How I Choose My TBR

It’s a very simple system, really. It helps keep my stress down, by making sure my TBR doesn’t get too long or too unrealistic.

While I love to read, I am also a picky reader, so having a well-crafted TBR also helps to avoid disappointment (most of the time).

And, of course, spare time does not always exist in abundance in my life, so being prepared ahead of actually being in the library or on Barnes and Noble.com is quite handy.

I keep a list on Goodreads (come on, who doesn’t?), which works sooooo much better than my old method (which was scribbling down a newly-released title on a random grocery list and praying I don’t lose it).

Now, here’s how I decide what actually goes on that list:

Criteria 1: It’s by an author I already know I like. Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Erin Hunter, Maggie Stiefvater, Holly Black, Charles De Lint, JK Rowling — these are all names that will make me sit up and take notice in a newsletter or article. Sadly, some of these folks are no longer with us or aren’t releasing new material lately. And the back catalogs of others I have ploughed right through. Still, it’s good to have a go-to (or several).

Criteria 2: It’s by an author that comes highly recommended (by everyone I know). After seeing the same authors constantly named in the same raving reviews, I feel compelled to give them a try. In some cases, this has not panned out. In others, it’s been a huge success. In others still, I have yet to get to said titles. (What?! Sometimes the library has a long wait list!)

Criteria 3: White Fang may be interested in it. Yes, it goes on my TBR, even though he’ll be reading it. Why? Because otherwise I will very promptly forget that he mentioned that series or author or genre. Yup, mum of the year award for short-term memory does not go to me!

Criteria 4: It’s likely to show up in my local library. Not that this is a strict rule, but it is a pretty regular guideline. Since the ratty old wallpaper peeling off my living room walls is not made of dollar bills, I need to save my money for things other than buying books. Hence, if I can’t get it for free, it will either be waaaaay down the TBR, or not turn up on it for a few years.

Criteria 5: It’s not coming out until next year, but it does sound really good, and I don’t want it to slip my mind. Take Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince and Nadine Brandes’ Fawkes as Exhibit A. The former has been sitting on my list for about 3 months, and finally it’ll hit stores sometime in January. The latter won’t even be out until sometime in 2018 (it’s so far away I can’t even remember without Googling it), but I will kick myself if the fact of its very existence just slips out of my brain.