Mount TBR 2020 discussion
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Alanna Focuses on Formulas
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Hi Alanna! I am also trying to make sure I buy fewer books than I read. I've been doing this a few years now but I only found this challenge in August last year. I've been doing the "read 2, buy 1" formula and it can be done. In fact last year I only bought 12 books! If you told me that would ever happen before I started this I would have laughed in disbelief, but this year it just happened, I didn't plan to do it or try to do it.
As well as trying to read 2 books for every one I buy I also record the books I buy in my mountain climb. I count them as steps down the mountain. It really helped me keep going last year because it made it easy to see how I was doing. I hope you don't mind me mentioning it in case it's something you might want to try in addition to the "read 2, buy 1" formula.
Another key thing that helps me is "shopping my TBRs". I look through my TBRs until I find a book I am desperate to read. If I buy a book then I read the new book instead of the one I already had that I really, really wanted to read. I count this as a step up the mountain I am climbing. I know we are not supposed to count books bought in 2020 but if you have counted it as a step down the mountain, then reading it is not going to help you get to the top, you are just cancelling out the step down that you made by buying it.
Sorry this post is so long. I hope it has given you some useful ideas and good luck!
KeenReader wrote: "Hi Alanna! I am also trying to make sure I buy fewer books than I read. I've been doing this a few years now but I only found this challenge in August last year. I've been doing the "read 2, buy ..."
I appreciate it, no worries about the length! I think what I'm going to do first is give up on reading all the Buffy books in order and just knock out the comics. It won't help with the physical space issues, but it'll make me feel better about the numbers.
I've also started using a habit-forming app called Habitica. One of my daily requirements is to read at minimum 20 pages of something that isn't fanfiction, and once I catch up with my podcasts I'm going to add 30 minutes of audiobook. With one exception, I've read way more than 20 pages a day, even though it's ended in only three books finished (2 DNFs).
This is my first year doing this TBR Challenge (trying Mount Blanc). I really like the idea of read two, but one. Otherwise, there really isn’t much progress. That would be tough since I did join the BOTM last year, which means I would be up 12. That would automatically mean I would need to read 24 from my TBR the entire Mount Blanc goal. Maybe I need to cancel my BOTM. I love getting the books in the mail, but I haven’t read any if the ones I already received.
Carol wrote: "This is my first year doing this TBR Challenge (trying Mount Blanc). I really like the idea of read two, but one. Otherwise, there really isn’t much progress. That would be tough since I did join t..."I think whether or not anything works for you depends on a lot of factors! F'r instance, I own about 700 books after a large cull I did a few years back, about 200 of which are unread. But I don't have much space. That's a problem! I could always switch to ebooks, but my brain prefers paper when I can get it.
Also, I read about 120 books a year on average, so I think 60 is pretty easily doable if I go that route. If you don't read much, it might be reasonable to change the in:out ratio!
Yes! My thoughts exactly about books out and books in. So much so, I opened a '2020 books bought' shelf here on GRs, so I can actually keep track of which books are coming into the house and how many I'm buying. I'm hoping it might curb my buying habits a bit if I'm honest. Hah! Faint hope, but at least I'm trying.
First down! 1. Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente, added 2019
2. Letters for Lucardo, Vol. 1 by Otava Heikkilä, added 2019
3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Classic #48: Withdrawal by Jim Pascoe, added 2018
4. Jackalope Springs Eternal, text by Shannon Watters, added 2019
Good idea To set ip a Goodreads shelf! I already purchased a Kindle book and audible book today.😩
Doing my early year comics sprint. :)5. Indoor Recess,text by Shannon Watters, added 2019
6. You're All Just Jealous of My Jetpack by Tom Gauld, added 2019
7. Artificial Condition by Martha Wells, added 2018
8. The Diary of a Nobody by George Grossmith, added 2019, DNF9. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Classic #45: Willow & Tara: Wilderness, text by Amber Benson, added 2018
10. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Classic #42: Night of 1000 Vampires/Ugly Little Monsters, text by Jim Pascoe, added 2018
11. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Classic #39: Out of the Woodwork, text by Jim Pascoe, added 2018
12. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Classic #41: False Memories, text by Jim Pascoe, added 2018
Leslie wrote: "Wow, you are off to a great start!"Thanks, but the problem isn't starting, it's keeping it going. XD
13. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Classic #46: Death of Buffy, text by Tom Fassbender, added 201814.Buffy the Vampire Slayer Classic #49: Note From The Underground, text by Fabian Nicieza, added 2018
and with that last one, we have
15. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus Vol. 7, various authors, added 2017
16. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Vol. 11: Call Your Squirrelfriend, text by Ryan North, added 2019
18. The Complete Yes Minister by Jonathan Lynn, added 2019, DNFI can't stand humor that just gives me secondhand embarrassment.
19. Spike: Into The Light, text by James Marsters, added 2017
20. Spike: The Devil You Know, text by Bill Williams, added 2017
Hey, I've got some Buffy comics on my Mt. TBR as well! Let's SLAY 2020 (sorry, couldn't resist)!
Maria wrote: "Hey, I've got some Buffy comics on my Mt. TBR as well! Let's SLAY 2020 (sorry, couldn't resist)!"I have a whole collection of the tie-in comics and novels. One day I'll actually read them all.
I found a handful of books that hadn't made it onto my LibraryThing list somehow. *headdesk*Current TBR-Owned Total: 205 (6 print/audio duplicates)
Digital: 45
Paper: 149
Audio: 8 (6 print/audio duplicates)
Total for non-Buffy books: 108
Non-Buffy comics: 9
Unread Buffy books (minus single issues): 67
Buffy single issue comics: 25
Buffy novels: 47
21. A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an Age by William Manchester, added 2019, DNFPlease do not read this book. It is such BS that I only got through the first section.
I am super impressed that you know how many books you have, and in what format, unread. Wow. This is something I need to document better!
Marni wrote: "I am super impressed that you know how many books you have, and in what format, unread. Wow. This is something I need to document better!"I use a website called LibraryThing! It's mostly meant for small libraries (churches, private schools, etc.) but it's also really good for extensive personal libraries. It's also got a really robust tagging system, and all my books are tagged by format, genre, series, publisher and imprint, as well as read status.
The social system is bigger around here so I stuck around. Really, there are only two issues: lack of comics support, and while they give away paid accounts pretty frequently, free accounts are limited to 200 books.
5 DNFs. I think I need to do a better job picking my buys, this is embarrassing.
Two I realized I was never actually going to read:27. Dreadful Company by Vivian Shaw, added 2019
28.Grave Importance by Vivian Shaw, added 2019
31. Fence, Vol. 1, text by C.S. Pacat, added 2018, I think, because this one wasn't on my list somehow.
Three more I decided I'd never read/finish:32. The Song of Roland, unknown author, added 2019
33. The Road to Middle-Earth: How J.R.R. Tolkien Created A New Mythology by Tom Shippey, added 2019, DNF
34. Wizardry and Wild Romance: A Study of Epic Fantasy by Michael Moorcock, added 2019, DNF
More DNFs and books I'm getting rid of without having read:38. Mr. Midshipman Hornblower by C.S. Forester, added 2019, DNF
39. Shadowhouse Fall by Daniel José Older, added 2017, DNF
40. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy, added 2019
41. The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, added 2018
42. Robin Hood by J.C. Holt, added 2018
43. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong, added 2018, DNF
44. Paradise Lost by John Milton, added 2019, listening to this one in podcast form instead
45. The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu, added 2017, DNF
Current TBR-Owned Total: 177 (6 print/audio duplicates)Qualify for Challenge: 168
Digital: 41
Paper: 127
Audio: 8 (6 print/audio duplicates)
Total for non-Buffy books: 82
Non-Buffy comics: 6
Unread Buffy books (minus single issues): 62
Buffy single issue comics: 25
Buffy novels: 47
I'm slowly reclaiming one of my exactly two shelves that are big enough for hardbacks!
46. Gunnerkrigg Court Vol. 6: Dissolve by Thomas Siddell, added 201847. Gunnerkrigg Court Volume Seven: Synthesis by Thomas Siddell, added 2019
Updated numbers because I forgot how to count last time.Current TBR-Owned Total: 180 (5 print/audio duplicates)
Qualify for Challenge: 169 (5 print/audio duplicates)
Digital: 44/42
Paper: 127 (total)
Audio: 6 (5 print/audio duplicates)
Total for non-Buffy books: 77
Non-Buffy comics: 4
Unread Buffy books (minus single issues): 62
Buffy single issue comics: 25
Buffy novels: 47
I should really pick up that next Buffy book.
51. Words Are My Matter: Writings About Life and Books, 2000–2016, with A Journal of a Writer's Week by Ursula K. Le Guin, added 2019
52-59. Angel and Faith Season 9 Issue 1-8, words by Christopher Gage, added 2018. Not on GR.Is this cheating? I choose no.
Mount TBR 2020
Books mentioned in this topic
The Priory of the Orange Tree (other topics)Words Are My Matter: Writings About Life and Books, 2000-2016 (other topics)
Wayward Son (other topics)
Black Tudors: The Untold Story (other topics)
Harry Potter: A History of Magic (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Samantha Shannon (other topics)Ursula K. Le Guin (other topics)
Rainbow Rowell (other topics)
Miranda Kaufmann (other topics)
Thomas Siddell (other topics)
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Edit: Okay, went a little nuts with books and found a ton of single-issue comics I hadn't entered, so the actual Jan 1 numbers are here now. Admittedly there's a lot of overlap. For example, I own a lot of digital single-issue comics that I also own in trade paperback form, or large books I own in both print and digital for ease of reading, but I guess that'll just make my numbers go down faster, yeah?
Current TBR-Owned Total: 211 (4 print/audio duplicates) (1st update)
Digital: 56
Paper: 145
Audio: 5 (4 print/audio duplicates)
Total for non-Buffy books: 102
Non-Buffy comics: 11
Unread Buffy books (minus single issues): 81
Buffy single issue comics: 48
Buffy novels: 47
I know that's a lot of numbers, but I'm trying to guilt myself into being a little less whimsical in my reading.