Question Of The Moment: How bad is your TBR pile? (4)

After seeing it done on the blogs The Book Shop Assistant and Fictional Distraction, I realized there was a necessity in doing this myself. So, I took some pictures.

Here is a picture of my shelves before pulling books I haven't read:

Here are *most* of my YA/Adult fiction novels.

It's a lot of books, but I did remove several of them to sell/trade/giveaway recently. So, how many of these do you think I haven't read yet? (Start placing your bets before you look at the next picture...)

Here is a picture of the books I haven't read yet:

I know, RIGHT?!

I couldn't believe it... The total of books I need to read is 81. EIGHTY-ONE. Of course, you have to take into consideration that I will buy several books in series I'm starting (like Kathy Reich's Temperance Brennen series and the Gossip Girl series). I like to snatch deals on series books when I can. Even if you take down those books, it's still a massive pile. And this isn't even counting the books on my Nook!!

Here's a close-up of the TBR pile:

See anything good in this pile that I am in dire need of reading next? I have a few in mind that I'm going to be taking with me on vacation middle of this month. I'd like to see if you guys recommend the same books. Which ones am I taking with me? You'll find out on a special post the day I leave for vacation. Muahaha!

And for the sake of amusement, here's what my shelf looks like minus the TBR books:

Wow.

It's almost sad to see how many I have read versus haven't read. It'll be something I'll remedy soon enough. I've been slowly making my way through it. Working less helps. Plus my vacation will help too. We all go through this, don't we?

How about you?

How bad is your TBR pile? Does it just get worse and worse or have you tried to keep it down and read more?

Once Upon This Time...

*giggles uncontrollably to self* *ahem* Back to the point of this post!

So! We're halfway through March, which is about the point I said I would be back on track here. So... am I? Pretty much, yeah. I don't think there's ever a point where you're ever truly caught up.

My Writing

Even though I didn't write/revise as much as I was hoping, although I think my mind had a different idea of how far I would get, I am still proud of how much I was able to do. One thing my mind didn't take into consideration is the fact that I'm EDITING now. Editing takes longer than blitz writing or just writing. I'm fixing mistakes, rewording sentences, deleting whole paragraphs, and rewriting whole scenes. I was reading on Veronica Roth's blog about how much Divergent changed from first draft to final draft (don't read it unless you've read Divergent!), and it was a comfort to know I'm not alone in changing things dramatically. It's funny how the ideas from week one of NaNo changed to completely different ideas by the end of the month, and even NOW it's different. I may have to do one of those posts once I finish my book.

Since you're all wondering how much I accomplished, I will give you the word count details. I can't recall what the word count was when I started February (my best guess is 2,500-3,000). In any case, my current revision word count (as of last night when I scheduled this) is 10,051. 8200 of it is words in order, 2051 is from the scenes I wrote out of order. So, I wrote/revised about 7,000 words in about 6 weeks. It feels GOOD, let me tell ya.

The To Be Read List

I had to cut down on my TBR list. The last time I went through it, I found so many books I won't read. And I have come to realize that as time passes, my tastes evolve into something different. Some things I would read just to read before become more of a waste of my reading time.

Of course, on this one I don't remember the number I started at. All I know is I probably removed about 50 books. For some reason, it just feels like a weight lifted off my chest, even though it's not that big of a deal. It's just nice to clear out anything that is unnecessary, you know?

My Etsy Shop

I was able to get my Etsy shop back up and running! Some of it is handmade stuff by me but most of it is craft supply destash. My room has been chock full of craft supplies and many of them were purchased on a whim or when I thought I could use them for a project but never got around to it. I still have a lot of craft supplies (almost wonder if I should weed more stuff out), but it's gone down tremendously. If anyone is interested, I added a 27% off discount (just type in "save27sale" in the apply shop coupon code spot when the item is in your cart). I have sold a few things but I am determined to get as many of these things GONE as possible by the time the listings expire.

My Blog Posts

I've been able to work out a number of posts that I can't wait to share with you. I saved them up so that in case I fall behind again, I have at least a week or two of leeway to get it back together. As you may remember from this post, there will be a few new features happening on this blog. On My Mind for the things currently on my mind, Question Of The Moment for the bookish/writing things I'm pondering about, and Inspired Creations for the Etsy awesomeness related to all kinds of obsessions.

My Reading

I got behind on my goal for the year in the middle there, but caught up near the end. I'm hoping to stay ahead for the time being. Also, I am getting closer on catching up to the number I should be at on my e.e. cummings poetry reading. I am behind on it, but I keep kicking myself so that I read the minimum at the very least per day. The further behind on reading I get, the less likely I'll have book reviews to post! AH! So, I need to keep up with it, at least for this year.

What Is To Come...

The rest of March and into April will include:

• attempting to revise 5,000-10,000 more words
• more blog posts
• my blogoversary giveaway
• list several more items on Etsy
• list a bunch of books on eBay
• a guest post on another blog
• a guest post on my blog
• ...and probably some other cool things, lol

I can't think of anything else. But I'm sure I'm missing something. Oh well, it'll be a surprise then!

Anyways, that's about all there is to say for now. Thanks for reading about the latest with me, even though it wasn't that interesting, and I threw in a shameless plug for my Etsy shop. ^_^ XOXO to all!

~Jessica

PS: Original picture has been removed on 08/03/2012

To Be Read... Or Not

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

Off The Shelf Challenge

This challenge is from Dutchie @ BA Reading Challenges.

Are your books multiplying like rabbits before you even get a chance to read them? Trying to keep up with them, but can't stop buying new ones?

Maybe this challenge is for you. I know what it's like. There's so many titles and so many beautiful books out there sometimes it's hard to keep that TBR shelf under control, but if you really want to try why not challenge yourself?

The challenge begins on the 1st of January and ends on the 31st of December 2011

Note: This challenge is to read those books you own copies of, but have never got around to reading. If you don't have many that you own, but have a massive TBR shelf you're welcome to read those ones as long as you don't add new ones. You don't need to actually get rid of your books after you've read them, this is just to read them.

How To Participate

1. Decide which challenge level you'll be doing (further below) - do not include books that you buy from the start of this challenge.
2. Grab the code for the badge down below and post it on a side bar or in a signature (if you want to participate, but aren't blogging, on a social network or forum - Submission For Non Bloggers).
3. Create your own post to let all your readers know you’re taking part in the challenge and at what level (if you're really proficient you can list your books!). Make sure to link back to this page with either one of the buttons or a text link..
4. Use the link form below to enter into the challenge by sharing your challenge post url and your name (either your name, blog name, or both).Please don't use the comment form to participate, only to comment on the challenge or something else..
5. Submit your reviews (if you choose to review them, but that is optional) on the review page.
6. When you’ve completed you’re challenge let us know on the completion post. If you're using a tag or category I recommend sharing the link back to that so everyone can find them

Challenge Levels

1. Tempted– Choose 5 books to read
2. Trying – Choose 15 books to read
3. Making A Dint – Choose 30 books to read
4. On A Roll – Choose 50 books to read
5. Flying Off – Choose 75 books to read

For extra hard challenges

1. Hoarder – Choose 76-125 books to read
2. Buried – Choose 126-200 books to read

You can view my progress HERE.


My Level of choice is Level 1 "Tempted" with 5 books that I'll read by the end of the year. I don't think I have 15 books I haven't read on my shelves, so I can't go up a level. A promise for 5 is good enough!

~Jessica