I read an article about managing your TBR (or To Be Read) pile of books. You can take a look at that article through this link. One of the suggestions was to periodically go through your list and remove books you’re not interested in reading anymore. I’ve been on Goodreads for, what is it, two years now? I don’t think I’ve taken a moment to make sure that all the books I’ve marked are ones I still want to read. Considering how my tastes have changed here and there, I felt this was a necessary step to take.
I log on to Goodreads and click on my To Read link. Start from the earliest added books. Scroll down… hmm… interesting. This is a lot of books. This is going to take FOREVER. (Not really, I’m just being dramatic.)
There were surprisingly quite a few strange choices in there. Various books in certain genres I used to be obsessed with. (Twilight, anyone?) Not that I don’t like books in the genre, I just don’t have the same fascination that I used to. I saw some and couldn’t remember what it was about, read the synopsis, and got a puzzled look on my face. Why is that on there?! I had even added whole series of books even though I hadn’t read the first book. Now that was stupid.
No wonder my TBR list was so long!
I probably only deleted around 50 books, but it certainly made my pile seem much less intimidating. Not to mention it saved me from accidentally attempting to read something I’m not going to enjoy without thinking and waste my time.
It’s a good thing to keep in mind as time goes on. Reevaluate what’s on your TBR list and delete where necessary. Not only is it good for book reading, but it’s also a good thought for life in general as well.
Happy reading (the books you really want to read)!
~Jessica
First things first, I must award you this.:-)
ReplyDeleteI had a similar clean-out a couple of months ago. I had all these Richard & Judy Book Club books that I didn't want to read anymore, it was just that before I started looking at blogs, I hadn't much idea of where to get recommendations for books. They don't match my current tastes for Fantasy and YA, so it was better to give them away than have them taking up space.
Jess, I can't even keep up with my TBR list anymore. I don't know where others keep their lists but mine is all over the place on little scraps of paper and parts of notebooks! Being a book blogger is a bit self torturous isn't it? I have been introduced to so many books but I spend so much time on here I don't read as much and it goes around and around. Love the topic though!
ReplyDeleteTG: I have to do the same with my literal books soon too. I've gotten lots of bargain books online and from thrift stores and I doubt I'll ever read them. A couple of them I have a feeling I might not like after I read them, so they'll probably have to go too. Lol.
ReplyDeleteLan: Are you on Goodreads? Because that has been a lifesaver for me when it comes to keeping track of books. I used to have word files and notebooks with books written in them, but I still had no idea what was what anymore. It takes some time to get it all started (add books you've read, want to read), but once you have it going, it is beyond helpful. ^_^
I know what you mean, my TBR list is huge. But, I don't want to delete any in case one day I actually do need to go find something. I can't imagine that at the moment though. What is more important for me is going through the over 200 books I have sitting in my house TBR occasionally and getting rid of them.
ReplyDeleteHaha I definitely need to read that article, not that it will help me too too much because I already have about 150 books on my TBR List sitting in my room! Maybe I can go through goodreads and see what else makes up that 300+ list.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't even thought of this. I'd be scared that I'd go through all 400 plus books and still not be able to delete any. I should, though, it's a good idea.
ReplyDeleteLisa Mandina: If I even had a twinge of possibly wanting to read a book, I didn't delete it. It had been two years, so some of my reading habits changed. I didn't delete anything I added since I started this blog. :)
ReplyDeleteAngie & Jenny: Hey, even just deleting 5 or 10 would be good. Make the future reading task a teeny bit smaller. :)
Haha Jenny, I have to agree with you, if anything I would find more books to add to it LOL! I think next year's challenge will to be read at least half my stack of TBR books!
ReplyDeleteI can't quite do that because I have all the books on my TBR list. The books on my wishlist are books I have yet to purchase and it isn't long at all. I really like buying books...
ReplyDeleteGreat idea though :)