I was stricken by this, because I long ago abandoned my Goodreads TBR list. At the time of Allison's post, my to-read list was at a whopping 1,084 books. ONE THOUSAND AND EIGHTY FOUR. To delete the whole thing sounded equally scandalous and liberating.
How did the list get to that astronomical point? I started my Goodreads account in 2007, o-KAY, so give me a little leeway when I've been adding books to it for 9 years! And for a long time, I found it useful. I would troll it whenever I needed help picking a new book to read. I used to make little goals like "try to read all the books I added to it in 2007" (done!). I would carefully add only books that I REALLY wanted to read.
Then...I started this blog. And things just got out of control.
 |
| Yeah like, way too many. |
After reading Allison's post, I considered starting over from scratch. Delete it all, and begin again with only books I really want to read currently. However, after looking over the list, I just couldn't do it. There were too many that I still, now, REALLY wanted to read. What I DID do is spend some serious time culling it. I'm now down to 469 on the to-read list, still unmanagably large for some, but when I look at the list now, I see books that I actually do want to read...you know, when I have the time. :)
 |
| Oh yeah, I have this. |
1. The "at home" TBR. Meaning the 100+ unread books on my home shelves. (Don't even talk about my Kindle. If I can't physically see them, they're not there, right...)
2. My 30-before-35 TBR. I do keep an eye on this list pretty consistently, I am chipping away at it!
3. Year-end "best of" TBRs. Bloggers come out with all their lists of faves at the end of each year, and it makes me crazy as I try to read all the ones that sound right up my alley. (Yeah, still trying to get to A Little Life.)
4. Prize list TBRs. Every year I make grand proclamations like, "I'm going to read the entire Man Booker short list!" or "I'm going to read all the Tournament of Books selections!" And every year I fail. But it sure is fun to try!
Sure, many of these lists overlap. But still...is it any wonder my Goodreads was past 1,000?
At the end of it all, I say: fill up those to-read lists, people. Pack 'em full. In the end, you'll always have a book to read, and that's what matters, yes? :)
Readers, how many books are on YOUR Goodreads to-read list? Or do you use another kind of TBR? (Or do you fly by the seat of your pants with NO TBR?? I can't even imagine...)
I have 282 books on my Goodreads TBR. Not so huge, but the size doesn't really bother me because I don't have any goal of actually completing all these books -- I just think of it as a place to put books I want to remind myself about. When I add them I try to make sure to put them into categories so that when I'm thinking "I feel like reading some nonfiction" or "What was that fantasy novel i wanted to read?" I can just look at that genre and find some choices. Periodically I attempt to go through and remove books that I truly have lost interest in, but that doesn't happen so often.
ReplyDeleteThe unread books in my house DO bother me. I try to get through those from time to time.
Ah, see, the categories within the TBR is a great idea. I think I could have kept the 1000+ list if it had been a bit more organized.
DeleteLooking at a list of over a thousand books would definitely be overwhelming to me when I'm searching for something to read!
DeleteFUN POST :-) I was like Allison you did what, wow. I have went through and deleted though. I only use Goodreads for reviewing and groups but I do use LibraryThing. I currently have 665 and member since 2009. Wishlist is at 317, library 120 and kindle 231 and most of those read actually.
ReplyDeleteI only read on my kindle now though so I am deciding if I want to just download and give some of my hardcovers away. I really want to read them. I can't believe I am really off of paperbacks and hardcovers now.
I can't believe you're off them, either! But good for you. I can't imagine what my house would be like without all these books. THE SPACE!! Haha.
DeleteCongratulations! That's a major downsizing so you should applaud yourself (and get the fancy wine). I have a few spreadsheets for lists (1001 Books, #30Authors) but I don't consider them a TBR because it's more a "when I feel like it" list and I know I don't want to read every book on the list so I give myself a pass. Good luck with reading the new ones and congrats!
ReplyDeleteThanks Allison, and props again for inspiring me to take the plunge! :) I forgot about the 1001 Books list. I have an interactive spreadsheet that I use for that, though I don't often consciously tackle books that are on it...they get read if I want to read the book for some other reason, usually.
DeleteThat's exactly how I do it. It's in the spreadsheet and reading from it is pure happenstance.
DeleteHow did you make it through HS English without reading The Odyssey or The Last of the Mohicans??????????
ReplyDeleteHaha!! In defense of my English teachers, we did have to read PART of the Odyssey. Just not the whole thing. So I want to read it all the way through, plus the Iliad. Last of the Mohicans though, I have no idea. Wasn't on any reading lists that I remember!
DeleteNice! I culled mine this year and down to a bit over 100. I know which ones I want to read because they are mostly classics or ones that have been on my radar for years. Now I just keep new releases or ones that aren't as "popular", like short stories. I still do a monthly "Get Your TBR list ready" post because it's just so much fun to see what's coming out! :)
ReplyDeleteYes, I love those TBR list posts! I have found recently though that I try to ignore most of the new releases lists, waiting for the real "gems" to rise to the top (ie, get talked about so much on blogs that I finally have to pick them up myself). Otherwise, I end up with way too much that I want to get my hands on! :)
DeleteI keep my "TBR" list on an Excel spreadsheet and it currently has over 4,200 entries on it. Obviously, I will never be able to read all of them but I know where to look when I'm trying to find my next book.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it's kind of fun to use random.org to generate pretend picks and revisit some of the listings that I have long forgotten. ;-)
4200! Love it! And I like your idea about random.org, I can't believe I haven't thought of that yet. I do that with my Netflix queue when I can't decide on a DVD!! :)
DeleteAfter seeing several TBR-culling posts a few weeks ago, I went through and reorganized mine. I deleted some things, and then I separated my books into a regular to-read and a maybe-to-read. Everything I was absolutely positive I want to read went on to-read. Maybe-to-read is for books I want to remember, titles that catch my eye on blogs or pre-pub lists, but that I'm not 100% sure I'll actually get to. So far it's worked really well for me! I didn't really utilize the shelves in the past either, and when I was organizing all my books I labeled things "non-fiction" and "classics" for easy searching.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good idea too! When I cut my list down, I'd say there was a definite distinction between the MUST reads and the maybes, but they're all still on the same list.
DeleteOh, the TBR. My system is kind of wonky. I have separate tabs in an Excel spreadsheet for authors I've read before and authors that are new to me. On the new-to-me sheet, I keep a column for a note of where I heard of the book, which helps jog my memory when I've completely forgotten why a book is there.
ReplyDeleteEvery so often (used to be once a month, but not so much with the little man around) I take from both of these lists to create a short-list for myself, which is the list I pull from when I'm actually picking my next book. This is the best way I've found to keep my sanity and not get overwhelmed.
Now that I'm only reading one or two books a month, though, I need to find a new system. I haven't updated my short list in months, and I'm starting to get sick of staring at all the same books.
That is one fancy system, go you!! I hear you on the 1-2 a month though, it changes everything. You have to be so much more choosy when you're deciding what to read. I've gotten up to about 4 books a month now that my kids are a little bit older, but that's still much less than what I was averaging before!
DeleteGreat point about having multiple TBR piles! My physical pile is really the only pile that I'm likely to pay attention to when deciding what to read. My goodreads pile has also broken 1000 and is effectively useless as a way to find books to read, but I use it for other things, like making list posts on my blog.
ReplyDeleteI really should just start paying attention to my physical pile! Then maybe my bookshelves would finally have some room on them! :)
DeleteI have about 150 books in my Goodreads TBR list. I have purged in the past but here I go again. I don't even know why I have it!
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I'd probably be able to survive without one if I deleted it! There's so many good books out there, it's not like I'll be at a loss. But I guess it's fun to inspire myself with it once in a while...
DeleteI have asked myself what exactly an TBR was myself.
ReplyDeleteI have given up on trying to read through everything in my house as some books on hand now seem less interesting to me.
I have something of a TBR in my mind. I am not exaggerating when I say I cannot get through it in the remainder of my lifetime.
Oh yes...I have already accepted the (very sad) realization that I will never get to read all of the books on my TBR...every reader's saddest reality! :)
Delete