Hand on heart: is your TBR pile too big?

[emelee]

Hand on heart - if your to be read pile unreachable to get through in your lifetime? 

 

I have a feeling that mine is. At the age of 31, with 365 days a year... Unless I get employed as a book reader, I don't see how I will ever be able to finish them all.

 

 

Edited January 8, 2015 by emelee

[Melodious]

I try and keep my TBR list short and nothing more of a reminder of books to look at when I'm in the mood for it's content. I'm not going to forget about wanting to read Orwell or Steinbeck so I use it to keep tracks on books that I may want to read but I'll forget about if I leave to my memory. I often delete things and I think my Goodreads TBR is only like 20 a very small number compared to many I see on here. I try and keep it to a min because I don't want to become obsessed with how large it gets and all the books I want to read and never will so I only have it as a loose guide. I will simply never make a dent in all the books I will want to read in my lifetime as I'm sure it is for all of us. 

 

Keep it brief, keep it loose that's my motto

[dtrpath27]

Mine is really not so bad. I try to keep more of a "to be read next" list as opposed to an infinite, ongoing list. I keep in mind a short handful of books of different genres so I can have a choice that suits my mood when I finish my current read. Also, if there's a series I'm working on, I don't put all of the books on my list, just the next one. I would feel so behind trying to keep track of dozens.

[Anna Begins]

I have an imaginary TBR lol in the meantime, I keep short term- attainable ones.  But seriously, no, there is no way I could ever read as many books as I want to, in my lifetime.  Will have to save the imaginary TBR for the next go around

[emelee]

Without joking, I have about 300 books on my TBR list. And it never gets any shorter because new books are added all the time. 

Then again, I have the exact same problem with my movies to be seen and TV-series to be seen lists. I am an entertainment hoarder. 

[willoyd]

Yes it is - no doubt about it. I don't have a TBR list as such, but it is surely represented by the list of unread books on my shelves. They are all books I want to read, otherwise I wouldn't have bought them, but there is no way in the time likely to be left to me now (I am in my mid-fifties) that I will get through them all, especially with the flow of new books! It's why I don't keep a list, but just have that library from which I can choose the books I read.

[Janet]

That's a great way to look at it, Willoyd.

 

I don't count Kindle books as they take up no space. My physical list is (only just) under 100 so I'm happy with that even though with me only managing around 55 books a year and having/wanting to buy new books I'm unlikely ever to get to the stage where it's at zero.

[Devi]

I currently have 356 reads, which is overwhelming enough, but my Wishlist is even longer. That's why this year I have made my TBR piles into mini lists, and I am not including my wishlist. I will still keep one, but it will be more out of sight.

 

My problem is, I can read fast but I need to be well to do so. I'm always fatigued and I find it slows my reading down.

[Nollaig]

I own about 300 books, and I've read maybe 50. So I have about 250 TBR tree-books, and zero intention of reading them anytime soon because I keep getting distracted by other stuff. XD

[Athena]

Hand on heart - if your to be read pile unreachable to get through in your lifetime?

Well.. I think I could read a lot off my TBR in my lifetime, if I live long and have enough time and energy and ability to read. I read 254 books last year, and the year before that 143.

 

BUT: I do think my TBR is too big (a lot of paperbooks and also some Kindle ebooks both bought and free ones, though I'm less bothered about those as they were free). I don't know the exact number though I can look it up (though there will be some errors), but I'm way too embarrassed to type it as it's much higher than any number posted here yet .

 

Like Emelee, I also have some DVDs / Blu-rays to watch, and some videogames to play. I'm often tired though and these things are then harder for me to do, than reading. I also like reading more, so I tend to spend much more time reading books than watching a DVD or playing a video game.

[Timstar]

I wouldn't say it's too big, although my Wife would disagree ( ).

 

It has been dawning on me lately that I can only read a finite number of books in my life So might need to start choosing more carefully which books I buy. Aiming to read twice as many books as I buy, I think that is achievable.

[chesilbeach]

I worked really hard on getting my TBR down to zero a couple of years ago, and although it did creep up for a while, it's around the 20 mark most of the time, and I'm happy with that.  I do have some challenges which I already own books for, or have downloaded free ebooks for them, and I've excluded these, which would take me up around the 50ish mark, but even that doesn't feel too bad.  At the end of last year my TBR was lower than at the start of the year, so again, I'm happy with that.

 

So the answer to the question is no!

[emelee]

I must confess that I am thrilled not to be alone.

[Hayley]

Yes  But I think I prefer it that way... imagine running out of books to read

 

Also I love your picture, that was one of my favourite films when I was little

[Marie H]

At the moment, I think my tree book TBR is okay, since I had to pare that mountain to almost 1/2 a few years ago. As Willoyd said,  I have to admit that I have more tree books to read in the remaining years of my life (50 this year, and my families never have  long lives) that I will never manage to read all of the one's i already have.As long as the tree book mount does't get any bigger (managed to restrain myself last year.)  I'm pragmatic, that I will always be tempted to buy more books. My ebook's virtual mound gets bigger, but it doesn't really exist in a physical state, so that doesn't bother me at all.

[Brian.]

My tree book TBR is about 100 fiction and 100 non-fiction books. I have quite a lot of e-books TBR as well but I am less concerned about how big that number is. I want to get my physical TBR down as small as possible though because I'm trying to minimise and they do take up a lot of room.

[dex]

I've only got 92 on my TBR shelf:-

Sjowall, Wahloo 10

M Dibdin 6

I Rankin 5

J Harvey 3

A Reynolds 5

G Bear 5

B Black 4

D Symmons 2

P K Dick 4 Collections

F Herbert 3

I M. Banks 3

B Bova 1

J Nesbo 2

R Stark 2

D.B Miller 1

J Lutz 2

R Crais 2

M Ruff 1

R E. Feist 1

V Flynn 2

S Macbride 1

J Arnott 2

M Billingham 2

D Mina 1

T Lewis 1

etc.

[Kylie]

The sad answer is yes, my TBR pile is too big to read in my lifetime. It's kind of depressing to think that if I didn't buy another book for 60 years, I still wouldn't be able to get through the books I currently have (never mind the fact that I would also be missing out on reading anything that is published over the next 60 years!) And of course, that's assuming that I live to a ripe old age. However, that's based on the average number of books I've been reading for the past couple of years. If I could triple that reading rate, I might have a shot (and I did once read over 100 books in one year, so it's doable if I can be disciplined).

[willoyd]

I don't know the exact number though I can look it up (though there will be some errors), but I'm way too embarrassed to type it as it's much higher than any number posted here yet .

This might help a little - the list of unread books for reading (as opposed to read) on my shelves is in the region of 900-950, with another 2-300 on my Kindle.  I think more than a few would slow your rate of reading down too (Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire?), so don't think even you would clear them all in the 4 years or so your current rate of reading might allow, Athena!  Certainly, at my current rate of 50-60 per year, that looks like a minimum of 20-25 years for me, and that's probably optimistic.

 

Edited January 10, 2015 by willoyd

[Athena]

This might help a little - the list of unread books for reading (as opposed to read) on my shelves is in the region of 900-950, with another 2-300 on my Kindle.  I think more than a few would slow your rate of reading down too (Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire?), so don't think even you would clear them all in the 4 years or so your current rate of reading might allow, Athena!  Certainly, at my current rate of 50-60 per year, that looks like a minimum of 20-25 years for me, and that's probably optimistic.

That's true, classics in English, and such (you seem to read a lot of those?) tend to slow me right down.

 

Good to know I'm not alone .

[Ruth]

This might help a little - the list of unread books for reading (as opposed to read) on my shelves is in the region of 900-950, with another 2-300 on my Kindle.  I think more than a few would slow your rate of reading down too (Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire?), so don't think even you would clear them all in the 4 years or so your current rate of reading might allow, Athena!  Certainly, at my current rate of 50-60 per year, that looks like a minimum of 20-25 years for me, and that's probably optimistic.

 

 

I have about the same number of unread books - about 920 or so.  (I don't have a Kindle or use an ereader, otherwise I dread to think how many I'd have.)  I know I might not get around to reading all of them, but it doesn't really bother me....I try and alternate between reading books that I really want to read, and just reading something that I've plucked off my shelf by chance.  I also find that I buzz through some books in a matter of days, but like Athena, some books really slow me down - mainly the classics.  Having said that I love a lot of classics, and I'm happy to spend a couple of weeks really savouring one book which will stay with me, than get through three or four so-so books in the same period of time.

[chaliepud]

I'm actually quite happy with my TBR amount, I probably have around 100 unread books, 70 or so that are on my shelves and I want to read soon, the other 30 are in a cupboard as I'm not so keen, quite a few were given to me or were impulse charity shop buys, they may make it to the big boy shelves at some point, they may not. I have enough books to offer variety but not so many that I feel flustered when choosing a book, and I'm happy knowing that I have a good chance of reading them all before I shuffle off this mortal coil.

[bobblybear]

My TBR pile is about 300 books, and I think that is borderline manageable. At my current reading rate, it will probably be 5 years before I finish them, which actually does sound a bit excessive. I am trying to cut down on my purchases, but I tend to acquire books faster than I read them, so many books that I bought and intended to read straight away, end up languishing on my TBR pile for months (even years).

[Angury]

My to-read list is now reaching four-hundred books which is getting a bit ridiculous I think. It only started reaching extortionate levels when I started using Goodreads - it's just so easy to add books to your 'to-read shelf!' Plus I tend to expose myself to new books all the time; I read through a lot of book forums and always check out books on prize lists etc. I want to experience all the different writing styles there are and enter every persons mind to learn how they see the world - quite a big ask. I've now divided my to-read list into smaller categories to make it more manageable i.e. mental health books, medical books, fantasy books etc. 

 

Another thing I've recently started doing is making a small list of five books I plan to read through within the next few weeks. This way I don't get distracted by the next new book on the bestseller lists. I have this awful habit of stopping a book half-way through, and I'm hoping that by breaking down my list into digestible chunks I can enjoy a book in its entirety instead of having my to-read lists looming behind me!

 

Well.. I think I could read a lot off my TBR in my lifetime, if I live long and have enough time and energy and ability to read. I read 254 books last year, and the year before that 143.
 

 

Also, I just want to say this is incredible.

[woolf woolf]

My shelves have some books to be read; they amount to forty, give or take. However, I buy books frequently, so this figure will only grow. I intend to read all of them, but I'm not stressing about it. When I want to read one, I look around me and choose one. I want to have evergrowing choice possibilites. I'm not as worried about reading them as I am about not preserving them right. I live in a country with plenty of bugs, especially in summer, and the books attract some undesired paper-eating, page-dirting hosts. In winter the room hummidifies a lot, so that's even worse for books. I guess that's why I keep a lot of decoy-books in the back of the shelves and the good books are spread throughout the shelves extremities and the desk. I should buy a bat.