As long as I can remember I’ve had a TBR. A list of books that I want to read – a sort of To-Do list for books. And until September 2010 my list was fairly manageable. But then I joined goodreads and my list exploded.

My Goodreads Bookshelves

I love finding new authors and books I’ve not heard of to read – and as a result my Goodreads to-read list has more books on it than books I’ve read. Lately I’ve been seeing people talking about their TBRs and how they need
to ‘prune’ them as they’re getting out of hand. But to be honest I don’t mind my list having close to a thousand books on it. I’d rather be drowning in the abundance of reading possibilities than living in a drought with nothing to read.

For my Goodreads list I do have a few rules.

• I try to only add one book from a series to my TBR. If I’ve not started a series then I only add the first book even if I intend on reading the whole series.
• Every few months I go through the books I’ve added and see if I’m still interested. I tend to go through phases and add a lot of a certain kind of book but later on reflection I realize that I’m not as interested as I was when I added them.
• If I’ve started a book from my TBR but not finished it for whatever reason I move it to another shelf called “Put on Hold” with the intention of some day getting back and finishing it. I also have a “Did Not Finish” shelf that has books I’m never intending on finishing. That shelf is currently only at 2 books (Outlander and Atlas Shrugged – they hold a special place in my heart but not for the best reason).
• There can never be too many books on the list. I know some people who don’t let their TBRs get over a hundred but that’s clearly not the case with mine.

In addition to my goodreads list I have a lot of physical books that I already own and plan to read. I don’t read to a strict schedule but I do like to plan out what I’m going to read in a loose sense. The books that I’m planning on reading in the next few months are in a cardboard box that sits underneath my coffee table. Easy access but mostly it’s because I currently need to buy some more shelving. I’ll probably have finished reading these books by February – but never fear. Christmas is near giving me opportunity to buy more books and get some as gifts to fill up another box.

My Current To Be Read pile – Very excited to read Stormdancer and The Hobbit

Lately I’ve been rather good at reading the books already in my possession but every now and then I can’t help but buy a new book or I come home from the library with half a dozen books that I read first. There are times when emotion dictates what I want to read next (I occasionally get in a mood where I must read a certain genre) or I read a review and then simply have to read a particular book (like a few weeks ago when I decided enough was enough and bought a certain Melina Marchetta book).

Feel free to leave me a comment about TBRs or even just reading in general. I love all comments and will visit back.

How do you maintain control of your TBR and do you have any suggestions? Does your TBR ever intimidate you? What book from your TBR do you plan on reading next?