Friday, June 17, 2011

The Every-Growing Stack

Book Blogger Hop

This week, Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books wants to know how many books are in your tbr (To Be Read) pile.

If I actually piled the books together, it wouldn’t be quite as big as Jennifer’s but it would still be pretty tall. I have just over 150 books waiting to be read. That’s not including the online wishlists I have. At the rate I read books, it would take me at least three to four years to get through all of those books, assuming I didn’t buy any more. This does not include books my husband owns and I want to read. If we did that, there would be at least another 50 books to add to the pile, if not closer to 100. He owns more books than I do, but I’m not interested in reading all of them, otherwise, that’d be hundreds added to my list.

I started keeping what I’ve called my shortlist on my dresser. It’s a stack of five or six books. They’re the books I want to read next. Does it always work out that way? No. When I take a book off the pile, another takes its place. That book has ended up being the next book I read, while I ignore the five other books that have been sitting there for the past weeks or month.

How many books are waiting for you?


12 comments:

  1. Thanks for stopping by. That sounds like a really good idea. I like the short list concept. I think it's time for a shelf re-organization. ;)

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  2. Anonymous17/6/11 15:45

    My TRB pile is similar to yours: I've got 162 books waiting to be read. Every year I've been trying to increase my year end reading goals. Last year I read about 50. This year I'm hoping for 60. Next year maybe 75 if I meet my goal this year. Hopefully I'll be able to get through the pile eventually (or at least whittle it down to 25) Like you, I also keep a shortlist! though I often deviate from it. I'm incorrigible XD

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  3. hmmm...if we're talking virtual TBR piles then mine is still shorter than everyone's at like 128 or something. I could not have literally 500 books to be read in my small apartment, that would be crazy.

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  4. I'm generally pretty good about keeping a short to-read list. I go to the library every week and pick up 2-3 books. I can generally knock those out in a week.

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  5. Yes, I have my huge TBRs, and then the shorter stacks of books to read next, which keeps changing every week as I read them.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog.

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  6. That's about how many books I have, plus my Kindle/pdf review reads.
    Thanks for stopping by my blog earlier (For What It's Worth). My header and overall design was done by Parajunkee but my black background was a stock photo that I added later.
    Have a great weekend!

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  7. It sounds like you have a pretty good system going. I'll often just reach for whatever I can get to, first. :-)

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  8. Anonymous18/6/11 01:06

    HI
    Just hopping by! I read a book every 36 hours or so and it would still take me more than 3 years to get through the books I actually own

    Shelleyrae @ Book'd Out
    www.bookdout.wordpress.com

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  9. The same thing happens to me with my next-to-read pile. I'm more comfortable with being spontaneous and choosing something I want to read now, rather than planning what to read. Maybe that's why I'm a bit behind on my challenges ;) Have a great weekend!

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  10. Maria, I'm glad I started the "short stack", but I just added another book. I'm hoping to keep it short...

    booklush, I try to increase the amount of books I read every year too, but it's difficult with addition of babies in my life.

    Lah, My hubby and I used to have books stored in plastic bins until we bought a house. Now our library has exploded. We have shelves in half our living room, creating a nice little library.

    smellincoffee, I might be too book-obsessed to do that.

    Howard, owning books could never be stressful to me, they make me happy.

    Laurel-Rain, I try not to change my short stack too much, instead I try to remember why to books were placed there in the first place.

    Karen, I want to start downloading pdfs (I don't own and eReader), but that'll make my list even crazier.

    Tiger, It makes me feel good having a system, but sometimes my mood changes and I pick up a book I didn't expect too.

    Nikki, thanks for following!

    Shelleyrae, I wish I had time to read a different book every 36 hours.

    Teacher, I think that's why I dont' do challenges.

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  11. I have a special shelf on my bookshelf reserved for to-be-read books. I just counted 46 books there, not including Religious Right books I want to review for my blog.

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  12. Ahab, 46 is a great number. Though that was probably 5 years ago for me (before I bought a house).

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