full time and writing and my other interests, that feels difficult.
The best thing I can do is set myself a list of books that I need to prioritise before the end of 2019. I already have a lot of these in mind, but I plan to go through my ‘to-read’ list on Goodreads and select which ones I want to pick up first.
That may help put my mind at rest and give myself a clear focus, even if the pile of unread books on my bedside becomes larger.
In Conclusion
I have to be realistic. It is going to take a lot of time to get through the books on my TBR, and there are some that I am destined not to read.
This is a bookish problem which a lot of us face, and I am going to try and not feel too worried about how many I need to read and how long it will take to do it. I know this has been such a rambling post, but I just felt I had to put my struggle into words!
How do you manage your TBR? Do you feel daunted by the number of books you want to read? Let me know in the comments!
I keep adding to my Amazon wishlist… Once the price goes down I snap it up… But I think I have to take my kindle with me to the Afterlife to finish them all… Not possible in this lifetime, me thinks.
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Yes, I don’t think we will ever finish them all, sadly…
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I think this is a common dilemma – and is more of a problem when you are trying to find writing time as well as reading time. These days I only try to read those books that I think are doing to do me some good. I have to do a lot of research to support my writing, therefore I usually have to limit my non-fiction reading to the subject about which I am writing. When it comes to fiction, I tend to look for books that are either very different to my own writing, so there is no confusion in my mind with my own story, or else books that will teach me something about writing. This takes quite a bit of discipline, especially as there is a lot of pressure from social media to be reading the next big thing! I think the key is, like you say, to figure out your priorities. (BTW, I am not sure Shalini is going to be allowed to take her Kindle to the afterlife – just sayin’!)
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Thank you for your comment, Laurence. I think a lot of us do experience this problem, and you are right, balancing writing with reading is tricky. Social media is also a pressure!
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I use Goodreads so I can see how many I have to actually read (around 180) and I use an app called Trello to help me schedule ones that need to be read by a certain date (blog tour / publication date). Everything else just gets fitted in and I have to make realistic decisions on a regular basis about if I am ever actually going to read a book!
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I use Goodreads as well, and my goal is to read as many as I can on my current TBR, while adding several more! It does lead to some tough decisions 🙂
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The struggle is real. I need to cut back on my ARC requests. It has gotten better as I’ve learned more over time what I like and dislike when requesting ARCs and keywords in requesting them (or keywords in publishing speak when you can’t flip through pages to decide lol). Plus now I’m learning the cycles of when there are a lot of releases which will help me request less going forward.
Plus I have one damn author (Jay Kristoff) dominating my TBR and that is just annoying me lol. But yeah, you definitely are not alone.
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It took me a while but I eventually got to a place where I see my TBR as a list of infinite possibilities. I can’t finish everything on it. I am always adding new things much faster than I can possibility cross things off, but that is okay. The ones I read will still shape my life for the better, and that’s all I can really hope for.
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That’s a great outlook, Sarah! All you can do is read as many as you can 🙂
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Currently my TBR is slowly going down because I haven’t been buying new books – trying to spend less at the moment! Also have not been requesting arcs that often.
Great post 🙂
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Thank you – well done on shortening your TBR!
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Ha ha – not sure how long my book buying ban will last though 😉
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