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Original poster

How big is your TBR pile and why is it there?

57 replies

Meduse · 01/02/2022 20:03

I’m always curious when I read of people’s large piles of TBR books.I love reading and going to bookshops to buy the next few.For those of you with large piles of unread books,don’t you feel an increasing amount of stress seeing books you can’t get to read and why buy a book that just sits on a shelf?

OP posts:

rifling · 01/02/2022 20:06

Mine are mostly on my kindle so I can't really see them! Mainly due to taking advantage of bargains especially when I first got a kindle. My tbr pile of "real life" books is mainly presents that I don't really have a great desire to read.

RomanMum · 01/02/2022 20:07

Mine's a virtual one - a list on my phone. Makes browsing round second hand bookshops easier (in theory less tempting too). Still have a physical smaller pile of TBR but that's mostly hidden in bedside drawer.

Peanutssuck · 01/02/2022 20:14

My pile is huge. I've gone through a bit of a reading block over lockdown and just couldn't concentrate enough to get through one cover to cover. I actually enjoy looking at the pile and thinking which ones I'm going take away on holiday

CatNamedEaster · 01/02/2022 20:18

I usually go to a couple of charity shops at the start of the month and buy 8-10 books for the month. I try to buy a variety of genres so I can pick something to suit my mood.

I'm not sure I'd want more than 10 unread books. I'd never go to sleep.

exexpat · 01/02/2022 20:20

I have hundreds of unread books in my house, out of thousands in total, though plenty of them are non-fiction/reference books that are not intended to be read cover-to-cover.

I confess this is partly due to being a bookshop addict, but also because I like being able to browse my own shelves for the next book I feel like reading, rather than having to go and buy something.

I buy books on topics that I find interesting or that I would like to learn more about, even if I don't have time to read them right now; my shelves are full of novels I think I will enjoy reading at some point, if not immediately, and I have often found myself picking up a book I bought a decade or two ago and finding it perfect for whatever is going on in my life right now.

This essay on Umberto Eco's approach to book collecting kind of explains my feelings: nesslabs.com/antilibrary

Musmerian · 01/02/2022 20:23

I don’t feel stressed because it’s not a race and there’s no pressure. I buy things in the Oxfam bookshop and read them when I feel like it. I’m an English teacher and read loads and like having books around.

InMySpareTime · 01/02/2022 20:26

I have a TBR bookcase because I love to collect books but am currently too ill with ME/CFS to concentrate on books. When I'm under better control of my energy levels I know the books are waiting for me.

rifling · 01/02/2022 20:27

Also I live abroad and books in English aren't easy to find or cheap so if I find one that is available/ cheap / unwanted I tend to take it home just in case!

Hdhr8jsj · 01/02/2022 20:46

I have MS and chronic migraines and can no longer physically read books unfortunately but I do use Audible. I get through 3 to 4 books a week and have a couple of thousand in total. I wish I could have my TBR books in a different place in the app as it gets so confusing!

satelliteheart · 01/02/2022 20:50

My TBR pile is currently about 200 books, mixture of paper and kindle. Many bought in kindle deals, given as gifts or bought after recommendations (many from the 50 book threads here)

Like pp, I don't find it stressful, I'll get round to them all eventually and I like being able to choose my next book based on my frame of mind at the time. I'll often start a book and then feel I'm not in the right place for it so put it aside and try again a few months later

Having said that, I am trying to buy less books this year to give me a chance to get through some

Original poster

Meduse · 01/02/2022 20:55

That’s all very interesting-love the essay link
Thanks!

OP posts:

JaninaDuszejko · 02/02/2022 13:33

I would find not having a physical TBR pile too stressful! I like having a decent number of books in my TBR pile so I have lots of choice for my next read. The idea of not having a new book to read is scary! Really, having a large TBR pile makes more sense than keeping all the read books (although I do that as well, they are such good friends).

Dinosauratemydaffodils · 02/02/2022 13:41

Mine lives in two large baskets, probably 150 books atm. There is a mix of fiction and non fiction and highbrow to trashy. I love reading and buying books but have young children, academical studies and lots of voluntary work to eat into my reading time so I buy faster than I read. When I do have time, the ritual of selecting the next book is essentially literary foreplay and adds to the pleasure I get from reading.

2022HereWeCome · 03/02/2022 10:23

Between 20-30 physical books, a few more on my e-reader that I bought when on offer.

I usually download library books on my e-reader but the software went flaky and it took me months to get to the bottom of it - during which time I discovered a love of hardbacks and special editions so I've bought some signed first editions, clothbound classics and the like. They are the things of beauty in my life when I need calm.

I also bought some cheap book bundles of series that I'd been meaning to read as lighter comfort reading eg Invisible library / St Marys. Wanted actual books as I think DS might enjoy these when he's older. I'm trying to make it as easy as possible for him to be a reader as so many of his friends simply don't read (at all). He now asks me what I am reading and what's it about on a regular basis ...

CMOTDibbler · 03/02/2022 10:37

About 200 Kindle books are bought and waiting reading, 150 currently on my 'to buy' list. I buy books when they are on offer, and my Amazon wish list lets me add ones I am interested in and monitor for price changes so they will come up as 99p for the day. Currently I am studying for a post grad degree part time so that has an awful lot of reading of its own, but I still do a couple of novels a week but my backlog has a lot of non fiction accumulating

ExtremelyDelighted · 03/02/2022 10:49

I probably have at least 50 hard copy and 20+ Kindle at any given time. I buy as I see them in charity shops or if something I want to read comes up on 99p Daily Deals. I love effectively having a bookshop in my own home, love looking at them on the shelf waiting to be read, love the fact that they are there and when I want to read one I can, no waiting.

HacerSonarSusPasos · 03/02/2022 10:54

My current book stock that I hope to get through this year. There's a few cookbooks in there that don't count, and 10ish books that I've already read.

When I'm done with these I can start on my kindle pile that might be in the hundreds now

How big is your TBR pile and why is it there?

bibliomania · 03/02/2022 11:06

I am endlessly tantalized and frustrated by my own TBR pile.

I currently have 17 library books on loan plus 11 on request - these books are prioritized as I only have access for a limited amount of time.

I have over a hundred on kindle, mostly from deals - these get read when I'm away from home.

I have another shelf of physical books, mostly picked up second-hand. Unfortunately it's quite rare for me to get around to these.

shumway · 03/02/2022 11:13

I have a fear of running out.

bibliomania · 03/02/2022 11:22

Ha, shumway, I have a bigger fear that the pile will topple over and kill me!

StColumbofNavron · 03/02/2022 12:21

Without reading everyone else's responses first, I don't feel stressed, on the contrary it brings me joy to look at them. I also created a spreadsheet with all my Kindle books that I would like to pick from this year so I sometimes just look at that too. I usually buy things that I know I will want to read at some point when I see them in charity shops or when they are under £2 on Kindle. I won't go into numbers but there are loads.

BadSpellaSpellaSpella · 03/02/2022 13:24

Nah i like looking through my unread books, reading and browsing book shops are two different hobbies in my mind

Burgerqueenbee · 03/02/2022 13:38

I have 117 TBR. I have a list in my hybrid diary/ bullet journal that I update each year with the new purchases and the books read. Seeing it as a list helps me choose what to read next, we have a very large collection of books and it is easier to see them all in one place.
I have slowed down due to having DD last June, and am not likely to pick up to my usual pace for a while, it does make me a bit sad.

Pre pandemic I would also pick up 5 or 6 library loans a month too, and keep the unread books at home at around 50 books.

Hellohah · 03/02/2022 15:19

I went to some charity bookshops long ago and ended up buying about 25 books. I also got a fair few books for Christmas (as I do for Birthdays).

I also request books on borrowbox or hard copies from my library, and you tend not to be able to predict when they are ready for you.

I don't feel any stress. I see the books on my shelves as back ups for when the library books run out.

InTheCludgie · 03/02/2022 15:35

I have a virtual TBR pile which I keep on my phone and pick whatever I fancy from it. Most of these books are ones which have been recommended by others, particularly from the 50 book thread chat. Some of them are physical books or on my kindle, majority of the rest I get from the library.

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