📚 On eliminating TBR books 📚
And how they get there in the first place
Do you ever contemplate *why* books are on your TBR? Why is it that we start reading some books before they even make it on a list; while others languish for weeks or months or years?
Sometimes, it’s a sign of changing tastes. I delete / donate those books without compunction (depending on whether they’re digital or physical). Sometimes, it was a trendy book that seemed like a good idea, but I wasn’t actually that interested. But sometimes, it’s a truly wonderful book that I never got around to for… reasons?? Why? Why did Firekeeper’s Daughter languish on my shelves for more than a year before I devoured the whole thing in a day?
It sounds a bit mystical, but I believe that it can be a matter of the right book finding the right reader at the right time. I’m a big mood reader, and a book’s gotta hit just right.
So far for #23TBRwithme (my goal to read at least 23 books I already own this year) - I’ve read 2 books I’ve been meaning to get to!
Firekeeper’s Daughter off my physical shelf — 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Romaine Wasn’t Built in a Day from my Netgalley - 4 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I have 321 books currently sitting unread on my bookcases. I logged all these into a spreadsheet and my goal is to read at least 50 by the end of the year. And to motivate me, I put myself on a book buying ban until then. I'm accomplishing this through a couple different reading challenges, including my own #ReadOffMyShelf Challenge. Of the 20 books I read in January, 8 came off my shelf. So if I at least 40% of the books I read each month come off my shelf, I feel confident I'll exceed my goal of 50. I wrote about this challenge and am tracking my progress on my blog (adds additional accountability). :)
As for all the books I have marked TBR on StoryGraph (853), Goodreads (1425), or Litsy (approx. 200), I will occasionally go through and cull the list. I probably cull my Litsy TBR the most because of its use for swaps. But I don't worry about the SG or GR TBRs because I find my virtual TBRs are a good way to get inspiration.
My unculled, books marked TBR on StoryGraph is around 2500 and growing. Lol I’m sure there are plenty I am no longer interested in but quite a few like what Firekeepers Daughter was to you. I just noticed StoryGraph has a way to add up to 5 books of your Up Next queue. I may have to try that!