Saturday, May 28, 2011

Saturday Discussions (9): How do you tackle your TBR pile?

As a fellow book blogger, I'm will to bet a lot of you have my same problem. Way too many books and way too little time. So what I want to talk about this week is if there is a rhyme or reason to how you choose what book you'll review next.

Once upon a time, my TBR pile had 15 books in it thanks to Christmas 2 years ago. Since then, it has gotten progressively bigger over the years, especially since I decided to start my very own little book blog. Before, I'd keep my novels in the order I bought them and read from oldest to newest. This worked out for a while until I started branching out my tastes. All of a sudden I found contemporary, mystery and dystopian amongst the normal paranormal romance and fantasy I was used to reading. I wasn't always in the mood for that contemporary that was coming up next.

Then, enter the book blog and the author/publisher requests and the recommends from my fellow amazing book bloggers. All of a sudden my TBR pile had ballooned out of control. Don't believe me? Take a look at my post where I video the scary pile.

So now I keep them all near my desk and pick out what I want to read. I still like to try and read series all together and if by some chance, I couldn't, then I go on ahead and hurry up to read them. Sequels always have priority. Generally speaking it's book tour books, ARC/requests, sequels and then whatever I feel like. Since I'm such a slow reader (and especially since I started writing again) I generally get about two or three books that I want to read in a month. The rest are sort of required reading (which isn't to say I don't want to read them, they are just priority because I have accepted them to get a review out at a certain time).

So tell me, how do you tackle your TBR pile? Do you free pull with whatever you want or do you read the oldest books first? Looking forward to your answers!

Did you write a follow-up post on this topic? Link up so I can hear about it!:


Have suggestions for other topics?



Next week's topic: Do you judge a book by it's cover (for real this time)?
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22 comments:

  1. SarahEmMay 28, 2011 at 12:39 AM

    I don't get stressed out about my TBR pile. I quite like owning a lot of books I haven't read yet because that means I don't have to go to the bookstore and choose a book (although I would love that) or go on a library run. I tend to read my new books first because I'm excited about them but there's really no order to how I choose what to read next. I just pick whatever I'm in the mood for.

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  2. Vy May 28, 2011 at 12:45 AM

    I'm still unsuccessfully trying to organize my TBR list. Now I just call it what's on my nightstand. I guess I'll read whatever books that are releasing soon.

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  3. KaityMay 28, 2011 at 1:16 AM

    My TBR pile isn't quite as uh... extensive as yours ;) but I also put books right where I can grab them. I find that if they end up on a bookshelf before I've read them, I forget about them completely.
    I usually start with whatever ARCs have the nearest release date and try to get rid of all of those. Then I do requests for books already out. And finally whatever I feel like reading or borrowed for the library.

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  4. BirgitMay 28, 2011 at 2:30 AM

    Believe it or not, but I made a list of all the books I need to read for review just yesterday ... eeek ... I swear it's so bad that I decided to start with the smallest volumes, so I can get more reading done in less time than it'd take me for the fat tomes. This way at least the number of books will be reduced a bit faster *sigh* but in the long run I need to stop requesting so many books for review.

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  5. BellaMay 28, 2011 at 3:31 AM

    My TBR is in piles around my bedroom :) There's my reread pile, my for-review pile, my gifted/won pile and my bought pile. What I usually do is read either a reread or a review book (the rereads are usually because I have a sequel I can't remember) and then a bought or gifted book, and alternate between the two, because then I keep up with the money I've spent and the reviews I need to post. It's worked up until now, but my TBR is only 25 books. It's nothing like yours... Your TBR is probably bigger than my entire book collection!

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  6. Jessica ( frellathon )May 28, 2011 at 4:36 AM

    I keep planning I will read this next then this, this and this. Then it will get thrown off track by a book in the mail a book from the library etc. etc.

    I have no idea what to do so instead I just keep at it unless there were to be another 24 hours in the day then it would be read and sleep, read and sleep.

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  7. MoonStarMay 28, 2011 at 6:00 AM

    Omg. I have so many books in my TBR pile. It´s crazy. After I started hanging out in the bookblogg community. I bought so many books. And I bought a lot before that. Now it´s just getting insane.
    And I have no clue how to get to read them all xD But I will unfortunatly. I read books for review first and more or less after which books I want to read. :) No special order.

    Though I am planning to not buying any books in a while. (or I will at least try my best. 5 months without buying books. And as a reward I can get the tattoo I have always wanted :P)

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  8. Smash Attack AshMay 28, 2011 at 6:45 AM

    I've started to use Random.org to pick my pleasure reading. I have a separate list in Goodreads of my physical TBR pile, and they are numbered. So, I plug the total number amount in Random.org and whatever number pops up is the book I read. Takes the stress out of it, since my physical pile is 200+!

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  9. AnonymousMay 28, 2011 at 7:25 AM

    I get all my books from the library so I'm always reading them in the order that they're due back. I've got about 50 some books from the library at the moment, and I keep a word document for easy access to see when books are due back :)

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  10. EvieMay 28, 2011 at 8:46 AM

    Your video is hilarious! My TBR pile is out of control, and that's not counting what I also have on my kindle. I'm a slow reader as well, plus I don't have a lot of time.

    Usually I just grab what I feel like reading but I do try to alternate between adult and YA unless there is something I just can't wait to read. I do try to mix it up, and choose older books over the new ones, but sometimes that's difficult to do. I'm also not one of those people that *has* to finish a book.

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  11. kara-karina@Nocturnal Book ReviewsMay 28, 2011 at 10:27 AM

    Hm-m, I don't have that problem yet. I made a huge list on Goodreads but I only buy a book or get it from the library when I'm down to 2 books to read. So this way I get to read what I fancy and when I fancy it. I've had huge tbr pile before, but then I moved into another country and had to get rid of all my books. So now I'm back in UK and am building up my bookshelves from the scratch(hopefully with a bit f a wiser attitude :)

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  12. ShadowsTomesMay 28, 2011 at 11:30 AM

    I am the same way! I try really hard to stay on top of it but I am an admitted book hoarder! I have more books than ever before!

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  13. danyaMay 28, 2011 at 1:08 PM

    I often have trouble deciding what I should read next from my TBR but I do read a lot based on mood. Usually I try to mix it up in terms of genre so I'm not reading a whole bunch of one type of book in a row - otherwise I end up feeling kind of burnt out from that genre.

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  14. ChrystalMay 28, 2011 at 2:06 PM

    I was just thinking about this the other day. I have no rhyme or reason to my TBR pile. The other day I made a list out of MUST read soon vs. WANT to read. I have the books for blog tours first, then review copies and ARCs for review, then I have my personal want to read pile. Though I tend to toss in a library book here or there from waiting lists I've been on since they have due dates too. I generally read what I'm in the mood for, but sometimes I have to read something that's due for review. I'm actually quite behind on my pile because I had to shove a few blog tour books to the top of the TBR pile. *sigh*

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  15. barmybexMay 28, 2011 at 2:49 PM

    I have a massive pile.
    Any ARC's I have get moved to the top, then books that have request lists on them from the library. If I don't have any of those, I just pick whichever book takes my fancy at the time.

    I try to read series together, but other than that it's just whatever i feel like picking up.

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  16. J.L. CampbellMay 28, 2011 at 3:32 PM

    Mostly, I read what takes my fancy, however, if there's a buzz going on for a particular book, I'll read that one sooner rather than later. Got Hex Hall and Demonglass a couple of weeks ago. Of course, those moved right to the top of the pile.

    I have two books which I got through publishers. I need to post reviews, so I gotta give those some attention right quick.

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  17. Bookish BrunetteMay 28, 2011 at 5:03 PM

    My TBR pile IS CRAZY... I so need to do one of these... I just grab whatever I feel like. I have no system! ;)

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  18. ShelaghMay 28, 2011 at 7:33 PM

    My TBR pile has definitely started getting out of control - I actually have three stacks of books next to my bed and they have now begun to colonise other flat surfaces. The stacks are just as high as they can go without me risking being smothered by books in my sleep. That's why I affectionately refer to my TBR as "the teetering pile".

    I've only just recently started getting review copies in. But they do have preference over other books as I have made a commitment to read them within a certain timeframe. The rest get picked and chosen depending on how I feel. Sometimes I'll have read too many books from a certain genre in a row and need to mix it up.

    Shelagh
    The Word Fiend

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  19. Nicki J. Markus / Asta IdoneaMay 28, 2011 at 8:28 PM

    My pile always used to be manageable - a bit bigger post Christmas and Birthday, but quickly under control again. Then I started blogging about 4-5 months ago and now I have SUCH a pile. On the whole, I am now giving preference to books I have promised to review for authors and NetGalley titles, after that I'll pick and choose the ones I've won or bought for myself depending on my mood. I've been busy lately and have not read so much, so my pile is currently at 29 tbr. I hope to get it down to below 20 soon though!

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  20. AnonymousMay 29, 2011 at 9:56 AM

    Yep, that looks very much like my TBR pile. The only way I chose what to read next is by which review has to be done the fastest. I-am-getting-buried-under-books! But it's great! LOL

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  21. Chelsey @ Starry Sky BooksMay 30, 2011 at 9:27 AM

    My TBR pile is huuuuuuge! I probably have 2 years worth of reading right in my room.

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  22. Julia @ That Hapa ChickMay 31, 2011 at 8:02 PM

    I tend to read what I want to read. Namely I'll pick whatever I feel like be it a contemporary or more an adventure/fantasy/dystopian story. I tend to switch back and forth. As for series, its hard to read those in order, especially if there are like a million of them. Sometimes I'll read one and then read a few other books and then read the next one. It all depends. :)

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