Do you use your to-read list

[Matthew]

Do you use your to-read list?

I have just finished reading A Crown Imperiled and was looking through my bookshelf for what to read next.

I have got into the habit of placing books that I have let to read on their spines so that I can find them easier, and thought to myself, I will look on goodreads to find out what is in my to-read list.

On the top of my list was The Last Stormlord.
I had picked a different book to read, but when I saw this it reminded me that 1. I put this on my to-read list almost a year ago and I had yet to get to it, and 2. I made a to-read list for a reason.

so do you use the list or just pick a book at random that isnt the book club pick when you want to read something else?

[Paul]

I have a pile of about 20 physical books on my bedside table which is as close as a real "to read" list as I get. When I finish one I tend to pick the next according to my mood. However I do most of my reading on my Kindle now. I keep all the books I've read on that in category folders. Anything which isn't in a folder has yet to be read. That makes the unread books very easy to find.

[Andrew]

The problem with my to-read list is that it becomes an aspirational list - not just what I want to read, but what I feel I should. Gr isn't even my complete list. Add to this the fact that I encounter new books at a rate higher than my book reading rate, and well it only somewhat works for me. Don't get me wrong I do look at it, but not exclusively.

[terpkristin]

Paul wrote: "I have a pile of about 20 physical books on my bedside table which is as close as a real "to read" list as I get. When I finish one I tend to pick the next according to my mood. However I do most o..."

Me too! I also keep all my unread-but-purchased books actually downloaded on my Kindle, Fire, and Kindle for iPhone. Once I read a book, I send it to my archive. And if I see one I don't want to forget to read/looks interesting, I add it to my GR "to-read" shelf and/or my Amazon wishlist.

[Paul]

3 of my 8 loaded bookshelves have "to read" physical books stockpiled in them . . . maybe I should be on Hoarders?

I choose my next read based on what I feel like reading after I finish a book. I may pick from my stockpile, or scope out the local library.

Too many books, never enough time . . .

so that would be "no" to a "to read" list.

[Brandon]

I have a to read collection on my kindle. Sometimes I flip through it though and decide I want something else despite having 50+ books on my list.

[Warren]

I use all three of my to-read list.
Not to mention my to-read stack of paperbacks.

[Bree]

I recently rearranged my rather large bookshelf so that an entire shelf is dedicated to books I haven't gotten to, yet, and another shelf is for books I haven't finished (not quite Lemmed, but at least on hold). It makes it easier for me to motivate myself to finish them.

For Kindle, I really depends on my 'to-read' list on goodreads. I don't like having to scroll through a bunch of titles, so I usually only keep a small handful on it at a time. When it's time for a new book, I poke through my list and compare it to what I have downloaded in the past. Or, y'know, go out and buy something new because I am a shameless book hoarded.

[Keith]

Yes...if by "use" you mean "keep adding to..." :)

[[deleted user]]

I used to just add books that looked interesting and that I might want to read someday to my TBR. But then it just got silly. 300+ books on there that I might never get to? Pfft.

So I culled the entire thing and have around 20 on there at a time. And I plan on reading what's on there first(if possible) before moving to anything else.

[Boots]

The order of my to-read list isn't accurate but I definitely use it. Usually I go through my list until I find something that sounds appealing at the time and if there are books that seem consistently unappealing then I take them off the list.

I also add books that haven't come out yet so I have a general idea of when they'll be published. It actually came in pretty handy last year.

[Violinknitter]

I use my GR TBR list mostly as a "what do I want to get at the library today?" list. I don't worry about ranking books in order of what I want to read first. If I'm headed to the library, I'll often check my GR To Read list against the library's database, to see what interesting books are available on the shelf that day.

[Random]

I'm a bit back and forth on the Goodreads to-read list. I go through fits and spurts where I populate it faithfully, then I'll eventually get annoyed and delete everything from the shelf.

Right now its mostly being used to help keep track of books I'd like to read and that I have indeed bought the book and it is waiting for me. There is no guarantee that I will read any of those books in the near or even distant future. The next book I read will be the book I feel like reading when I finish my current book, whatever that book might be. :D

[Aloha]

I'm a book hoarder. I categorize each books in a bunch of categories. Whenever I feel a particular type of book, I go to that shelf and happily count the books available to me. The more books the better. During my childhood, the place of solace is within the library shelves. I peruse through each book binder, wondering what's within them. It's exciting what information each book will give me.

So, I love, love my Goodreads shelf. I'm happy looking at them, even if they contain more books than I could ever read. I also have tons of books I have not had time to input, and I love looking at my computer files, which are also categorized according to genre and author's last names. I have a drive dedicated to audios, since they take up a lot of memory. I have back up drives because I would hate to lose my eBooks and audios. I can't predict what I will read. I will be inspired to read a book because a certain information was put before me, because a movie in which the book was based on made me want to read the book, or from playing Sherlock because I liked a book so much I want to read a book related to it. It always makes me happy seeing that I have a lot of books related to what I'm interested in reading at the moment. The more books the merrier!

[terpkristin]

http://bookshelfporn.com/

[Aloha]

Oh, yeah! Except now, it's all digital since I don't have room for the amount of books I hoard.

[Chad]

I use a combination of Evernote and my Good Reads "To Read" shelf. I manage a much longer list in Evernote. Any book or series that I come across that I think I might read in the future goes here. I use my Good Reads list for the books I actually intend on reading next, and I try to keep these in order -- usually no more than 6 or 8 books. Once decided, it comes off the Evernote list and on to Good Reads list.

[Matthew]

I also created a 'to buy' shelf that I put books that I find that I want to read, but have not yet got. This includes books that may not have been released yet.

I find that this is a good place to keep a list of books that I might want to give out to people if they want to buy me a present for birthday or Christmas, or just because.

[terpkristin]

That's why I maintain my Amazon wishlist with books (and games) I want, so family members have some ideas for stuff I'd like but don't strictly "need." I wish my family members would do the same sometimes. ;)

[kvon]

That's a great idea, Matthew. I don't like amazon, but everyone likes their wishlist.

I don't use to-read on GR except for a book club book that I expect to read in the next month. I do keep a note on my phone of what books are coming out that I might want to buy, sorted by month.

[Walter]

Matthew wrote: "I also created a 'to buy' shelf that I put books that I find that I want to read, but have not yet got. This includes books that may not have been released yet. "

I use Amazon for my to buy list. Because if I buy it, it's going to be on Amazon.

[Samus5678]

since I use both ebooks and physical books, I just use my to-read list as a "what I plan to read in the near future". I want to read a lot of Tom Clancy books but I didn't want to add them to my list until I got closer to reading them for example, it keeps my list easy to manage

[Keith]

Amazon gets only the books I'm definitely going to buy. My Goodreads list gets those much of the time, plus the "I might be curious about this one and need to remember it" selections.

Bt then, I am an obsessive list maker anyway

[Kendrick]

I created a to-buy list also, because there are times I'm going by bookstores. It's a great way to keep track of stuff I want to keep an eye out.

[Joseph]

Goodreads just gets the books I'm actually reading. My full catalog is on (can I even say this here?) LibraryThing. I don't tend to add much in the way of to-read in the online world -- when the time comes, I just start looking at my physical shelves or paging through the Kindle.

[Random]

I have a wish-list shelf I use for stuff I want but don't own. My husband likes to buy me books just because he's a sweetie and that list lets him know what I'm interested in.

Also great for birthdays and other holidays for family members.