Tag: To-Read Pile

10 January 2023

Bookish Question #260 | How big is your to-read pile?

I don’t like this question because it forces me to question why I’m buying new books or requesting review copies when I have all these unread books …

Having said that, I didn’t buy as many new books last year. I also made an effort to only buy new books if I was going to read them right away (and I mostly succeeded).

Note: that only counts for paper books and paid eBooks, not free downloads. I will still download a free eBook if it looks interesting.

But back to the question: how many books are on my to-read pile?

My paperback to-read pile is about the same size as last year.

I bought two or three paperbacks last year that I haven’t read (although one is still stuck somewhere in the global supply chain, so I haven’t received it yet).

I have 87 books in my TBR folder on my Kindle.

Those are books I bought in 2021 or earlier (and paid for). There are another 211 books in the free folder on this Kindle (and who knows how many in the Kindle cloud).

I have 18 Kindle eBooks I bought in 2022 and haven’t yet read.

Oops, that’s more than I thought. A couple look like free books, so are perhaps they’re in the wrong folder.

One is a book I bought on someone else’s recommendation, started, but haven’t finished.

Three are books I edited (so I have already read them), and I bought the eBooks to support the author. I guess that’s only 15 I have to read …

So while my to-read pile is still ginormous, it has gone down this year:

I only (only!) have 17 books I’ve bought and haven’t read, but there are 40 books I have read from last year’s to-read pile. So my pile has decreased by 23 books.

That’s a win. (Well, I’m taking it as a win.)

So I have 105 eBooks to read, and an uncounted number of paperbacks.

What about you? How big is your to-read pile?

29 June 2021

Bookish Question #183 | Have you read more or less books than planned?

We’re halfway through 2021 already (and I’m sure it’s a sign of age that the years are going faster and faster).

It’s been a busy six months, and the last few weeks have been beyond hectic. It’s “the season” at work, which means my three-day-a-week job has morphed into four days in a good week, and six in a less-good week.

As such, I haven’t had as much time for reading as usual. When I do finish work, I find my brain is often so fried that I can’t concentrate on anything longer than an email or blog post. This has definitely affected the number of books I’ve read. I’ve managed to keep on top of my reviewing list (well, I’ve managed to read them. Writing and posting the reviews isn’t going so well).

I volunteered to judge a couple of writing contests, and I’ve managed to get those books read and the scoresheets back to the organisers in good time. It’s a small win, but I’ll take it.

But my reading for pleasure has really fallen by the wayside.

According to Goodreads, I have read:

45 books in total (against a target of 150)
15 books off my to-Read list (against a target of 48)
2 writing books (against a target of 12)

As you can see, I have a way to go … and possibly some books to check off as read. But “the season” will be over soon, and hopefully that means I can go back to a shorter work schedule and more time (and brain space) to read.

How about you? Have you read more books than planned, or are you also playing catch-up?

13 April 2021

Bookish Question #172 | How out of control is your to-read pile?

Could you get through it in a reasonable time, or will it take a while, or is all hope lost?

I am definitely in the latter category.

For the last few years, I’ve done an annual Mt TBR (to be read) challenge on Goodreads. I start each year with good intentions of working my way through my extensive physical and electronic to-read piles. I finish each year having read around fifty books from that pile … but still having managed to add to the pile.

Each year, I tell myself I’m not going to buy more books, not even those 99 cent Kindle specials.

Each year, I admit I lied.

I currently have 100 books in my Mt TBR folder on my Kindle, 11 that I have bought this year and not yet read (and I am trying to read more as I buy them so I don’t add to Mt TBR), and 177 in my free books folder. And an unknown number (but over 1,000) unread books that aren’t even on this Kindle. And perhaps not even on the last Kindle. And there are the paperbacks …

I admit it. All hope is lost. And I have no regrets.

What about you? How out of control is your to-read pile?

26 March 2019

Bookish Question #101 | How out of control is your to-read pile?

Completely out of control.

But less out of control than it was three months ago 🙂

I discussed my to-read pile in the first post of this year, when we were discussing book challenges. One of my personal challenges was to read 48 books off my to-read pile, and another was to cut a similar number from my Goodreads Currently Reading shelf.

How am I going?

I’ve cut 16 books off my to-read pile, which means I’m on target to cut 48 this year.

No, I haven’t read all 16. Some I read. Others I started reading and realised I didn’t care for and would never finish—which is enough to take them off the pile. One I’ve decided not to read after reading an online rant by the author (it appears she’s one of that small group of authors who say they want honest reviews, but also believes reviewers shouldn’t post critical reviews because they “hurt” authors. Fine. I’ll do her the favour of not reviewing her books. Or reading them. Or buying them).

I started the year with 54 books on my Goodreads Currently Reading shelf.

That’s now down to five. How? Most of the books had been automatically added to my Currently Reading shelf when I bought them on Kindle and opened them. I went through the list on Goodreads and moved every book I wasn’t actually reading to my To Read shelf, or deleted the ones I know I’m not interested in reading.