TBR Books

Lately there has been a lot of discussion on the internet among bookish people about their ever growing, daunting TBR pile and ways to reduce it.

I am right there with everyone who gets a little overwhelmed at times by their owned vs read books.

I probably own about 100 books that i have yet to read in one format or another. Ebooks, audiobooks, and physical copies are all on my TBR pile.

How do I keep this from overwhelming me?

Well there are a couple ways I handle my TBR pile.

1. I think about the books I have purchased and more importantly WHY I purchased them. I purchased these books because something in them sparked my interest. the second that stops being true I will take it to my local book buying location which has a buy back for store credit policy that is actually pretty great and get rid of them in favor for something else I really want now.
2. This year I started a sort of "TBR JAR." In the past I had just solely gone off mood for what to read and often times that was difficult to judge. I am not one to put down a book so again once I started something I finished it and it might have left me feeling slumpy. My philosophy on this has changed. I wrote down on little pieces of paper all my unread books and pick from the jar at random. (often times I let my husband picks because he thinks its fun) I will read that book often times while reading a book I am more in the mood for so I have options and don't get bogged down by a single book. This has actually really helped knock some of the books that I might have put off longer off my TBR list.
3. I am more selective about my choices. I made a wish list on Amazon and when thinking of purchasing a book, if it is not a recent release, I will ask myself how quickly I will get to it and how much does it cost. If it is on a crazy ebook or audiobook sale I will often purchase it for the cheaper price but more paperbacks and hardbacks will be available for a long time so if I don't think I want to read it VERY soon then I will add it to the wish list and wait to purchase it.
4. Also, just think about what you as an individual feels comfortable with in terms of TBR books. If you start to stress when you have 25 or 50 books don't buy anymore until you are below that number.

I think the thing to remember is that everyone is different and you have to do what feels comfortable to you. Reading is supposed to be fun and if having to many unread books stresses you out then that takes away from that element of fun.

Self control when it comes to books for an avid reader can be difficult but just remember we are all in this together.