I imagine for most of us, books are as much a staple in our houses as furniture (and heck, the former may even be used upon occasion to prop up the latter.) And if you’re like me, you have some sort of organization (no matter how loose a word that is) to your books. At the very least, you’ve probably separated the “To Be Read” pile out of the read pile. (And if anyone tells me they have their books alphabetized, I might just send Fred to T-P your house.)
I also have a new sort of TBR pile… the one on my kindle. I’m hoping that at some point, Kindle will allow for file management because this girl could seriously use some folders on hers. But no matter where my TBR pile exists or what format, I find that it doesn’t much matter how many of those books I read, that pile never seems to get smaller!
Do you have that problem? (Which I do realize translates to my buying books far faster than I can read them…)
In any case, let’s talk about our TBR piles. What do you have in yours? Since it would take me forever to go through titles, I’m just going to talk generally.
My TO BE READ pile consists of:
Genres
- Historical romance
- historical fiction
- mystery, suspense or romantic suspense
- A few YA novels I read in high school and loved
- Contemporary romance
Authors
- 75% are from authors I have previously read
- 25% are new authors
- 10% of the books are from one of my top 10 favorite authors
How Much I May Have Read In the Book
I am a mood reader, which means I have to be in the right mood to read the book, otherwise it won’t engage my interest. So of the books I have, I would say that about 50% are ones I have started already then put aside because I couldn’t get into the story. 30% are ones I haven’t touched, and the remaining 20% are ones I picked up, read the backjacket and put down for later.
The Extended List
I have the books I’ve purchased, either Kindle or print, and then I have the books on my extended list… the ones I’m waiting to purchase until the main pile gets a little smaller. That list is even longer…and never ends. And invariably, if I’m not in the mood for any of my TBR list, I’ll jump ahead to the Extended list and grab one of those. (It happens frequently.)
How I work Through the List
As you can tell, I work through the list based on mood. There are a lot of books in my TBR pile that are from terrific authors, books that are probably fantastic books… but if I’m not in the mood to read them, they get put down. For me, personally, that doesn’t translate to a bad book…because I will pick it up again when I am in the mood, for say a romantic thriller, and love it. However, if I try that book three times and can’t seem to keep with it, it tends to go in the “probably never TBR” pile. And there are a few of those that eventually get donated to the library without ever being finished.
Right now…
Right now, I’m reading on my kindle so the paper TBR pile is on hold. I’ve had most of those books for months and picked up a few, but just haven’t been in the frame of mind to read them. However, at the moment, I am reading:
- a historical romance from a favorite author that I started a few weeks back and stopped. Picked it back up this past week and really enjoying it.
- A contemporary romance (also from a favorite author) that I started and stopped because I was in the mood for historical.
Up Next, well, unless the mood passes
- A romantic suspense that I can’t wait to read, but I’m in a historical mood, so it will likely wait until that mood passes.
- A historical romance (or three) from a newly discovered author that is on my extended list and will likely jump the fence to be up next.
- a contemp mystery from a new author… not sure when I’ll get around to it.
So that’s what I’m reading and how I work through my lists… what about you?
What genres do you have in your TBR?
Are they authors you’ve read before or new ones?
Does any specific genre or author get first dibs on your time?
How do you choose what to read?
And what are you reading now?
8 comments
I loved your blog. I usually read Happy Endings with morning coffee. It’s a great way to start the day. I recently joined Goodreads but I haven’t put all the TBR on it. Only a couple. Like you I have a very very big pile of books. My mother has been gone for a number of years and I still have books she read and passed on to me and boxes of books she hadn’t gotten around to reading. She was in Harlequin and Silhouette book club plus bought books constantly.
I can resist a lot of things in stores but not books so I buy all my favorite authors as soon as they come out and I’m getting a bigger and bigger list of favorite authors. I also have a friend that I share books with. Her husband is also a reader and I read both of the genre’s they read so while they don’t share books with each other I share with both of them. The result a box under the bed, another TBR pile.
Again Jeannie a great post. It helps to know I’m not the only one with a huge TBR pile. But… can you imagine what it would feel like to reach for a book and not have one available? I’d feel like I was starving, desolate, orphaned ……….
Hi, Jeannie!
My eBook TBR list consists mostly of new authors or authors I know, but have never read. Though I do have a few that I follow. The list consists of mostly historicals.
I also have a TBR shelf on my bookshelf. It consists of a couple of horrors, fantasies, historical romances, and historical fictions written by authors I follow.
In general, I’m a mood reader. However, I’m holding off on the paperbacks at the moment…saving them for when the baby comes. This means I’m reading all eBooks at the moment. I don’t have one started, but when I open one up later, it will probably be based on what’s at the top of the folder.
@Lavada — NOT have a book to read??? Uhh…Hmm… I don’t think I want to even consider that option. 🙂 I have a book always, everywhere. I worry about my Kindle being able to keep up. LOL
Hi Emma! Glad to see I’m not the only mood reader… I always feel bad for putting down a book that I’m sure is excellent, but it just doesn’t suit my mood.
In my current mood, I tried reading a contemporary and a romantic suspense before finally realizing I was still in the historical mood, so back I went. 🙂 I imagine I’ll be stuck there for some time…books seem to be like my food craving. I get stuck on one thing for weeks. LOL
Jeannie,
I’m with you. I always have a book with me. My beach bag book. My night table book. A book on writing craft. AND someday, I hope to have several on a kindle of my OWN.
Hmmm do you think leaving pictures of one up on hubby’s desktop will translate to Christmas present? didn’t LAST year! but the way technology changes, maybe a good thing.
My TBR pile is:
YA – Hunger Games, Breaking Dawn
Regency romance – Tessa Dare, Linore Burkard
Medieval romance/mystery – Phillipa Gregory, Jeri Westerson
Action/Adventure (James Rollins x 3)
Craft books: Hooked, Story, Stein on Writing, Plot & Structure
And, I am sort of working my way through all of them, depending on my mood. Motherhood only gives me maybe 15-30 min of reading at a stretch… so, whatever holds my attention for that long wins. So far, all of the above are worth the read… now, if I can stop being schizophrenic long enough to finish ONE of them!
~Ash
I am certainly a mood reader. I will even be in the mood for a sub genre. Right now I am really into historicals set in England. I have a few westerns, and a pirate novel that fall into the historical category and look like fun, but I just can’t seem to pick them up right now.
Soon I will be voracious for viking novels, or regency, or something else. I never know until the mood strikes.
I have three TBR piles myself. My first one contains favourite authors and must-buy authors. I tend to save these titles for when I need to read something I am certain will satisfy my expectations.
I also have a curiosity pile. Books that I’ve heard a lot of buzz about, but I may not have read the author before. The most recent one on this pile was The Time Traveler’s Wife–which I enjoyed very much, except for a certain disconnection between myself and the characters’ emotions–which I think came from the style/POV that the author used.
The other pile is my review pile. Because I am a reviewer (under a super secret name known only to select members of the FBI-kidding), I tend to review books in genres I wouldn’t normally pick up. Because I am given these books free in exchange for my review, I take more chances with the titles that I choose to read. Sometimes I’m disappointed, but sometimes I’m really impressed, so it works out both ways
I have 69 books in my TBR pile (physical books) and four ebooks…or five? *headdesk* I plead the fifth to all your questions, Jeannie! LOL