Header PromotionMy TBR is overwhelming me. One problem I have is that I like way too many kinds of books. I don't want to narrow down what I read. Sometimes I just look at these 2 bookshelves (5 shelves, each double packed) next to where I read and I feel overwhelmed. I am running about 35 other to 68 Harlequins so I do have some space right now to mix things up and get some books off my shelves and still keep the 50% thing up without feeling guilty.
I just feel like my TBR is a hopeless cause sometimes! Well, it's mid-year plus so it's time to do some house cleaning. In the next few days. I think I am going to rearrange my bookshelves and just choose books I really want to read and move the others out of the vicinity. I think I am going to arrange the shelves too so they are done by line and/or genre. I did that once but incoming books got in the way when the incoming shelf took over. I am going to stop buying so many books too. Other than the SSE continuity series and my subscriptions, I plan to curtail my book buying a lot for a bit. It makes no sense to buy books I never hope to read. I don't want to drop what I like, but I have to make way to somehow manage everything and not feel overwhelmed. I have to figure out a way to read my Suspense, Mysteries etc without feeling so behind. My main problem is the whole choice thing right now--- every choice for something feels like a choice away from another kind of book I love. I'll probably get closer to the 50% than last year because I am trying to manage review books and pleasure reads (which are often the same thing fortunately) without freaking out and always feeling behind.
How do you handle it all? How do you choose? Do you go for read and loved authors first? Or by line? How do you make room for the new? I might just rearrange my bookshelves by line etc and randomly pick for a time one book, alternating between kinds of books. My main plans for the immediate future are to read a slew of the Medievals and go on a Jennie Adams binge while also clearing off some of the non-Harlequin books and read some subscriptions that I have been not reading for a while so I can rest easier and not put so much pressure on myself.
I think I have an adventurer spirit when it comes to books. I just like to explore. As soon as I come up with a reading schedule, I almost immediately want to change it.
Merri
Hildie's blog: http://blog.hildie.net
My TBR underwent a growth spurt
I had a hugh TBR but after I started reading on this site it took a real growth spurt. Right now I can't seem to settle on anything. I have so many I want to read and nothing holds my interest. I have spent too many hours browsing through old blog posts and that just makes it worse as I keep reading about new books I want to read. Last night I found out that the NASCAR books for this year are interrelated so I have a decision about them as I have bought a couple. I never thought I would enjoy NASCAR books as I know nothing about it but I have read 3 and really enjoyed them. I also have too many library books out and try to read them first. I hate taking them back unread. I don't have anything near as organized as bookcases, I just have bags and boxes of books. Lots and lots of books-no way I will ever read them all. I have 3 books and one series sitting on my nightstand all partly read and no wish to finish them. I am in a blue funk and need a really funny book or a real heart grabber. I also have to motivate myself to post a few more. I was looking at the total and wondering if it would hit 20,000 by end of July. When I started in April there was a drive on to hit 10,000. I have a bunch of books I read before I started to post but my old brain will not let me remember enough about them to make a good report-not that my reports are good anyhow. Sorry for rambling on I am looking for inspiration I guess.
When I get a little money I buy books, and then if any is left I buy food and clothes..-- Erasmus
I feel the same way sometimes
Hi Merri--I feel the same sometimes--overwhelmed by all my tbr piles. I have more than one and in more than one room. I am addicted to buying books and borrowing books from the library.
I really have no reading schedule. Usually it goes by what mood I am in or a book that catches my eye or that someone has reviewed or mentioned. If a book is due at the library I will try to read it first or one I have borrowed from someone or a book my dd wants me to read asap so we can discuss it. Most of the time I know what book I am going to read next but that can change.
I guess I haven't been much help except to say that I like it better not having a schedule so I have the freedom to read whatever I want. This year I am trying to do the 50% thing and I am a little behind on that so right now I feel I should catch up. Anyway, just read whatever your heart tells you to read and let the books fall where they may!
Mary
Hi Merri
I was dwelling on this very issue this morning on the way in to my office (in my house). I keep my tbr in harlequin boxes. I now have over 160 books sitting in boxes on my dresser. I started the year with about 35 +/- and promised myself I would keep it to a manageable number. I have failed miserably
My work had been slow for awhile (real estate appraiser), so I was getting lots of reading done. Now all of a sudden, I am overwhelm with work - good for the coffers - bad for the tbr. To make a long tbr tale shorter, I have now promised to read only before and after normal work hours and just grab the book on top instead of thinking about genre or my mood. It may not get the pile under control any sooner, but I hope to reward myself with reading indulgent weekends!
Bonsal
I have had this same
I have had this same conversation with myself more times than I can count. I have more books than I will read, but I constantly aquire new ones and have a hard time getting rid of ones I'm not sure when I'll get to, if ever.
When it comes to picking a book, I normally go for a new release by a fav author first and go from there. If there aren't any new ones out or that I've gotten, I go through a *short stack* (that's the key) and pick one that sounds the best for my current mood. There have been plenty of times when I have started multiple books before deciding on one that sticks for my mood at the time.
The main thing is don't let it overwelm you. That just takes all the fun out of reading! And we can't have that, now can we? lol
Oh Merri, I just can't help
Oh Merri, I just can't help smiling when I read this blog. You see, on the way home from picking our dd from French Immersion camp we came through this tiny town in the Adirondack mountains that was having a town wide garage sale. It was in part a fund raiser for the Library and there was this huge Books-for sale sign. We barely had any room in the car (we drive a Prius, not the roomiest trunk area, but gets great mileage, 53.4 mpgs through the mountains). Naturally, there was a parking place right in front of the Library. LOL, we stopped.
I found the books and they were selling romances a dime for paperbacks and a quarter for hardbound. I had a dozen or so books in my hand when a very helpful woman says, "If you will fill a box, I'll charge you a dollar." I was sunk. My dd starts laughing and tells her to find a box. I only found one HMR, but that is one more than I've read before, a couple dozen HRs from several years ago. Before I was reading that imprint. I ended up bringing in more books into an out of control TBR.
Nancy
I feel better knowing I am
I feel better knowing I am not the only one struggling. Every night lately I look at my bookshelves and sort of freak out. I think getting some out so I can actually see the books would clear my head if not my TBR. I have books everywhere too. I do wan to try this one local used bookstore and see what I can find in terms of older releases. Nancy, that is so funny! It sounds like something I would do. I keep thinking if I just sit down and read my subscriptions when they arrive, I might be able to do it...but I forget about all the other books
that come too from orders and all kinds of places.
Merri
Hildie's blog: http://blog.hildie.net
Yeap, we're
all in the same boat here or I should say bookshelves here. I added another bookshelf and it's full too. I could almost start my own library. I have so many different genres too. It is sometimes overwhelming but it's nice when I need to find just the right read.
The D2K Paranormal Junkies ~ 2008 Book Challenge Blog
I so feel you on this.
Your comment "My main problem is the whole choice thing right now--- every choice for something feels like a choice away from another kind of book I love." could have been me.
Penn issued a challenge to help work up our reading numbers by going through some of our thinner books. This is working really well for me. Not only is it quickly boosting my books read numbers but it is also thinning out my TBR shelf.
I went through and purged about ten books the other day. They were mostly books that I either bought in bundles and had a few titles that I wasn't interested in or they were books that looked good at the time but talked myself out of for whatever reason later on and I just had to face the fact that deep down I will never read the book, swallow my guilt for buying a book and not reading it and then just give it away. My bookshelves are happier that way.
You could have my tbr
I've given up thinking I'll get mine read anytime soon. Maybe if I didn't buy anymore for, say, 10 years, I'd finish what I have. Heck, I have a couple hundred on the stand next to my bed (doesn't include the dooks in the drawers on it). Doesn't include the 3 (out of five) shelves on the bookcase (the girls have the other 2). Or the 5 boxes in my bedroom, the box in the closet, the case in the living room (the other one on top has other stuff and is covered up, so at least its not noticeable), or the boxes under the bed, the 1 in my closet, the two in the shed, and anything else piled. This would be ok if I read as quick as Sadhbh, but I don't. I read 60-80 a year. I keep telling dh that this is my entertainment for when the girls are finally grown and I don't have to run all over creations with them
He, of course, doesn't think I ever need to buy another book.
Oh, and I have no rhyme or reason with my selections, for the most part. I do try to read certain books when they come out, but that doesn't always happen either.
So, did I scare you yet Merri?
Amanda
Everyone can afford to give away a smile!
DFW Plus - Come see what we are reading!
Amanda ....
are we twins? ..... I know I'll never ever be able to read all the books in my TBR and yet, I keep buying more books ... call me a bookaholic!
Merri, don't stress so much ..... take comfort that you acquired the book because it appealed to you and that when you're finally ready to read it, it will be there ... reading is a pleasure not an obligation .... you're not obligated to read the book just because it's on your shelf
for years I couldn't read a book (no attention span, medical reasons) ...... but I still bought my favourite authors with the hope that one day I'd be able to .... now that I've rediscovered Harlequins shorter, tighter reads I'm able to read a book again ... now I have enough books to last more than my lifetime ... unless someone pays me to stay home and read that is!
KatherineT-eHarlequin ~ Book Challenge Host
I'm a Harlequin Addict, and I'm proud of it! ~ Quiet Canadians Blog
Hey Merri - haven't we already had this discussion?
(about fifteen times last year?
) LOL
I don't buy books I won't read, but then I read a lot faster than the rest of you, so even if I were to run out of money, I'd still only have a two-year backlog. Can fully understand the total inability to resist the idea of a full box of books for a dollar
Just tell yourself to take a holiday from the pressure, read whatever takes your fancy from the first fifteen books you look at, then put the rest to the back and repeat with a different fifteen books for the next choice, don't worry about the size, imprint or the Challenge
because if you're worrying, you're not reading
Hugs
Sadhbh
Dream Team 2008 Challenge blogs
No more excuses, just READ!
just in case
hey we gotta have hundreds of books "just in case". I have no more room for bookcases, but they do sell extra shelves for them
So I can get an extra shelf for the two book cases that hold books two deep. I've tried to curtal my book buying too. But July was super bad for books coming in the house(I think I finally stopped at like 90.)
For choosing print books, I go by shelf. I have the books sorted by line, right now I'm on HQN, next will be Mira and then a Blaze. And then I have a friend that helps me choose ebooks. She picks a letter between A-Y(no X, No ebooks with X or Z) then I tell her to choose a # between 1-? (however many ebooks start with that letter) That's the ebook up next.
Christa ~ Quiet Canadians ~ 2008 Challenge Blog
My Shelfari Page
OOOOH my TBR Pile!!!
I just finished making myself an office out of an extra bedroom. I built bookshelves out of 1" x 8" x 10' boards and concrete blocks. I made four shelves to begin with, three of which have books packed in that are for trading. The fourth shelf is packed, some places double stuffed, with my TBR pile. Some of them I even moved to the trade shelf, just because I had started them and obviously didn't get hooked. I'm afraid to count how many I have, not to mention that there is an entire box sitting in my bedroom that I cleared off my nightstand and I have no room on the shelves for them. I haved moved another small shelf into my office, but I have to stop this growing TBR list. :)
Chy
"Love, true love, is all about giving of yourself, without regard to what you may or may not get in return." --Kate McCabe (A Texas Wedding Vow)
Thanks Merri for starting this blog
It is so good to know that I am not the only one with books piled to the rafters. I got out of my funk and read a medical that came with my 2 orders yesterday. I haven't read any before. It was just what I needed something different but it came with a drawback as I really liked it and the author has quite a few books out. Don't even want to go there.
When I get a little money I buy books, and then if any is left I buy food and clothes..-- Erasmus
I think you're in good company here, Merri!
I'm always moaning and groaning about my books. I keep buying them up much faster than I read! Ack!!!! Honestly, I have to confess that I'd get to them all a heck of a lot quicker if it wasn't for the fact that I write also. But for anyone reading this who also writes, you know how time-consuming that is. I think it takes twenty times as long (or longer actually) to write a book than it does to read one.
Anyway, I agree with just about everybody else, it's easy to get behind. But to me, it's also fun to have a choice. Free choice in anything is about the most precious gift we could be given. Guess you could say I'm big on the freedom thing.
But it certainly can start to feel overwhelming when books stack up all over the house (or on shelves). To pick which one I'll read next, I'm sometimes drawn to a book by the reviews and comments I've seen from others. If I can get a feel for a book ahead of time, it will make it appeal to me more. Then if I love the book, all the better. If I don't... oh, well. Time is never really wasted while reading. OTOH, sometimes *giggle, snort*, I just do the eenie-meenie-minie-mo thing. Whatever works! Anyway, may life never stop rewarding us with books...and more books... and more books....
Oh, btw, I like your new pic, Jillyan! You may have had it posted for a while, but this is the first time I've seen it. You have a beautiful smile!
"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."
- Mark Twain
I feel a lot better.
I feel a lot better. That's an idea---bookshelves in my office. I have boxes of books all over my office and am trying to get something done with them. I have been doing a lot of laptop work on the dining table because there are too many books in my office. There are books or magazines on just about every every surface. We don't even get that many magazines but they have piled up too. I won't even begin to mention the basement---which is one reason we moved here---a basement for storing books. My dh's camper is full of books that we have not unpacked yet after the move. My childhood home and my grandparents' homes had bookshelves built into the walls. My main shelves are in my bedroom because I read a lot when the day and pets are all settled down. We are trying to declutter this loft we have to turn it into a reading room but we need to do something with the books so we can get furniture up there.
Just in case---those are definitely necessary. I usually take at least 3 books with me when I have to go somewhere overnight. What if I finish one or want something else. Sometimes I want a sweet romance, sometimes I want something darker, sometimes I want something more traditional and others something more cuttin edge.
I like some of the organization plans you have all mentioned. I would like to just be able to see what I have! Certain lines are just lost behind other books right now.
Choice and freedom. It is very special to be able to choose different kinds of books. Sometimes I think anyone looking in on the kinds of books I read and enjoy would really wonder. How can I like X and Y at the same time? But I do. I like having choices.
Katherine T, you make me feel better. Twice in my life I have been sick (once was more like incapacitated when I smashed my ankle). I had all this recuperation time but I just could not read. I felt horrible not to be reading but I just could not do it. When I felt better, it was the first thing I did.
Merri
Hildie's blog: http://blog.hildie.net
To Be 'R' or To Be 'Logged'
Oh! Wow! This reminds me to look into my pile of TBR & TBL (to be logged), and I did. My findings, not pretty at all.
I don't have that many TBR (just about 20 or so), as I have stopped myself from ordering any books until I am done with this lot, but I know I will not be able to resist temptation. My problem is to log in all the books I've read since January. I just counted my the ebooks that I haven't logged yet, about 40+, there should be another 30 or so printed ones, I shall need to skim through these ones in order to log them in. BUT, I want to read the new ones too,
, sorry, just need to whine.
Okay, now that I think about it, I need a vacation & devote all my time to reading, yeah,
(as if!).
Thanks for letting me whine.
Orchid
Orchid
I have made a committment
I have made a committment to myself to read my subscription books as soon as they come into the house. If I am reading something else when the books arrive I finish that book and then go to the subs that just arrived. It is not ideal, especially as I am getting back to writing again. (And I just had to fill that box for a dollar, LOL. What was I thinking?)
But at some point I will have more time to read and all these lovely books will be just sitting there waiting for me to open them up.
Nancy
Book shelves
Hi everyone--I'm reading some of the comments about our dhs and how they feel about our books. I turned mine into a bookworm about 10 years ago and we have become one another's enabler.
Anyway, he has offered to cover one wall in a spare bedroom with bookshelves floor to ceiling if we can both agree to put all of our books in one place. Is he a keeper or what?
Mary
TBR
I have given up worrying about the overwhelming TBR! It's just not worth it. I have other more important things in life to worry and fret over.
I have tried to switch the book buying to ebooks when possible.(Love that Kindle) If that's not possible then I am trying to wait until I need/want it so badly I can't stand it anymore.
I feel that one day I'll be leaving my TBR for my sons to disperse, and maybe they'll find some treasure in that will be worth a fortune! Who knows. Otherwise I have them for when I can't afford books.
Yes, I try to weed, but that's not always succeesful!
Oh well, good thing that books don't require refigeration, and just get dated, but not really spoiled.
Sandi
The Born Readers
Outside of a dog a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. Groucho Marx
books taking over the house, growing TBR piles etc
When I read through the last few posts I realize I have lots of company. I have piles of books in many areas of my house. My dh was muttering about an addition to the house for more room to put books. (He has a lot too, presently out of the house in his office, but they will all come home when he retires. Non fiction, history, theology and philosophy for the most part.) The latest plan is to use the storage area I rent for my business to put boxes of books. (That puts the books out of reach though, I like being able to find a book I am thinking about reading at that moment or soon after) I also collect books, so once obtained they need to be stored somewhere. I find a favorite author, series etc and then try to get all the books by the author, series etc. This backfires somewhat however. For example, I started getting all the Blaze books when they came out and continue to do so but I find my tastes have changed somewhat and more of those are going in the TBR pile than anywhere else. I also have all the North American Medicals since 2001, all the Flipside, all the Everlasting, all the Next. Does anyone see the problem here. I have tried a few digital books, that may be my solution. The TBR pile won't be any smaller, but it will take up less room!!
Linda
Literacy is for Life!!
Instill the love for reading in our children and reward them for life!!
A man who build bookshelves
A man who build bookshelves is a keeper! I don't think I could have married a man who didn't love books.
I collect books too. Certain books represent different periods of my life and different periods of exploration.
Right now my TBR has reached a critical mass so that it is affecting my reading. It feels like clutter not books and so I fee more apathetic than inspired. Maybe there is some kind of association for me "clutter" and reading slumps. When I can't see the books I have because there are too many and not enough bookshelves, I start to feel overwhelmed and less enthusiastic about reading/reviewing even when I love my reading.
Merri
Hildie's blog: http://blog.hildie.net
I understand
Merri--Another thing I do when the tbr becomes overwhelming is go through my keepers. I keep a lot of books and that can be overwhelming also. So I make some tough decisions and get rid of some--they get donated to my library. This frees up room to shelve more of my not yet read books and gives me a chance to see again what I have.
I have kept a lot of books in the past for sentimental reasons with no plan to reread. I had also inherited my parents books when they passed and my mil's books when she moved into assisted living. It took me years but I finally passed them on to others (my dd took some--she's a collector too) but most were donated.
I don't know if that is something you might do but it was helpful to me when I was finally done.
Mary
Sandi...
is apparently my true twin sister! LOL!! I am just not worrying about it. Reading is fun, choosing the next book is fun, and the only pile I worry about truly is the review pile and even that has to be fun or it's not worth it! Too many other things to stress over....
The D2K Paranormal Junkies 2008 Challenge
Sandi and Deb, I am
Sandi and Deb, I am envious. Reading is fun and should be fun but until I make some changes, the TBR is making it not fun. I'm not a clean freak but too much clutter all the time makes me feel cluttered inside too. There are a million more important things to worry about but this one corner (or more like every surface) I might be able to change so that reading is more fun for me. I can do more to change this than change all the problems family and friends right now that are in the back of my mind. Things on the clutter front just magnified when my dh was sick and I had other things to do and now it is time to recollect and reorganize..
Merri
Hildie's blog: http://blog.hildie.net
Worrying
Not to say the clutter isn't annoying, because when I get in the mood it's totally annoying. However, I live in a small space, and with a family better known as packrats than people. If I'm going to keep my sanity, then I have to accept the clutter. As long as the dishes are done, the laundry is done, and things are somewhat cleaned and organized do I need to spend every spare minute obsessing over a stack being 3 inches tall and long verses 2 inches tall and long? Just not worth it.
I'm sorry to say that many people in the world worry and or obsess over things that are really beyond their control. Prime example...when I sent Richard to Chicago when he was 5 my friends were freaked? I'm like why? I have to sign him on the plane, it leaves Dallas, doesn't stop until it lands in Chicago, mom signs him off, what can go wrong? Crashing? Well, it's going to crash whether or not I'm on it, and I have no control because I'm not flying it.
Life is too precious to waste it obsessing over everything, so I pick and choose what to obsess over, and that list changes often!
Sandi
The Born Readers
Outside of a dog a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. Groucho Marx
Worrying for me can also be
Worrying for me can also be a prelude to change or a sign of growing pains. There are things happening with me, books and reviewing that make it clear to me that I need to make some changes. At this point in time, the only way to enjoy reading is to make some physical changes in my TBR and see what is there and maybe that will make the choices more evident. I have not worried for 2 months and that did not help in this instance. Normally, I agree with you, Sandi about choosing worries and priorities but this is one case where the TBR is a priority.
Merri
Hildie's blog: http://blog.hildie.net
Some people have no problem
Some people have no problem living in clutter -- I have a high tolerance for clutter, but...
Every once and a while it gets to me and I cannot settle until I get it under control. Sounds to me like you know yourself well and you need to make some changes. Find the way that makes the reading and blogging better for you. Hugs
Nancy