What prevents you from reading the books on your to-read list?

[Tee27]

I have quite a few interesting books on my TBR list, but I have yet to read some because I tend to become impulsive in the bookstore, picking up books that catch my attention (books that I have never heard of before, mind you). On other occasions,the store doesn't have the what I am looking for, so I wind up making unplanned purchases. What distracts you from tackling your TBR list?

[Andrea]

For me, I buy a lot of books instead of reading the ones I have. I go over to Half Price Books and search their clearance section all the time and never leave with less then 10 books depending if I can afford it.
Also for me, I tend to read books I get at the library instead of reading the books I own. I have been trying to get better about that though!
It's also the thought process that the books I own and need to read will be there forever so I don't really need to read them right away.

[Kate]

too many books and not enough time to read them. And then when I think I have my list under control, authors write more!

I'm not complaining but sometimes it's frustrating. I have so many books I really want to read and then I go into a bookstore and there's book I've not heard of before that look great or books that I'd heard of and just not got around to putting on my list.

I think I'd rather have a list that's untameable than nothing to read.

[Fani *loves angst*]

Andrea wrote: "For me, I buy a lot of books instead of reading the ones I have. "

Yeap, that's my problem too. I read reviews in blogs, recs in GR, descripions in Netgalley and decide that I have to read these books asap. Only I buy more than I can read so my TBR not only stays constant but continues to grow...

[RB]

1) For me time is the biggest obstacle (I'm a slow reader). and also that I tend to buy at a faster rate than I read.
2) My second obstacle is whether or not I can get hold of the book. There are books that I want to read that are nearly impossible to find (I always purchase what I read - I never use the library)

However, I'm trying out something new: I use the shelve system on GR like this:
1) I have created a "next" shelve where I put books on that I want to read first, so
2) the "to-read" list becomes a back-log of what I actually own and want to get to eventually.
3) My "wish-list" are books that I want to read, but don't currently own/have access to.

[Neko]

I tend to go through phases where I'll read alot and quickly and then it'll stop for a while. Of course having this happen allows my TBR to pile up.

But this year I'm making a real effort to go through my books! I started out okay last year but go back into 'seriously' buying them once I found Bookdep and other cheaper places online.

I went to my TBR shelf the other day and noticed I had magazines 12 years old that I've never read! Hahaha..I'm terrible :p

[Louise]

Andrea wrote: "For me, I buy a lot of books instead of reading the ones I have. I go over to Half Price Books and search their clearance section all the time and never leave with less then 10 books depending if I..."

Like Andrea, I prioritize library books, and continue to make many new purchases. I guess I buy 3-4 new books for each book I read.
I also have to read books that I've promised to review, aaand then there's Skyrim, t.v. and my kids (who have an uncanny ability to know when I'm reading and not doing laundry etc - and then disturb me...) :-)

[RB]

OOOOH! DOVAKIN! LOL
Glad to see I'm not the only one who's into that game here :)
The dragon-bug was so annoying, don't you think? Looking forward to do some serious gaming soon :)
Have you seen this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9eGty...

[Neko]

Louise and Rita, yes gaming is also a great way to take time away from reading..I forgot to mention that as well..lol

[Chris]

Lack of time to read them all

[Joseph]

For me, I've pretty much got two types of books. Type One are books I buy because I know I want to own and read them. Type Two are library books I'm checking out of the library first to read before I buy them because I am not sure I will like them and want to own them. The problem with Type Two regarding my TBR list is that I have to place a hold on and wait for many of these library books. Too often, I am placing the hold when I am in the mood for this book, but when it arrives I may not be in the mood to read it, so it might having to go back to the library before I feel like reading it. It then stays on my list because I usually am still interested in reading it, some day.

Like Rita, I've created a To Be Read Next list for my most recent purchases and check outs so they don't get buried as my TBR list grows out of control.

[Teawench]

Like everyone else, it's buying too many new/used books and lack of time. I love to read but also love to cook and bake; I'm learning to knit and already do cross-stitching; I do some gaming and in the warmer months I try to get outside more. I just need figure out how I can do away with the pesky little things like work, sleep and personal hygiene. That or stop being interested in so many things.

[RB]

Joseph wrote: "... and wait for many of these library books. Too often, I am placing the hold when I am in the mood for this book, but when it arrives I may not be in the mood to read it, so it might having to go back to the library before I feel like reading it...."

Indeed, that is why I never use libraries. It just doesn't work for me. I did when I was a student though.

[Stefani]

For me its just the sheer number and my tendency to pile on more books as they catch my eye. I am a very impulsive book buyer, often I will buy a book based on an interesting or intriguing cover without even knowing what its about. That tends to get my TBR pile to grow exponentially and I simply can't read them fast enough.

The B&N Bargain Books section on the website doesn't help either....I cannot pass up an interesting cover AND a price under $5.00 at the same time. So I have to stop looking at it until the books no longer pile up on my floor lol.

[Tee27]

Andrea wrote: "For me, I buy a lot of books instead of reading the ones I have. I go over to Half Price Books and search their clearance section all the time and never leave with less then 10 books depending if I..."

Thanks for mentioning Half Price Books. The prices are so reasonable! Time for me to add to my TBR pile.

[Tajma]

Joseph wrote: "For me, I've pretty much got two types of books. Type One are books I buy because I know I want to own and read them. Type Two are library books I'm checking out of the library first to read befo..."

That is me in a nutshell. I should really stop going to the library but then I don't really want my TBR pile to get smaller, either...

[Tee27]

Kate wrote: "too many books and not enough time to read them. And then when I think I have my list under control, authors write more!

Yes, too many books....Can you believe that I've had times when I've felt like I didn't have anything to read, in spite of having a long TBR list? I wonder why that happens...

[Tajma]

Tee27 wrote: "Andrea wrote: "For me, I buy a lot of books instead of reading the ones I have. I go over to Half Price Books and search their clearance section all the time and never leave with less then 10 books..."

I just went there and started a new stack. This is a sickness!

[Tee27]

Teawench wrote: "Like everyone else, it's buying too many new/used books and lack of time. I love to read but also love to cook and bake; I'm learning to knit and already do cross-stitching; I do some gaming and in..."

Cooking (I also have a passion for it!) and commuting take up most of my time, so lately I've been mixing in a few audio books.

[Alondra]

Tee27 wrote: "I have quite a few interesting books on my TBR list, but I have yet to read some because I tend to become impulsive in the bookstore, picking up books that catch my attention (books that I have nev..."

..simply put.. more good books. Last night I was trying to decide what to read next and went back and forth to the TBR shelf in my nook at least 4 times... ggrrr

[Geevee]

Like most others here I buy too many and borrow lots from the library (especially as the Council thinks they should close them and save money so its a case of use them or lose 'em).

And then I find myself spending ages looking at all my books deciding what I should read next...and most of the time its not from my top 10/20 in my TBR.

I just need more time and Goodreads and the people on the site to stop recommending books :)

[Colby]

I go to the bookstore and buy shiny new books too often, and then I never get around to reading those poor neglected books on my shelf.

That, and general laziness.

[Danielle]

Geevee wrote: "Like most others here I buy too many and borrow lots from the library (especially as the Council thinks they should close them and save money so its a case of use them or lose 'em).

And then I..."

I haven't touched the recommend section of goodreads in a long time, because I see too many books I want to read!

[Teawench]

Danielle wrote: "Geevee wrote: "Like most others here I buy too many and borrow lots from the library (especially as the Council thinks they should close them and save money so its a case of use them or lose 'em). ..."

I haven't even ventured to the GR Recommendations. I don't dare.

I've tried to make a plan...one fiction, one non-fiction, one borrowed and one that I got free/should review. Never seems to work out that way, though.

[Moon]

I buy a lot of new books at the stores that catch my eye, and I get distracted by stuff I find through the library. I'm hoping to tame that backlog of books actually sitting on my shelf though. A lot of it are series installments and sequels that I will probably re-read the first books before I tackle them though. My memory is not to be trusted.

[Michelle]

Usually when someone lends me a book to read. I like to bump it up so that I can finish it and return it to the owner.

[Louise]

Rita wrote: "OOOOH! DOVAKIN! LOL
Glad to see I'm not the only one who's into that game here :)
The dragon-bug was so annoying, don't you think? Looking forward to do some serious gaming soon :)
Have you seen th..."

Nice :-)
I haven't encountered the dragon bug yet, seems I've been able to get to level 40 without going near the main quest (and I STILL can't figure out whether to back the Empire of Stormcloaks... Wulfric is so full of himself, but Tullius has that Thalmoor bimbo...)
But my husband is playing it too, and he just got to fly on a dragon last night :-)

[RB]

Louise wrote: "Rita wrote: "OOOOH! DOVAKIN! LOL
Glad to see I'm not the only one who's into that game here :)
The dragon-bug was so annoying, don't you think? Looking forward to do some serious gaming soon :)
Hav..."

I've joined the Stormcloacks, and am only level 26 lol! I've so far slayed many dragons until I encountered the bug (they flew backwards and were impossible to kill). You should definitely bag a few dragons! Once you do you can unlock the words of power that you have learned!
I'm also a werewolf! :)

[Louise]

Me too :-) I saved my game, and then had a go at the Falkreath jarl, he was sooo asking for it. Townguards are very prejudiced against werewolves!

[RB]

Louise wrote: "Me too :-) I saved my game, and then had a go at the Falkreath jarl, he was sooo asking for it. Townguards are very prejudiced against werewolves!"

Indeed! Not sure if this has happened to you, but if it hasn't: becareful of not howling while in your werewolf form if you have a follower with you: that tends to scare them away or even attack you!

[Shannon]

This thread has inspired me to start a new bookshelf to see how many of my reads in 2012 come from my own collection. Like many of you I am for ever at the library getting books as well as buying books in (e books and physical books) so my TBR list more resembles a TBR Mountain.

[Ellen]

Buying too many, getting distracted too easily, and having too many books on my TBR shelf!

[Running]

I'm trying to hack away at it slowly, but its a combination of having too many books in my possession that aren't on that list and my mom keeps bringing home too many advanced readers for me to read.

[Huw]

I blame Goodreads, it's not my fault at all! If you weren't so enthusiastic about what you are reading my TBR would be manageable.

If only that were true. I have stacks of books purchased on a whim because they look interesting at the time, as well as all the unusual stuff that my local library cannot source.

Frank Zappa said, "So many books, so little time." I suspect that had been said by all of us, at one time or another

[Joanne]

TV

[Jill H.]

The library!!!!! I have piles of books that I own and haven't read..........and what do I do? Go to the library and get more.
And Huw hit the nail on the head when he blamed GoodReads!!!! I just keep adding books to my TBR list from the great recommendations that I find here.
Sweet addiction!!!!

[Pete]

I like to maintain a large to-be-read shelf because I never know what I'll be in the mood to read when I finish a book. I think I'll get through many of my TBR books, it just might not be in the order in which I bought them.

[Karen M]

Jill wrote: "The library!!!!! I have piles of books that I own and haven't read..........and what do I do? Go to the library and get more.
And Huw hit the nail on the head when he blamed GoodReads!!!! I just ..."

My problem is simular but it's the digital library that's my problem. When I go to check how close I am to getting a book I have on hold, I end up looking at the new books and adding a few to my wish list. Oh well, it could be worse, couldn't it?

[Makeda]

Andrea wrote: "For me, I buy a lot of books instead of reading the ones I have. I go over to Half Price Books and search their clearance section all the time and never leave with less then 10 books depending if I..."

Me too. Also when my library has their annual Friends of the Library sale, I have to go support them. The clearence section of Half Price books has become my new obsession. I'm still pumped that I got season 1 of Ugly Betty for $3

[Vikki]

I keep buying more and sometimes the new ones end up getting read quicker than the ones that have been there for a while.

[Tee27]

It's going to take a little longer for me to finish my TBR pile now, since I'm in a reading slump. (I have been listening to audio books, at least.) Anyone else reading less frequently?

[Shannon]

I've been reading less, but not becaues of a slump. School is just taking up a lot of my reading time.

[Jocelin]

Sheer procrastination. Once I am in the zone; I am in the zone.

[sonya]

i have been reading less. just busy with other things that are more imp. right now.

[Marsha]

Time is my biggest enemy when it comes to reading the books on my TBR pile (for the ones that I already own) and (usually) money prevents me from diminishing my unowned TBR list (I have this problem with libraries - I usually like to keep the books that I read rather than giving them back, so I often have to buy them rather than borrow them). But, there are a couple of other reasons that often play a role in my inability to read down my TBR list: fear that I will be wasting my time reading something that I'm going to wish that I hadn't, there are other more interesting books on my pile, and my interest at that particular moment has wandered to something other than the genre of that particular book on my TBR pile.

[Alpha]

Other books on the list I'd rather read first I guess.

[Afsana]

my tbr is only the books I own. I have huge tbr and that is just due to my book buying addiction-buy more books then have time to read.

Last yr I restricted my library books and concentrated reading books I owned and that helped and this yr I have stated my aim is not to buy more then 100 books this year *(last yr bought bout 220) and so can try and get through the books I have.

Though I have already made 2 trips to the library and read 4 library books out of th 11 i have read this month. Will have to avoid to try concentrate more on what i have

[Emily]

i made a similar resolution for myself, afsana. i have to read 5 books before buying 1 book. it worked a little, but i am in debt for 2 books already lol

[Marsha]

Emily wrote: "i made a similar resolution for myself, afsana. i have to read 5 books before buying 1 book. it worked a little, but i am in debt for 2 books already lol"

That's a really good idea, I'm sure that my husband would wish for me to do the same thing. He just can't understand why I buy more books when I haven't read everything that I already have.

[J.W.]

Most of the time I wind up buying another book that catches my attention and the book gets put off.

I am constantly looking up new (to me) books, it's somewhat of an addiction, and I tend to buy far more than I can read at any given time (and I read between five and seven books per week).