Is life too short to read your "to be read" pile?

[Illbefinejustbloodyfine]

I have at least 30 books yet to be read, plus whatever is on my kindle (up to 20). But i still keep acquiring more and choosing those over the ones in the pile.

Admittedly, I have struggled to get back into reading , so am picking things I think will hold my interest and be an easy or gripping read. That said, I still feel like I "ought" to choose from my pile.

There are SO many books though. What do others do?

For example, I have Daisy Jones and the six on my kindle. 20% read. Last read it about a year ago. Clearly it didn't do much for me.

I'm the same. My TBR pile of books is well over 100 and I'm struggling with my concentration lately. I keep telling myself to stop buying, but somehow I can't. I have a poor total read for this year at below 30, so yes, I doubt I'll ever reduce the pile at all at this rate.

I also have an ever expanding TBR plie, and there are no rules about which order to read depending on how long a book has been on there, I just read whatever I am in the mood for next.

I also have collections for 'did not finish' and 'go back to later' on my Kindle and on Goodreads, as I agree there are too many great books waiting to be read for me to stick with something I'm not really enjoying.

I have over 250 unread books on my TBR pile (Kindle mostly but also some paperbacks). At my current rate that would take me about 5 years to get through! New Year Resolution: stop buying books!

Im on book 13 for the year! That said, I dont think I read for about 3 months, and took an age to get through "Orbital" despite it being short.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet I also struggle with concentration, and have made sure a few of the books I've read this year have been short, or highly recommended in the hope they will keep my interest.

I've just been through all of my tbr pile, and there's a reason I have them. I dont want to get rid of any. So I will keep them, and start trying to choose them.

I also have a “didn’t get on with it, try another time” folder on kindle… if I try something from there a couple of times and it doesn’t stick, I do delete it. Which helps a bit.

Daisy Jones works brilliant as an audio book. I think of my tbr as a wine cellar, just curating a lot of great books for whichever mood I happen to be in

I have 200 odd books on my TBR pile! I was a bit too enthusiastic about the 99p Kindle daily deal when the DC were little and all I could do was day dream about reading books. I’ve read 25 or so this year but I still don’t think life will be long enough as I saw another dozen or so I’d like in Waterstones. I have heaving bookshelves full of books I plan to re-read. I also have various craft sets & Lego sets to make as well as a long “to watch” list.

No they’re on my tbr list for a reason. The thought of not having something lined up to read gives me the chills lol. I always have lots downloaded and as many physical books too.

Life is too short to read a bad book though and by that I mean something I’m not enjoying. Someone told me that many moons ago and it stuck with me. Now if I find I’m not enjoying it I stop and delete it from my kindle. I do try to read 1/4 to 1/3 first and determine from there

I don't even have a kindle, so my tbr pile is well over 100 physical books.

I have a big pile of books plus the ones 'in a pile' on kindle and i can't see them ever reducing as i'm sure to keep adding more, but i really don't care and having them gives me a sense of security.
I don't finish or keep a book i don't like and i know usually within the 1st chapter, sometimes page one ,life is too short and if the author can't entertain me i don't waste my own time.

@Honnomushi has it right, think of your TBR pile not as a task that you have to do but as a wine cellar storing future enjoyment. Or a jewellery box full of precious things that you wear at different occasions or a mature garden with flowers that bloom at different times.

30 books is a good size of TBR pile for someone who has read 13 books this year. Put them all together on a bookshelf and look forward to going there to choose your next read.

At my age, there’s always a risk I won’t even get through my current book.

But my TBR pile is only 5 books at present, so I’m quietly confident.

I generally read on kindle so instead of purchasing new books all the time (Im always lining up nee books), i try to put them in an amazon wishlist, which feels like a TBR pile but is unpurchased. Then when I'm ready to start a new book, I download a free sample from my wishlist and if I want to read more after the sample I only purchase at that point..

I'm only 45 but I have long since accepted that life will be too short to read all the books in my pile! It must be almost into three figures just on my Kindle. At this point, I buy books to support writers and if I get round to reading them that's a bonus!

I think of my TBR more as a curated shop than a to do list. So if I'm not sure what to read next, I have a look for ideas from my TBR. I don't feel weighed down or pressured by a sense that I must read everything on there ever, let alone soon.

Edit: realised most people are referring to a tbr of books they've already bought. I don't really buy books preemptively, I pop them on my storygraph tbr

I only read on kindle, and my tbr list is all in one folder. I read one from the top of the folder, next from the middle, and then from the bottom of the list. This stops me from only reading my newest downloads

I LOVE the attitudes here, thank you!

I'm exactly the same only with quite a few more unread 99 p Kindle books, paints that rarely get used, still boxed Lego sets and list of unwatched films and TV programmes. Life and the internet just gets in the way.

I also have an Amazon wishlist of books and used to use ereaderiq to track prices as I now only allow myself to buy if its 99 p but still probably buy more books a year than I read. I track what I've read by putting them I Kindle collections labelled Read 202X and have also read about 25 books this year which is disappointing as I should be able to read far more than this.

But on threads like this I always like to point out that this is so common amongst readers that the Japanese have a word for it, Tsundoku

I’m trying to make a plan. I have over 300 unread books and may be moving house in the next couple of years, so planning to go through them all and allocate some for charity shops. I have a number that I got from charity shops, by the same author, because I “always meant to read them”, so I’ll try one which is generally considered the best and if I don’t like it, give it and the others away.
I’m making a list of books to read next year. I have always wanted to read Les Miserables and War and Peace, so I’m going to join year long readalongs for those.
I started on the Palliser books this year and want to finish the series next year. I find Trollope funny and will hopefully offset the very serious tomes above.
So that’s the “must read” list and the rest will be whatever takes my fancy - I have a lot of classic crime and non fiction.
Trouble is, I keep reading posts on here and finding new things I want to read!

My TBR is about 100 deep at the moment and will get bigger at Christmas. Reading and collecting books are two separate hobbies.

Life is too short to NOT read. The amount, the piles of books are all little treasures to dip into. They shouldn’t feel like weighty burdens that will drown us.
I moved house around 5 years ago and decided to get rid of at least 1000 books. Some actually went in the bin as I could t find a home for them (not in UK and English speakers in short supply) and this cured me of feeling like I need to be weighed down b them. My TBR pile is in the hundreds still and that’s ok.

I have a bookshelf full of TBR books. I’ve made a pact with myself that I’m not buying anymore until I’ve read them or at least tried them (life is definitely too short to read bad books!). I’m having a Swedish death clean and finding it so liberating - I’ve read 5 of my TBR books so far and passed them all on 🥳💪🏻

I don't have physical copies of more unread books than I can get through at my current rate provided I live for at least another 12 months, but my list of books I'd like to read at some point in the future is beyond my reasonable life expectancy and I'm kicking myself for all those years that I let pesky irritations like work and paying attention to my children get in the way of reading.

(I've had to clear out the home of a deceased book hoarder. It changed my behaviour regarding wanting to possess books.)

I have 200 books unread books on my kindle. While that's slightly daunting, it's 14 books lower than this time last year so I'm chipping away at it gradually (obviously that's a net number- I did buy some books this year but I read more than I bought). So if I continue at this rate I'll have cleared the tbr pile by 2040!