“Hi, my name is Wendy and I have a problem.”
I might have a few vices to choose from but the problem I’m thinking of has to do with my TBR hoarding.
When I get a recommendation from someone of a great book, read a glowing review of a new book, see that a favorite author has a book I haven’t read yet or pass a bookshelf in small bookstore, I always do the same thing: I purchase the book.
I’m a physical book-preferred person and my best form of a TBR list? Yeah, it’s more of a pile of books I long to hold in my hands and read. Physical unread books are one of my biggest splurges and I simply cannot resist.
For several months, I told everyone who asked that I had maybe 50 or so books on my TBR shelves. I knew it was a high number but I had come to accept that. And then. Well, then I found out I was a filthy liar, haha.
I asked my husband to create a new bookshelf for me earlier this year and he need to know how many books I might need to house on the shelves. I told him “50-ish” and he raised an eyebrow and suggested I count my books.
Friends, it was not 50.
It wasn’t 75.
It wasn’t even 100.
Spoiler: It was more than 130 books.
We had ourselves a bit of a situation. Namely that I could read two books a week and not go through my current books in a year. I also had a big habit of choosing newer books over ones that had been on my shelf for two-plus years.
So Sarah helped me with this little situation. We came up with a TBR Wheel of Books for me. I agreed to drastically reduce the number of new books I read (A rule I’ve broken to test-read our potential December beta launch books, teehee!) and to spin the wheel and choose my next read based off of two spins of the wheel.
I have to admit that I hated this at first but soon realized it was forcing me out of my comfort zone and into books I’ve neglected far too long. Yes, there have been one or two (gasp) DNFs (looking at you, Philip Roth!) but there have also been some surprising 4.5-star and 5-star reads (Mean Streak, North Woods, The Color Purple).
It’s still in early days and I’ve definitely read several books recently that are off my TBR list, but I am down to maybe about 115 on the list. Maybe I can dip below 100 by the end of the year?
Can anyone relate? Do you need a physical book? Are you patient with adding to your shelves or more impulsive with those TBRs? Reply and let me know I’m not alone!
Now I better go get reading (or spinning),
Wendy (& Sarah)
