Discussions Only We Know
Husband's going to create a button for me, but since I just threw this at him like two days ago, he hasn't had a chance to work on it yet. However, I didn't want to wait to post this new feature. My new "discussion" posts are going to be titled "Discussions Only We Know" because like my blog title and how books transport us to places only other readers know, these discussion topics are going to be ones that only readers/bloggers deal with. So without further ado...
Let's Discuss...TBR Piles...
So I know it's one thing to have more books on your TBR list (to be read/want to read list) than you can ever get around to reading, but what about the books that you still need to read that are actually in your possession, that take up space on your shelves/e-reader/floor? Do you intend to read every book in your possession or have you just come to the conclusion that you'll never get to them all and that's okay with you? Do it bother you to have unread books on your shelf or in your possession? Or do you not really care? Do you try to get your hands on any and every book you could ever want to read whether you ever actually read it or not? I need to know the answer to these questions quys...let me know!
Personally, I fully intend to read every book that's in my possession and every book that ever crosses into my possession. That's why I acquire books in the first place--to read them. It stresses me out when my TBR pile in my possession grows and grows. I need to conquer that pile. I mean, I have no delusions that I'll ever reach a status of 0 books in my possession that need to be read. Obviously, I'll always be acquiring books, and I'll probably always acquire them at a speed faster than I can read them. BUT, my body has a physical reaction to pointing to a single book in my possession and saying "I'll never get to that one."
I've found that I at least have to maintain the ability to be able to read all of the books that I acquire. I currently have about 120 books that are in my possession that need to be read. Last year I read 133 books. This year my goal was 104 (which I've already accomplished). If I'm only reading right around 130 books a year, I can't physically stand the thought of having more books in my possession that I can even read in a year.
However, I've learned over the last year or two that DNFing is not the end of the world--though I've still only done it nine times in four years--and I've learned that people won't starve in Africa if I don't finish reading those last 3 books in that series I'm not enjoying. So who knows? Maybe I'll learn that acquiring books that I know I'll never read isn't going to cause me to have a brain aneurysm, but I'm just not there yet. And I'm not sure I want to be there either.
What do you guys think? How do you handle all of the books that make it into your actual hands? Do you think you'll get to them all eventually? Or do you accept that you never will? Let me know!
I have so many books in my TBR pile I feel like I can never keep up. I have about 30 physical books and 130 e-books I have not read. But that doesn't include all of the new books I want to read. I have started to only buy e-books that I know I will most likely read. So no more hoarding free books. Also I've decided that I will only take e-books from netgalley/edelweiss that I am going to read. But there are so many authors I love and so many series I'm reading that I find it hard to keep up. And I also read around 130 books a year. It's crazy to me when I hear people say that they don't know what to read next (have no books to read). Because i don't have that problem!
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting Jennifer! I definitely should never have a lack of choices on books to read next, but I definitely have been in a place where I don't know what to read next because I either don't know what I'm in the mood for or I just can't decide between several that I want to all be reading NOW! :) HA! Thanks again for your comment!
ReplyDeleteConcerning books I actually own the physical copies I plan to rea dmost of those at some point. I do grab up some freebies e-copies and if i don't read those it's okay. Some sound sorta interesting and then I grab them, not knowing for sure if I ever will read them. Then with some books it happens that it sounded like an interesting book and then years later I am not interesting anymore and probably won't read them.
ReplyDeleteDNF'ing really can help sometimes, I didn't like DNFíng either and I still don't, but it's gotten easier this year. Sometimes I just know the book isn't for me and I rather stop as soon as possible then force myself to read a book I don't enjoy.
I actually have no idea how many books I own that I haven't read. Probably somewhere around the 100 as well. I know I have around 25-30 reviews books at least and about the same number of paperbacks I haven't read yet and probably even more unread e-books. And I keep adding books to the pile, sometimes it seems so daunting that there are so many books and so little time to read them.
I always plan on reading the books I get. I was actually planning on doing a TBR challenge this year, but the only ones I found were for books that have been TBR on my list for a year. I don't have too many like that, and I don't plan on having this many next year. I guess I will be doing my own challenge...
ReplyDeleteWhen I pick up a book, it's because it's intrigued me in some way and I want to read it. I have every intention to read it. Will I read all the ebooks and print books that I've collected? Maybe if I stop buying now and read a book every day for the rest of my life. But that's not going to happen. My goal in 2015 is to read as many books that I own without buying nor borrowing too many more. We'll see what happens.
ReplyDeleteEven the lingering freebies on my kindle call to me every now and just say "don't forget about me". But they're typically not high on my priority list. I'm glad you've found DNFing to be a bit easier. I agree...I'd rather stop reading a book as soon as I know it's not for me than to try to force myself to press on. Your numbers sound really similar to mine. I've got about 30 review books too. Some of them I've already read and have the reviews schedule, but most of them are still waiting on me. I've tried to be really selective about what I receive lately so that I don't get too overwhelmed. I'm glad I'm not alone. Thanks for commenting Lola!
ReplyDeleteWhat do you do with all the books that you've lost interest in? (That's kind of what my discussion post this week will be about.)
ReplyDeleteI used to not be able to DNF at all, but I've gotten better with being able to do it. I still don't do it often, but I've found that I'll stop reading period if I'm trying to push through one that I'm just not enjoying.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting Rachel!
Haha...I always plan on reading them too...I mean that's the point of getting the book to begin with, right? :) I think a TBR Challenge is a good idea, but I'm with you, I don't know that I'd want to be limited to ones that have been on my list over a year. Thanks for stopping by and commenting Karen.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I always intend to read every book I pick up. I mean that's the point, right? But it sounds like you've just accepted that you'll never get to all of your ebooks. I don't want to stop purchasing/receiving new books or anything like that, but I do try to be pretty selective when looking at adding to my ever growing collection. Good luck with your 2015 reads! And thanks for stopping by and commenting Marni!
ReplyDeleteYou're smarter than me for that! When I get a book, I'm always planning on reading it, but it often happens that I lose interest in it between when I buy it and whenever I start to consider reading it. That being said, with blogging and with having more books on my shelves, I'm definitely more considerate when I buy books. I don't buy that many, so those that I get are generally what I'm most excited about, and even normally just from authors I know.
ReplyDeleteDNFing is one of those things I just don't think I can do. I want to, honestly, but I just can't. I've done it a handful of times, and even now I wonder if I shouldn't have. I really just try to be as careful in picking what I read as possible, so I don't have to. :) Though, obviously, that fails a lot.