21st Century Literature discussion

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Book Chat > How big is your to-read list?

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message 1: by Logophile (new)

Logophile | 41 comments Over in the Admin folder on the subject of book nominations, Jenny mentioned that her to-read list is 6 pages long. I have 226 books on mine (infinite scroll, so I'm not sure how many pages--4 1/2?). My "read" list is only 230 books.

I was wondering if other people find their to-read list grows faster than their read list? Do you ever remove books from your to-read list? When you're looking for the next book to read, do you always pick from what's already on your list, or are you like me & often seduced by something that just caught your attention or was recommended to you or you just happened on at the library (or was a book club selection)?


message 2: by William (new)

William Mego (willmego) read 525, to-read 167, currently reading usually 6-8.
I rarely browse in my library (fortunate to live .5mi from the #1 ranked public library in the USA) but I actually get my to-read ideas from goodreads, the gaps in my reading of the classics, book club selections, my friends, and oddly enough the people I follow on twitter. For example, "The Art of Fielding" which we're reading next month was mentioned on Sam Sifton's twitter feed a couple of weeks ago, which is where I first heard of it.


message 3: by Mikela (new)

Mikela Currently there are 198 books on my TBR list and that is after deleting about 200 some books. So yes I delete from it all the time. The list has taken a life of its own, going forth and multiplying all the time no matter how many I read from it.


message 4: by Jenny (new)

Jenny (jeoblivion) I have the ridiculous amount of 324 books on my list, here on GR it's only around 100, actually adding all my TR books to it seemed too depressing. I am keeping that list for 10 years now, and I can assure you it is a hilarious sight when I pull out these 6 pages in a bookstore in order to focus on what's on the list, rather than giving into the tempting amount of other books that are potentially screaming my name.
I do delete from time to time, and I still do pick spontaniously in a book store or in the library occasionally just to demonstrate some mental health, everything else would feel too obsessiv. But still, I sometimes have the image in my head that one day they'll carry me to my grave wrapped in an infinite TBR-list and me coming to life again just for a second to yell: "I CAN'T BE DEAD I STILL HAVE 721 BOOKS TO READ!!!!


message 5: by Thom (new)

Thom Swennes (Yorrick) | 14 comments I use my to read list to remember books that I don’t have yet but find interesting. Most of my books are bought purely on impulse. Occasionally I look for or order books on line; the books I then look for are from my to read list. This is how I keep the list manageable. Presently my to read list stands at 51 but 12 of those listed are now in my library and it will just be a matter of time until I read them and they will be moved to my read list.


message 6: by Logophile (new)

Logophile | 41 comments That raises another question: How many of the books on your to-read list do you own? I just checked, and apparently I own 40 of my 226 to-read titles. I guess I have no excuse for buying any more books for at least a year!


message 7: by Maggie (new)

Maggie (mmorrell) | 14 comments I am appalled to say that I have 2307 books on my to read list. But then I have always been a little piggy. I always take the most cake, for example, and wonder how other people get by with so little. I am generous , but piggy.


message 8: by Jenny (new)

Jenny (jeoblivion) Oh Maggie, thank you, I am feeling much better now! When I am given the choice between two things I kind of always want to go: "hmmm, can I have both??"

And Logophile: my TBR-list on GR has books that I already own and books I don't own. My 6-page-monster however only has books I don't own yet.


message 9: by Deborah (new)

Deborah | 983 comments I could swear I posted in this thread yesterday!

I was saying, I thought, that I have read far more books than I've listed as having read. My to read list is a fluid thing, with items added and deleted on a whim.

What surprises me is my currently reading list.


message 10: by Logophile (new)

Logophile | 41 comments Maggie, I have to say, if my TBR was that big, I would feel totally overwhelmed...like I'd need to quit my job or take a sabbatical and whittle that list down!

And y'all with more than half a dozen books on your currently reading lists, are you "actively" reading these, or do you set one down for a while and pick up another? I'm not sure what I mean by "actively reading," but of the 4 books on my currently reading list, one is really kind of stalled, one I've somewhat deliberately set aside, one I read at home and one is in my purse so I read when I find myself out and about with time to spare. So I consider myself actively reading only those latter two.


message 11: by Deborah (new)

Deborah | 983 comments Well, short stories are easy to pick up and put down. I have Lonesome Dove on my ipod. So, I listen to that while I'm walking, waiting for buses, doing housework, sitting and trying to turn it off without being able to... then I get on the bus and read A Handmaid's Tale I carry around paperbacks of Taft 2012 and Dead Wishing (which I'm so looking forward to.) I guess I'm reading some far more actively than others, but I'd say, I'm actively reading several.


message 12: by Maggie (new)

Maggie (mmorrell) | 14 comments I don't feel overwhelmed by my list, altho it does amuse me. It never occurred to me that I could delete some of them. Every one I put there at the time just sounded so good I wanted to read it. It is not a 2307 Books You Must Read Or You Die list, it is just a list of books that it seemed at the time I would really like to read. Maybe I can delete some. But they are my children!! Where do I begin?


message 13: by Deborah (new)

Deborah | 983 comments You can. That doesn't mean you have to. In fact, you should be proud of your big old list, find excuses to whip it out and intimidate all the boys with it.


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