Discussion by A Book Wanderer

Let’s Talk Bookish | Is Your TBR Overwhelming?

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish meme where participants discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts. Originally created and hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books, it’s now hosted by Aria @ Book Nook Bits.

This week’s topic is:

Do You Ever Get Overwhelmed by Your TBR (to-be-read) Pile?

(submitted by Jillian @ Jillian the Bookish Butterfly)

Prompts: How do you keep track of the books you want to read? Do you have a lot of books on your TBR? Is there any order/organization within all the books you want to read? Does your TBR ever feel overwhelming?

To-Be-Read or Too Much?

Since I started blogging three years ago, my TBR has become a little ridiculous. I can’t help adding all those books that YOU love and share, as well as the ones I discover on my own. I also tend to add those books that I think I might need someday for a future obscure Popsugar Challenge prompt. And while some readers detest a TBR, I’m a fan. I have a terrible memory, so I need a way to keep track of those books I might possibly want to read someday. I’m also a list-maker, so I enjoy creating TBRs, whether they’re monthly, seasonal, or challenge-related.

Currently, I keep track of my TBR on Goodreads (Friend me!). I’ve tried using StoryGraph (Friend me here too!), and I do update my reviews on there, but I have too much history with Goodreads. I know how to use it and it’s familiar. I keep track of my monthly TBR in my Owlcrate Reading Planner and through Evernote, which syncs across all my devices. I also use Evernote for any seasonal reading challenge TBRs. For my Popsugar Challenge TBR, I use the old fashioned pen and paper method. 😉

I did recently purchase a set of Reading List bookmarks on Etsy, which I’m excited to tryout, whenever I decide what to use them for!

Growing and Growing!

At the time of this writing, I have 1,416 books on my Goodreads ‘Want-to-Read’ shelf. That’s a lot of books, and there’s no way I’ll ever get to them all, but I’m okay with it. Just because they’re currently on my TBR, doesn’t mean they’ll stay there, so it doesn’t overwhelm me. Over a year ago, I did a TBR unhaul and had it down to 800 books. It’s time for another one, which is why it’s so large. I think of my TBR as more of a reminder list, with plenty of room for change.

My physical books that are unread aren’t really organized according to my TBR, with the exception of my TBR cart, which contains all the books I want to read on my yearly Popsugar Reading Challenge. I do have shelves of unread books, but that’s mostly because most of my books are unread. I try to pass my books on after I read them, unless I know they are ones I want to reread. I also try to do a yearly physical shelf unhaul to get rid of those books I’m no longer interested in, which I’m hoping to do again soon!

The only TBR that tends to overwhelm me is my ARC (advanced readers copies) TBR. Each year I’m determined to request or accept less, and each year I accept more. Which leaves me less time for my backlist books waiting on my digital and physical shelves. Maybe 2023 will finally be the year I achieve that goal!

Let’s Discuss!

Do you keep a TBR list? Let me know in the comments!

18 thoughts on “Let’s Talk Bookish | Is Your TBR Overwhelming?”

  1. My TBR list, which I mostly track on Goodreads, is always too long! But even when I trim it down, I add more books to it the next day. There’s just too many books out there I want to read. But I try not to let it overwhelm me. Like you, I try to think of it as just a reminder of books I might want to read someday. 😀

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  2. Yeah, I have a TBR list, but it doesn’t really overwhelm me, either. I narrow it down to a “top tbr” list periodically where I add on the books I’m (currently) most excited to read, and that helps it not feel too daunting.

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    1. I do that, as well! I usually make a list of books I want to get to at the start of the year—those books that aren’t on my yearly challenge. Now, whether or not I get to them is a whole other story. 😉

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  4. I know that I really should go through and clean out my TBR on Storygraph, but I never have, and it’s gotten so long!! Also, those reading list bookmarks look so cute, and seem like a fun way to keep track of books you want to get to in the nearer future! Thanks for participating this week, and great post!! 🥰

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    1. While I try not to feel overwhelmed by my tbr, it is nice to see those numbers go down. 😉 I love those bookmarks! I will probably use them for the books I KNOW I want to read but just haven’t gotten to. Then I’ll feel accomplished when I can check them off!

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  6. I like your attitude towards your TBR. I also have over 1400 books on my “to-read” shelf on Goodreads. It overwhelms me a little because I know I’ll never get to them all. But, that’s what makes reading fun.

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  7. My TBR is no longer overwhelming because I spent time a year or so ago cleaning it out. I went through my GR TBR and got rid of books I was no longer interested in. I did the same on my Kindle. It took a long time, but I looked up blurbs and deleted ones I knew I wouldn’t read. Then I made an excel spreadsheet with the remaining books and fit them in between ARCs throughout the year. I finally got all of those books read. Now, I am accumulating some again, but I make sure to try to read as many as I can again in between ARCs. It’s really helped me.

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    1. That’s basically what I did, too, when I had it down to 800. With the exception of the spreadsheet part. But that’s inspiring! 🙂 I read blurbs and sometimes the first few pages to see if I was still interested in reading a book. That’s so awesome that you planned it out, very much like I plan my Popsugar challenge. I’ve started going through my physical bookshelves again, and I’m trying hard to be much more picky about what I keep. It’s hard to let go sometimes. Haha!

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