When I started this blog back at the beginning of January I said I would limit my TBR (To Be Read) piles to books that I thought I could finish in a month so I would always stick to the pile, but still have free choice. Actually following my TBR pile as many have said is hard because I didn't know how long any of those books would take. In January I set two books on my TBR list so it was easy to complete. In February I set five books for myself to read. I read 8 books in February so I way surpassed the number of books I planned to read.
Then when it came to setting up my March TBR there was a lot of books I was excited to read Thanks to project Fairy Tale so I again set six books to read figuring I would work my way through the list easily and still have two free choices. I didn't realize how long The Host would take me. Although I have loved every minute I have spent reading The Host by Stephenie Meyer it has really backed up my TBR. I'm not sure how many books I will get read off my TBR for March because the month is almost over.
Here's my question. Do I feel stressed out because I didn't read those books in the timeline I had set? No I know I will get to them eventually and I'm okay with the fact that I didn't get to them. I'm more than willing to read those books in April. Many people say they think their TBR lists limit them. I don't think mine limits me at all because I'm not afraid to deviate from the TBR list. I'm not afraid to read a different book if I want and not finish my TBR list.
The reason I like to plan out what I'm going to read that month is so I have a general idea of what I'm going to be reading. If a find a great book in the middle of the month and decide to read it so be it. My library just got 75 new teen books there is no way that I don't want to check some of those out and see how they are.
Blogging is not my job. It is a hobby. Blogging is the place I come to share my feelings about books and my life that I wouldn't otherwise share. If the TBR list becomes my set reading list I will stop doing them because that is not their purpose. Their purpose is to give me a general idea of what I'm going to read. If I don't get to those books I will get to them at some point.
Let's Discuss. Do you do a monthly TBR list? Do you stick to your TBR list? Does not sticking to your TBR list stress you out?
Tell me your feelings below in the comments.
Rachael
I do a monthly TBR list every month, but I rarely stick to it. It's usually a mix of review books and "fun" books, but I usually end up reading stuff completely different than what I'd initially planned. I think it helps me try to reach certain goals, but it can still stress me out if I stray too far from my initial TBR list.
ReplyDeleteIts frustrating to find the balance, but I try to remember that I started this blog to write about books that I love and I'm not going to love them nearly as much if I have to force myself to read them because of my TBR list. I read them as I feel like it.
DeleteI never do a monthly list, but I have a GIANT overall TBR list of books I've accumulated and have not read yet. Not to mention all the others I want to read that I don't have in my possession or that I would want to read from the library! I consider it progress when I read any books from this huge list, but don't try to adhere to any particular set for a given month. I have come to accept the fact that by TBR list will never be at zero and that's OK :)
ReplyDeleteI would never want the list to be at zero because that would mean I would be out of books to read. I would love to be able to read more, but I always want to enjoy reading and not have reading become a chore.
DeleteI have what I call my monthly CBR list which means Could-Be-Read. I make a list of all the books I'm currently interested in and try to read only from that list (which usually has about 15-20 choices). But if I get a book that's not on the list it's okay. It's not like I absolutely have to stick to that list. It just gives me options for the month.
ReplyDeleteoh, you should think about taking off the captcha. It took me 3 tries to get it right. Almost gave up & didn't comment
When I comment I never have captcha. That's strang. How do I take that off? I don't really care if I go off the list because I'm always finding new books or books that take longer than expected.
DeleteEven if you have captcha on, it will never pop up when you comment on your own blog -- you have to go into your blogger comment settings to change it.
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