Rambling On and On aka the Never Ending TBR

I’m pretty sure that’s how it feels most of the time.

Like we’ll never get through every book we own. And that’s both a relief and also a nightmare because imagine all the stories we could miss because we have so many other stories and- Yeah, I’m gonna stop there and not drop us all into an existential crisis. That happens enough when I’m trying to sleep.

But the point is that we both love and hate having a lot of books to read. We have so much choice and so many stories to explore, but it can get too much. I got a lot of books last year. Like. A LOT. More than I think I’d ever gotten in a single year before as I had the income and was also getting e-books and audiobooks on top of the physical books. It’s a mess.

And sometimes I look at my book box – because I still stand by having your unread TBR in a separate place other than your shelves – and I practically start sweating as there are so many books and they might fall and I know I have more coming. And then there are all the e-books I often forget about. All the physical and e-books have to go in a jar for a reason.

Then from the jar, I pull out my TBR pile and I read that. Then sometimes I make a new TBR pile early because I want new books in some way and also I want to empty out the box more. Then I’m more stressed as the piles seem to be massive and even though I know I can get through them, it feels like it takes ages. Which, obviously, if I have 14 books to read that’s going to take a long time to get through them all.

That’s just how it works.

But I’m thinking about maybe focusing on smaller piles in the future. Because if I have fewer books on a pile, it’ll feel like I’m getting through my books quicker. Even if in reality it’s the exact same pace as the larger pile. It’s just been split up more. And I’m hoping that will help me stop stressing. At least a little. If I can just get the piles down so they’re not leaning against my wall and I’m afraid they’ll fall over….that would be great.

I’m curious as to what you guys do about TBRs? Are you a mood reader? Does that make you feel like you’re getting through your books slower? Or do you follow a TBR game or some other way to pick your books?

I want to talk about this and see if everyone is as stressed as I am or if others have some tips!