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How do you control Your TBR list? Or does it control you?
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Sep 20, 2010 05:14PM
Before joining Goodreads I didn't have a TBR list. I would finish a book and then go hunting for a new one, often aimlessly. Now I have a TBR list, it started out in control, I would put a few books on the list, purchase them, add a few more, then purchase. etc. It was a happy alliance. Now my TBR list has crept up over 40 and seems to be growing at a rate which would suggest it has taken on a life of it's own. Anyone else have this problem. How do I control it. My intent is to read all the books on my TBR, how can I keep up? (I love my TBR list by the way.)
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LOl My TBR list is at over 1000. I don't think I manage it but I do use it when I go to the library to see what they have that Ive been looking for , or if I'm browsing through a second hand store or any store really.I actually have around 200 books on my TBR list that I own but havnt read yet.
I'm a bit of an addict :)
Ha ha, you make me feel far more comfortable with my comparatively puny TBR. I'm a slow reader and my reading time is quite restricted by working full time and having a family to look after. I'm also a read as I purchace girl. :D
I know the feeling Gail, I am a mother of 4 children aged 4 - 14, and work two part time jobs, but I read fast. I also have no impulse control so if I see it I have to have it :)
Until I bought my Kindle I never had a TBR list - I'd finish one book and move on to anything that grabbed my fancy - usually spending way too much in the process. Now I've got a fairly long TBR list, well I think it's long. About 25 books but I'm just working through them one at a time as they come up or as they grab my attention. I have stopped buying though - even though e-books are so cheap if I keep buying I'll never get through my list :)
Hmmmm I've just ordered an eReader. I can see I am going to have to exercise some control.
I don't buy books anymore.* I spent a couple of years worth of vacations shopping used bookstores and accumulated cartons and cartons. Besides which, goodreads has given me hundreds of ideas to check for at the library. And bookcrossing friends push books on me. I'm set for life even at the pace I read (3-8/week).*Ok, possibly at a yard sale or a Friends of the Library sale but I even avoid those now.
Cheryl wrote: "I don't buy books anymore.* I spent a couple of years worth of vacations shopping used bookstores and accumulated cartons and cartons. Besides which, goodreads has given me hundreds of ideas to c..."I love my TBR list. It's full of possibilities! I have a little 'list' obsession anyway so it's never a problem to add new books.:)
A couple of years ago I combined a few top 100 lists into one big list and if I get stuck deciding what to read next I pick something off that. Of course picking what to read next hasn't been such a problem since joining goodreads. I don't bother trying to control the TBR anymore. The problem is prioritising the books on there.
My TBR list is a physical pile by my bed, on my bookshelves and a cyber list on goodreads. I'm determined to catch up with the physical pile and use the online list to help distract me from impulse buying. Is it working? OK, I have made some inroads since I joined a read 50 in one year group. But a few new books have still slipped into the house from Amazon... Back to rehab for me!
I have found that listing books here on Goodreads has helped me realise that I'm buying books faster than I can read them! Of those that I've listed so far (and I've only done a couple of rooms...well two and a half), I've read 181, currently reading 15(there's no category for books on hold...might get back to it next summer)and TBR is 177! These are actual books that I own! I'm not going to use it as a wish list...if I spot something I think I must read, I can jot it down in a notebook...the old-fashioned paper kind, and I've also got 1001 books to read before you die, which is a good list,and can be found in most bookstores. But I can't resist sale tables! I've picked up some fabulous books for five dollars....you should go have a look sometime....Now Cheryl, how on earth can you read 3-8 books a week? I wish I could manage that! Don't you have to sleep sometimes? And what about the washing, shopping, cooking, cleaning, ironing, dusting, exercising, watching tv, phonecalls, bill paying etc? How? Please tell me...I'm so behind with my reading!
I've only just discovered GR so am slowly adding my booklists. I actually use my TBR list as literally that - books I own that I need to read, whether they be physical or ebooks.All I can say is Hello... my name is Tania and I have a book obsession.
Here's my current system with good reads. Books I've read since signing up get rated and marked as read. Everything else I own, other than reference books is getting put on as TBR. That way I can rate them as I read them and will rediscover old friends.
I love life line book fests. I will go each day they are on and fill boxes and boxes of books. New books are generally purchased as ebooks but my soul still cannot resist a pile of books to save my life.
As for how I'm figuring out what to read next.... well I'm using challenges. I've joined up to a couple of challenge lists in my favourite genres and am doing the monthly challenges each month. Like Cheryl I can easily read a book a day so it's not great task, but you can sign up for as many or as few as you can comfortably do and is a lot of fun to select the books according to the challenge criteria.
Jan, I don't do much housework (couldn't keep up with four guys anyway), just enough cooking to nourish them and cleaning so we don't get sick (no ironing, and Swiffer duster). Nor do I exercise enough. I'm in perimenopause so when I have trouble sleeping I put on my little campers' headlamp and read. I don't watch tv or go to movies. I pay all bills directly through my bank's website. My youngest is 14, I don't work outside the home, we've no pets, and I have no close friends to spend much time with.Ok, my husband and I did just get involved in geocaching, but that shouldn't take *too* much time away from reading. :)
Don't watch tv...hmmm, that's one area that I could cut down on...but I get hooked on Master Chef and X-factor and World's strictest Parents and all those wonderful historical documentaries....I have a large extended family, two granddaughters and lots of great nieces and nephews so family and friends do take a lot of time, but I wouldn't change that one.
And I want to lose weight, so I need more exercise, not less, so I guess I'll have to take a look at the tv time and make changes there.
Audio books while you walk Jan. That's my helpful fitness tip.
I like to listen to the birds.But I have heard of reading while walking, I think they had something about it on radio national on either life matters or the bookshow.
The mention of ironing is still making me choke. Sorry, the only time I iron is when I'm sewing, and since about all I can do is pillowcases and curtains that's not often! :)I'm pondering - I think listening to birds when walking is very healthful, nourishing the spirit, meditating in motion, kind of thing. If it suits you to walk sans distraction, I'd keep it up at least on a couple of your walks each week. But of course Tania's idea is great too! Hmm...
Tania wrote: "All I can say is Hello... my name is Tania and I have a book obsession.
All I can say is..."
Hi Tania. Welcome to the group. Plenty of people here with a book obsession. We are here to feed it. :)
All I can say is..."
Hi Tania. Welcome to the group. Plenty of people here with a book obsession. We are here to feed it. :)
I have a little Clifford toy... if he can't do his guard duty over my books on my Mt TBR, well, I have too many on the shelf to begin with. But then, that keeps it down to around 50 on my Mt TBR... and that's pretty healthy when you think about it. :)
I love the feature of being able to make my own bookshelves on goodreads.You can choose your own bookshelves to be default along side the generic read, to be read and I've made it so that my TBR shelf is only books I own. I created another default shelf called 'would like to read' and here, I put interesting books that I stumble across. This way my want to reads don't get lost amongst books I have to read and it makes things tidier.
Kate wrote: "I love the feature of being able to make my own bookshelves on goodreads.
You can choose your own bookshelves to be default along side the generic read, to be read and I've made it so that my TBR s..."
I have mine the other way around. The ones I own are in a seperate shelf and all the books I stumble across are on my TBR. I think your way might work better for me -- but then if I haven't read them they automatically appear in my TBR. Hmmmmm. I must check out your shelves. I'll be back.
edited: Well I just learned something new. Thanks Kate. I have now made my Owned TBR - Exclusive, which popped it up into the top section.
You can choose your own bookshelves to be default along side the generic read, to be read and I've made it so that my TBR s..."
I have mine the other way around. The ones I own are in a seperate shelf and all the books I stumble across are on my TBR. I think your way might work better for me -- but then if I haven't read them they automatically appear in my TBR. Hmmmmm. I must check out your shelves. I'll be back.
edited: Well I just learned something new. Thanks Kate. I have now made my Owned TBR - Exclusive, which popped it up into the top section.
Me too, me too. I have another toy to play with on my bookshelves. (I probably need to see a therapist, I'm a bit obsessive with my bookshelves.) :D
I've gotten to a point with my family where when I buy a book or two, they don't fuss so much. They used to groan and moan about me buying more books; now they joke that one day a bookcase will collapse on me and kill me because of the sheer weight of it. :P
::Groan:: My TBR really is taking on a life of it's own. It is developing at an exponential rate. Must stop adding, must stop adding, must stop adding... must stop.....must stoooooooop.
I'm a bit of a control freak and I am losing it with my TBR. I can't believe prior to joining GR that I was struggling to find books to read. I must have had my head stuck in the sand.
I'm a bit of a control freak and I am losing it with my TBR. I can't believe prior to joining GR that I was struggling to find books to read. I must have had my head stuck in the sand.
Yay :) Glad I could help.I was the same Gail. I'd be stuck with my very narrow comfort zones and would find it hard to branch out.. now, since I've joined goodreads, my bookshelf is overflowing, with plenty of read and yet to be read books and I constantly see new things I want to read all the time. I'm just glad I found the bookdepository website to satisfy my TBR list, or ...maybe.. its not such a good thing. The prices do make me feel less guilty about buying so many books though...
Ha ha yes I've been checking the bookdepository prices...nice, very nice, especially as I just got a kindle and am experiencing the frustrations of not being able to purchase the books on my TBR in ebook format grrrrr.
Control? What control? It's a mass that continues to grow :)
Laura was that mass or mess? :D
Ah the list.I have a pile of books on one of my benches of books I am 'currently reading' or want to read. I have read a chapter or two in most of the books. It's hell. So many books to read, but I get into a cycle of loving different books and then I get addicted to that genre and continue to buy books and read and buy and read til my head explodes!!
So to answer the question of how I manage it... it's simple. I don't :)
Ha ha, maybe I should rephrase the question to
Do you control your TBR list or does your TBR list control you?
:D
My TBR list controls me haha. I think it adds to itself sometimes. I find myself getting addicted to certain types of books at different times, a bit like you Ashleigh, and then I end up with loads of books to read.
Elise wrote: "My TBR list controls me haha. I think it adds to itself sometimes. I find myself getting addicted to certain types of books at different times, a bit like you Ashleigh, and then I end up with loads..."Yes I'm like that too Elise. I go through phases where I read everything from a certain genre for a few months then I'll change to something completely different.
Lol, I mostly don't bother to control mine. I probably have close to 150 on my TBR list, most of which I own, and a couple that I'm waiting for from the Library or have just noted that I would like to read/buy at some stage. It's nice to have a bit of variety so that I can always have something I feel like picking up. I try not to worry too much about the actual number on the list!
Mount TBR: A summit I will never reach.~S.
::sigh:: I remember the days when it was only 5 books deep, I had a plan...
I've noticed a few other groups have great reading 'games' and the goal is to reduce your TBR pile! Sounds like a very good idea. Has anyone seen/tried them in your other groups? My TBR is totally out of control. I'm thinking of dividing it into two different shelves. One for books that I definitely will read in the future and one for books that are interesting but not sure if I'll get around to them.;)
I recently separated mine into two. Ones that I own and then a general TBR. You are right, I need a third one to identify the books that are my highest priority. (There is going to be a lot of movement between the two because I can't decide...)
I probably need an intervention!. It was comforting to hear a bunch of you have piles of books by your bedside like i do. My TBR WAS quite small till sometime last year and it started suddenly doubling when I began a wishlist shelf on GR. That now numbers 284. I may never find them but having them listed gives me some direction as I am finding local libraries reducing their stock and I can never find what I want - so a long list is helpful. The actual books I own that are on my TBR comes to about 418. A year or so ago when finding books at libraries became difficult I started looking at op shops & 2nd hand stores. This year found a place that sells a bag (usually holds about 20-25) for $10. My UTTER UTTER downfall. So the list has grown at an alarming rate. Then one of my bookpals recently moved to a smaller place, he offloaded to me about 110 sci/fantasy/horror he'd read but couldn't sell anywhere. They are currently bookshelf-less piled up under the computer desk. I do read a lot & fast, & have several on the go at one time, depends on how I feel what I choose. I'm trying to bump up my yearly read number to 100 but am only at about 80ish so far. Don't think I will achieve that this year. I only read for myself before sleep in bed. Insomnia is a great friend to a reader!. I also end up reading a fair number of books & articles for my daughter at uni. (2 more years of this!) so I see no end to my TBR pile.
I do love MY wishlist shelf.
We almost need an AA meeting, or should I say TBRA. :)
I need to stop going to the library. I have a dozen cartons of books to read - but they're not the same ones that are being read in my groups, so I have to get library books for those discussions. And while I'm there I find others. I seriously have to empty some cartons though because we're moving to a smaller place next spring. Help!As far as my goodreads to-read and wishlist shelves though, no problem. I like knowing I'll never run out of good ideas of what to find once the books in my cartons are read, bookcrossed & released.
I wish I had your control Cheryl. Once I have a book on my TBR I want to own and read it... need help. It is great to have a good selection.
How are you going to part with your books? I am feeling separation anxiety for you already.
How are you going to part with your books? I am feeling separation anxiety for you already.
Cheryl, I understand the space problem too well. The bookshelves we have at home are piled 2-3 deep. I need to part with a lot of books soon, floor space is shrinking. Have succeeded in getting my niece interested in reading, so about to offload a bunch of horror/vampires ones to her. The rest I find hard to part with (so far) but will be forced to eventually.
Cheryl wrote: "once the books in my cartons are read, bookcrossed & released..."I've seen you mention 'bookcrossing' before Cheryl. What is it?
Velvetink wrote: "Have succeeded in getting my niece interested in reading, so about to offload a bunch of horror/vampires ones to her. The rest I find hard to part with (so far) but will be forced to eventually..."I've recently started leaving some books I've read in our nurses handover room at the hospital. This habit seems to have started without any organisation. Someone just left a book with a note on it one day on the windowsill and now lots of people bring books in. It's great on night shift to have something to read if I forget my kindle.
Actually now that I think of it. If anyone is wanting to get rid of some books contact the Red Cross of your nearest hospital and they will keep them to give out to inpatients.
Gail "cyborg" wrote: "Before joining Goodreads I didn't have a TBR list. I would finish a book and then go hunting for a new one, often aimlessly. Now I have a TBR list, it started out in control, I would put a few book..."LOL, so the same thing here. I never had a TBR list, but now, it grows every day. And what is worse is that even though I have about 20 books on my shelf needed to be read I still keep buying more. I can't help myself. I see them in the shops and get itchy fingers. Ahhh. My poor bank account. LOL
Sorry - I get notification that there are new messages in my email, and there must've been a glitch, as I didn't realize there were more here until now. Anyway...I was brought up with libraries. I've never viewed books as things to own. I apologize to people trying to make a living off writing, but I feel more communal, more like the First American attitude toward ownership of the land.
Bookcrossing.com provides a somewhat formalized way to share books. There are lots of ways to use it, depending on your interests & attitudes, but the basic idea is to 'make the whole world a library.' When I'm done reading a book, I register it at the website, to get a unique tracking code (BCID) to write on a label and stick on the inside front cover. Then I 'release' the book. I release most of mine to an 'OBCZ' - a bookshelf in my favorite local smoothie shop. Others I release to the paperback exchange rack at the library, or to friends or to fellow bookcrossers.
The idea is that they can then go to bookcrossing.com, record the BCID, and I'll know that the book is in safe hands, and maybe what they'll do with it when they're done. Unfortunately not very many do get those 'catches' and 'journal entries' but it's still better, imo, than just ditching them at a yard/tag sale or thrift/charity shop. The 'karma' of sharing books feels good to me.
There are ways to use the site, too, some of which resemble goodreads swap, or Where's George, or geocaching - check it out! :) Btw, I'm cherylllr over there.
Btw, ask first before leaving them at a hospital or nursing home/senior living center. Some institutions are very fearful of germs and won't accept them. Otherwise it's a lovely idea.
There are the books my library has in print that I haven't read yet (but look interesting), ditto for their audio and e-book collections, as well as the audio books I own, but haven't heard yet ... not to mention the print books I own!
I've got a pile of books that are on my TBR and once I've finished one of the books I will go to that pile and see which one takes my interest and read it.I've used GR to see how many books are on my TBR list though. I usually don't list books on my TBR list that I don't already own and will make another list for ones to buy that will go onto the TBR, otherwise I will get lost..lol
Ha, Laura I am so jealous you obviously have far more control than I do. :P
