The 'To Be Read' pile - a good or a bad thing?

[Michelle]

I know many of us have a pile of books waiting to be read - some small, some HUGE! I've also noticed some people who have stopped buying new books in an attempt to work through the ones already waiting for them.

 

I have a reasonably sized TBR pile, but quite often I'll go through and find some which longer appeal, and I have no problem giving these away. Others stay sitting there, because I'm sure one day I'll pick them up.

 

Things are more complicated for me because I seem to receive a steady stream of review books, and so these need to take priority - but I also get tempted by many new books which I buy.

 

So how do you feel about your TBR pile.. do you enjoy having that choice awaiting you, or do you feel pressured to read them before buying anything new?

[Alexi]

I counted my TBR pile recently and it now comes in at around 150. I used to like having the choice (and I'm also a regular library visitor so due dates dictate those have to take priority!).

 

However, at the moment I do feel under pressure because I'm moving in 2 months and can't take that many with me. I'm therefore trying to get through the ones I want to read NOW, prioritising which ones I'm going to leave with my Mum to pick up later and which ones can be got rid of.

 

I suppose normally though, I enjoy having that wealth of choice, this is just an isolated incident of pressure... I'm going to get splinters from this fence sitting.

[bobblybear]

I feel pressured to read them, but I still buy new ones (if they are cheap, if not they go on the wishlist). I think I have about 130-150 unread books on my Kindle, yet sometimes when I'm looking for a new book none of them seem appealing.

 

I don't really bother making promises to myself to not buy any more new books, because I honestly know I won't stick to it. I do figure I'll get around to them all one day, and having many to choose from can be both a good thing, and a bad thing, depending on my state of mind.

 

I'm also studying at the moment (and will be for the next couple of years ) which drastically cuts down on my reading time. It's a little frustrating, but it's a choice I made and have to stick with.

[chesilbeach]

I'm one of those who've stopped buying new books and trying to reduce my TBR pile. I found that unless I read a book within a few weeks of buying it, the chances of me ever reading it would get slimmer and slimmer. If I were to ignore my TBR, I would be a very impulsive reader, simply picking whatever I fancied at the time I needed a new book. I want to be able to do this guilt free which is why I declared war on my TBR shelf earlier this year.

 

I think the size of my TBR became an issue because of the fact that I live in a small town with no bookshop, so an outing to a bookshop was an event, and with the ubiquitous 3 for 2 offers, the buy one get one half price offer and the reward cards, I would never just buy one book, it was always 2, 3 or sometimes even 6 or more at a time. It also meant that I could never just pop out to pick up a new book when I needed a new read, but would have to "plan" my reading to a certain extent. However, the more the books piled up, the more likely I was to read a recent purchase instead of an older one. I think at one point it was over 120 books.

 

I think the thing that's convinced me to ditch the TBR more than anything, is my introduction to ebooks. I first started reading them when I got my iPad, but could only read for about an hour before the headache would set in, and a couple of months later, I got my Kindle for Christmas, which I can read all day long if I want, as the e-ink technology is just like reading off a printed page. For the first year, I hardly touched my TBR pile.

 

My war on my TBR is being won, and I now have just 15 books left to go. Once I've finished them, I can become the impulsive reader I've always wanted to be, guilt free.

[Kidsmum]

I have a huge TBR pile, enough to keep me going for years without having to buy any new books & if i'm honest it's beginning to feel like a bit of a millstone round my neck. In order to justify buying so many books, i feel like i have to spend all my free time reading but does it stop me from adding to my mountain, nope, guess i'm just a lost cause

[Devi]

I always like the idea of having a choice on what I can read at hand, but in saying that, I do try not to let my TBR pile go any higher than 100 at any one time so as not to be overwhelmed.

 

I think in the end it all comes down to having a small TBR pile, preferably 5 or 10 books at any given time. You still have a choice but you shouldn't feel guilty.

[Nollaig]

I just like acquiring books Sometimes I hear about a new book or series, and get hold of them, and either drop everything else for them, or they get added to the TBR pile and not looked at for ages. I wouldn't ever stop myself buying new books just because half of the books I own are currently unread - I'd never get anywhere if I did that because, like Michelle, there are almost certainly books on my mountain which I will give away rather than ever read.

[pontalba]

Between us we have over 6000 books, if I had to guess we've only read about, maybe, half of those. Yet, we troll library sales, estate sales and yes Barnes & Noble for books. /sigh/ I mean, really, if we never bought another book again, we'd not get to what we have! But we both love finding new books to have and to hold, and hopefully to read. I just had a look about yesterday looking for something to read. Gad Zooks! We have books I'd forgotten completely about.

 

We each have a couple of piles that we want to get to asap, and a pile of half read, or started books that we want to finish. How many? Who knows, it changes from week to week.

[Peacefield]

I like aquiring books as well. I don't feel pressure with my small TBR pile because I know they'll always be there. If a favorite author of mine comes out with a new book that I'm really excited about, I'll buy it. If I'm in a used book shop or at a library book sale, I'll buy because cheap books are my friends .

 

If someone wants to lend me a book I'll take it because as long as they don't mind if I have it for an extended period of time, I'll get to it eventually. Keep in mind I don't buy massive amounts of books all the time, but it's a treat and it's exciting to have new things to look forward to.

[vodkafan]

I don't like to have a big TBR pile. It does start to feel like a mental pressure. I reckon any more than 10 becomes a buying habit. At the moment I have around 30 tree books to get through. The number of books TBR on my kindle doesn't bother me so much.

[Karsa Orlong]

So how do you feel about your TBR pile.. do you enjoy having that choice awaiting you, or do you feel pressured to read them before buying anything new?

 

A little of both, I think. I like my TBR pile when it's going down, for sure. I have put a bit of pressure on myself to reduce it this year. I think I started 2012 with about 100 books on it, and I've managed to reduce that by about a quarter so far, including the new books I've bought, so I'm quite happy with that at the moment.

[Inver]

I am trying to read books that are already sitting on my shelf waiting to be read, but so many of these have been there for years gathering dust. I try to go and read the blurb on the back to entice me to pick up and read, but like Michelle says some of those bought years ago don't seem to appeal any more. Only way to avoid adding to the TBR pile is not to visit bookshops....yeh like that is ever going to happen. To be honest I blame this place called Book Club Forum they are so annoying at posting book reviews and making you go buy more books that you just 'must have'...

[vinay87]

I stopped paying attention to my own TBR pile quite some while ago. I love reading whatever I feel like reading and the "have to read" is really not working for me as compared to "want to read".

At least until I buy a Kindle, I'm not organizing my reading list any longer.

[karen.d]

I do feel slight pressure to read my TBR books before buying new ones, but it doesn't always end up that way as I love buying books! I wouldn't leave TBR books for several years before reading them though. I have found that since joining Book Club Forum, I have increased the amount of books I have read this year and, the amount of books I want to buy!

[willoyd]

I'm like pontalba, as we have a large and growing collection of books, many of which are unread. The way I look at it is that we have a large library from which we can choose what we want to read when we want to read it, whilst enjoying the visual aesthetics of those interesting book shelves! I would find a TBR pile far too restricting and pressured. What I do find nowadays though is that I can go into a bookshop and decide that there's nothing there that I want to read in front of what I've already got - I've been steadily buying less and less in recent months/years.

[madcow]

I'm with Inver...BCF has been the main culprit for my TBR pile turning mountainous But do I care? Nope.

Every now and then I will have a quick look to see if there are any on there I can get rid of but I rarely do because I like to think that one day I will get through them all! I have managed to curtail my buying habit a bit since a couple of bookstores closed, but Amazon are sneaky little devils who tempt me with free kindle books or loads for less than a £1 lol

[bree]

I do feel pressurised if I have too many unread books in my shelf.

So I usually just buy five to six books in the beginning of each month - and manage to complete them before I buy the next batch.

[Chrissy]

Although I have felt pressured by my To Be Read shelves, since my reading mojo has been playing up so much in the past couple of years, I have adjusted my thinking on the matter and now view them as positive things awaiting my attention.

 

I occasionally go through the books and keep those I still wish to read, and pass on to friends, family or the charity shop those I no longer have an interest in. I love full book shelves and persusing all the books I have yet to read, and it would take a mini miracle to stop me buying either tree or kinde books on a reguar basis. There are worse things I could give my time and money to.

[poppy]

Since nearly all my books are bought second-hand or from the library, I feel no guilt at all. Anyway, don't they say "Guilt is a complete waste of energy which could be otherwise used in reading"??? I'm sure someone said that

[julie]

I think the answer to this would depend on the person . I myself like the feeling of having a nice selection of all different type books when I am looking for my next good read ,but I don't like to have too many books waiting or I feel overwhelmed when I look at them all,so it's nice somewhere in the middle,where you have a nice sized stack,but not too many .

Kinda like Goldilocks with her porridge : JUST RIGHT .

[Weave]

My tbr pile changes at various times, I do the same as Michelle, I look through it and see what books don't appeal to me anymore, remove them and add more, plus I am also acquiring books, so my pile is pretty much never ending I also have a tbr pile on my kindle, its standing at 31 at the moment.

[nursenblack]

Currently, I have 30+ books in my TBR pile. Probably less than ten are used. I sometimes feel guilty, but if a mood hits me for a new book I can't help but comply. Most of my interludes from my bookshelf are library loans on my kindle, but every now and then I just have to buy, like the Fifty Shades of Grey books. I really should stay away from reading too many reviews though, because my wishlist is even larger!

[Brian.]

My TBR pile has grown a whole lot since joining this website, I think that happens to most people here. Sometimes I feel that I shouldn't buy anymore until I reduce what I have, currently at just under 100 I think. However, I like to have the choice as what I read is very dependent on what mood I am in at the time. I am also a bit of a collector of certain ranges, Penguin Modern Classics being an example. I have started to give away a lot of the books that I have read though because I need the space.

[poppyshake]

I haven't been buying books recently in an effort not to add to my already out of control TBR and it does sometimes make me feel a tad oppressed to see so many unread books but .. given that money is tight at the mo and that my mojo has been wandering in and out and I've not felt altogether well etc .. I'm rather glad to have so many books to choose from. Last week I had the right miseries and so I went and picked up one of the 'I've been saving this for best' books (The Snow Child) and it cheered me up no end .. not in that it was funny just that I got lost in it and forgot my woes. I wouldn't have been able to do that if it had meant going to the shops and buying it cos there is no money for books at the moment. I like to choose too .. to have plenty to pick from.

Having said that I could do with losing a few of them, there are plenty that could be given away .. books I probably will never read but picked up in a moments madness or because they were cheap. I bought The Finkler Question for about 50p but I have no real desire to read it .. there's lots of instances like that.

 

I always feel like tomorrow I will be grateful that I collected so many books when in actual fact tomorrow I might be absolutely livid that I've cluttered up the place and not saved the money for saucepans or something.

[~Andrea~]

I hate having loads of books in my TBR so I am really strict in buying new ones. I add books I want to a list which I give out (to those who ask ) near my birthday and xmas and other than that try not to buy any books at all the rest of the year, though usually I do buy one or two. My problem is I'm such a slow reader and get through less than 20 books a year. If I bought everything I ever wanted to read I'd just be overwhelmed. My TBR is quite small (compared to some people's here) It's less than 50 but (for me) it's still over 2 years worth of books.