I got a new bookcase not long ago for my writing room. I could easily use three new bookcases, but the wall space just isn't there, LOL. So I have books and baskets and too many tchotchkes lining the shelves. For fun I counted the books I have not read (I have another bookcase downstairs with more unread books but I was too lazy to go count them for this blogpost) and came up with approximately 50.
Now I realize this is nothing in the teetering kindom of the To Be Read Pile. Some readers have hundreds of books. But 50 books is a lot. Most of them were not free or gifts or swag--I bought them with the best of intentions. And here they sit a few feet from my computer, sullen, as I ignore them and type away.
One of the side effects of writing seriously is that I have less time to read seriously. And that's not good. To write, I truly believe you have to read, although I know a lot of people who won't read in their genre while they are writing. Since I write historicals and read historicals almost exclusively, I'm not one of them. I try to go to bed every night with something besides my husband, but often find my eyes closing before I've finished a chapter.
How many books are on your TBR pile? Do you think you'll ever read them all? What do you do with books that have collected dust for too long? I'll send a copy of Anne Gracie's
The Accidental Wedding (duplicate copy, and a great book I
did finish) to add to one commenter's collection!
Books to the ceiling, books to the sky,My piles of books are a mile high.How I love them!How I need them!I'll have a long beard by the time I read them.Arnold Lobel
16 comments:
I know how you feel! I've got about 50-75 paper books in my TBR pile, not to mention what's on my Kindle. I'll buy a book fully intending on reading it right then, but somehow I always pickup something else. I've been fascinated with my Kindle so I've been ignoring my paper books! Lol!
I'm about to order more books because I've worked my way through my TBR pile. I try not to buy more than I can actually read, and if I'm excited about a new book, I put it in my Amazon basket and wait until I've finished my other books to order it (this also means it's usually a bit cheaper by the time I order it).
I'm really looking forward to 2011 books, though!
@KatrinaLatham
Hi, Maggie! Happy Holidays : ) I refer to my TBR stash as "The Avalanche". I will conservatively estimate the count at "triple digits". All my bookcases are filled, and I have dozens of book boxes stacked neatly in more than one room of my house. Copy paper boxes are just the right size--I can still lift and move them when they are full. I buy new books online and at retail stores and book stores, but I also regularly haunt thrift shops, second-hand shops, yard sales & etc. for more books. I always alternate between new releases and older reads, and it increases my appreciation for authors and storytelling.
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My TBR Is frightening. Let's just say it numbers in the hundreds. I'll say no more. I've actually been cleaning off my bookshelves to make room for research material, and that includes getting rid of books that I bought and haven't read. If it's been there for five years, I doubt I'll ever get to them.
Wow, that's a lot. I try not to buy any other books before I've read the ones that are already on my pile, but having said tht I still have a pile which is about 20 books deep---oh wait, that doesn't include on my ereader...d'oh
Ugh, my TBR pile has not moved at all this year. I've read practically nothing. I've started all kinds of stuff but finished very little. The exhaustion of having a newborn.
I hope things let up a little more in the coming year. We'll see.
At this point though, it's a large pile. Huge.
Guilty as charged. I have a huge TBR pile that I don't think will ever diminish. It's funny how some books you'll have for months or years and then there'll be a new release that you read right away. I think, for me anyway, it all depends on my mood and what type of book I want to read in that moment.
I'll be honest, I don't want to count. And you can't make me. But I've given many away in the last year, so I have less than I had a year ago. That's my one consolation. :)
Right now, I'm up to my fifth in a row book on my eReader. It's so nice to finish one, press a button, and move onto the next one.
Ah, e-readers. I only have a few on my nook--we just haven't plunged in there for various reasons. The possibilities are terrifying. And I completely forgot stuff I've got downloaded to my computer for a "rainy day."
Good to know some of you are worse than I am, LOL. I can probably add at least 20 more books downstairs, too. Oh, dear.
My TBR pile has grown out of control during the last year. If I had to give an estimate, I would say that there are more than 100 books in it. I am compulsive when it comes to books, and if I hear great things about one, I buy it. I just have a hard time making enough time to get them all read. So many books, so little time.
Some books remain on my bookshelf, but if they remain too long and I realize I "don't really" want to read it, I take it to the UBS to hock for credit or I trade it on Paperback Swap.
I don't know how many books I have in my TBR pile as I have run out of bookshelf space and now have to stick them wherever I have room. I also have too many e-books on my laptop. I don't know what I was thinking, buying books when I haven't read the ones I already own.
ironss[at]gmail.com
I can't even tell you how many books are on my TBR pile, but it's definitely hundreds. Yes, I think I'll read them all if I have any say in the matter. Occasionally I'll take books that have sat at the back of a triple stacked shelf and turned yellow with age that I may have lost interest in reading and either donate them, give them away, or toss them if they're not in that great of shape. I also send my sister books - either books I have duplicates of or that I've read.
OH, my TBR shelves are so out of control. I have over 200 paperbacks and 100+ ebooks, that I have NOT yet read. *sigh* So out of control am I, that my New Years Resolution is to not buy any books in 2011 except those that are part of a series I'm already following, or a spin-off of said series.
So guess what I've been doing? Yep... scouring used book stores, buying books on sale... the first book of any series that sounds good so that I'm technically (according to MY rules) following that series, meaning that I can buy the next books in the series in 2011.
Truly, this plan of mine started out sounding good. But the closer it gets to January 1st, I find myself twitching more and more!!!
So am I REALLY entering this contest for yet another book?
You bet I am!!!!!!
I have about 100 books in my TBR pile and I read about 1 a week. I buy more every week too! I'm a addict and I can't be helped! LOL! They are all new and all great authors. I keep em all in order on a big shelf. They don't collect too much dust! I will probally finish em in few years hopefully I try to read them in order but I do skip around depending on my mood! Thanks for sharing today!
evjochum[AT]aol[DOT]com
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