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TBR Shelf, 2019
For a few years there I was keeping up on a TBR shelf posting pretty regularly, but the last couple years I fell off badly. However, inspired by
1. an ever-growing TBR shelf (againstillalways)
2. an EMBARRASSINGLY low number of books read last year, and
3. a conversation with a friendI have decided to declare 2019 the Year Of Clearing The TBR Shelf.
I may also declare it the Year of Re-Reads, as I really want to re-read John Lee’s Unicorn Saga to see if I still need to be carrying those books around in print (not that I can find them available in e-book). Same with Julie Dean Smith’s Caithan Crusade, which ARE available in e-books (with lovely covers, too!), and…well, I’d like to re-read Michelle Sagara’s whole Cast series, but perhaps I shouldn’t be overly ambitious right now. :)
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To Be Read Shelf, 2017
I’m pretty sure I’ve gone over to the dark side. I’m looking at my TBR shelf and thinking “the only way I’m going to read half of these is if I get the ebook.” My last…several…book purchases have been e-books, with the exception of one that’s on its way that wasn’t available to me in e-book (and which I have the first book in print and signed), and I’ve replaced a few with e-books at this point. And there are several more on this list that, realistically, if I’m gonna read them, it’ll be by replacing them in e-format.
I’m starting, honestly, to have the horrible feeling that my TBR shelf is more of a Never TBR Shelf. I’m finding that if I don’t read something pretty much immediately on purchase, it goes on the shelf and becomes…well, something of a burden, at this stage. And the lovely thing about the e-books is I can put together a wishlist and go buy something from it when I have a moment to read, and then bam, I’m reading it and all is copacetic. Furthermore, if there’s a sequel available, I then tend to buy them up on e-book and read them while my enthusiasm is still hot. So…yeah. I think I’ve gone to the dark side.
Last year the goal was to read all the books on the TBR shelf and anything left at the end of the year was going to the used bookstore unread, but last year sucked and I’m not holding myself to that line. I may give it another go this year, especially as I’m starting to realize an awful lot of the books on these shelves aren’t actually *mine*. I should, frankly, be able to get through the 20 or so fiction books on my physical shelf without straining myself too much this year.
The non-fiction shelf needs some active effort as well as updating. I suspect there, as well, that e-books would be read more quickly, but I’d…have to really change my habits to buy history books in e-format, so I’ll just try to work with what I’ve got right now. (Mneh. I see I could replace Ben Wilson’s DECENCY & DISORDER with an e-book, which is…extremely tempting, because a significant part of the reason I haven’t continued reading that is it’s a big fat book with small leding and margins which makes it physically difficult to read. And that’s not just because my eyes are getting older, as I’ve had the book for several years now and it’s only in the past year my focus point has changed! It’s just not a well designed book….)
I need to make a graphic novels list, too, just to remind myself there’s stuff I haven’t yet read.
