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Hi all,

I just saw (along with a few other things) on Book Riot about not having a book challenge and/or a TBR list. To me, it sounds like a great idea, but I honestly can't see myself with out a list of books I want to eventually get to. I currently have lists going in 3 or 4 places (Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ, on my phone, library wishlist) and it is kind of overwhelming. And then I always see new books in these places and they just get added to the list. I'm sure I'm not the only one in this situation. On my GR shelves, I've created a "to-read-soon" shelf, which currently has one book languishing on it while the other lists continue to grow.

I guess my question is, does the TBR list help anyone at all, or should I throw them all out the window and just pick up what interests me at the moment? (I'm going with the second myself, but it's kinda scary...haha)

I can see not doing the annual GR challenge, especially for those who are maybe very competitive. With that kind of personality (I have that), it can probably become somewhat obsessive to set higher and higher goals and then meet or exceed them. I avoided this for myself by setting a low goal number which I normally far exceed (this year, I had a goal of 40 books but have read over 100). Then I don't feel so self-pressured.

As for not having a TBR list, no, I can't imagine that. I have over 600 books on my TBR list and would never be able to remember things if I didn't have a list. I'm a list person though.

My TBR list basically consists of books I've already purchased that are sitting in shelves in my bedroom waiting for me. I keep them logged on GR so I can check when I'm browsing in a store to make sure I don't buy something I already have. Because I can't tell you how many times that happened before I started making lists.

just out of curiosity, how do those who read 100+ books per year do so? because that sounds absolutely extraordinary to me! i couldn't read that many unless i were including cookbooks and children's picture books.

Adore wrote: "just out of curiosity, how do those who read 100+ books per year do so? because that sounds absolutely extraordinary to me! i couldn't read that many unless i were including cookbooks and children'..."

Well, Adore,

This is the first year that I have made over 100 books. I read 4 books at a time, starting this year. I listen to one on my iPad at work and some days I make more headway than others; it all depends on how "needy" the people coming into the library are (and the middle of the semester is easiest for progress).
I listen to another in my car which is not a biggie because I live in a very small town and rarely drive more than 5 miles at a time, but I used to teach my students "How to eat an elephant" (one bite at a time) and it chisels the books away. It's like eating dessert when I go visit my mom or cousins or...
I have one book that stays at home that I can grab easily and I have another book that I take everywhere with me and I have been noticed reading in the post office line, at the DMV (which was pointed out to me this week that I was remembered because I had a book, not a device) and anyplace I might be held up for more than 10 seconds.
AND, I do read children's picture books, but not just to increase my count. I have favorite authors (e.g. Jon ScieszkaRaymond Briggs) and like to read award winners or lately I've been reading the end of the year "bests".
I'm also mostly retired and have a husband and son who accept my "condition".

Adore wrote: "just out of curiosity, how do those who read 100+ books per year do so? because that sounds absolutely extraordinary to me! i couldn't read that many unless i were including cookbooks and children'..."

I think it depends on your lifestyle. When I had a very long commute to work (90 minutes each way), I would usually read during those times. That's 3 hours. Then I used to also read during my lunch break. That's four hours. Then, I would read for an hour or so at night before bed. That's 5 hrs per day. If the book was a page turner, I might even stay up reading until 1 or 2 am. When I switched over to primarily ereading, I found myself reading even more. I might read a page or two on my phone while I'm waiting in line at the store or whenever I find that I have some downtime.

I use the TBR list on goodreads to help me remember and easily find the books that I want to read. It helps to eliminate those "OMG, what was the name of that book...." moments.

I agree, just reading all the time! I have a full time job but do listen to audio books on my commute. And read whenever I can at home in the evenings. I am also a fast reader, always have been.

So far this year I've completed 113 books. No YA books (OK, one--to scratch that square off my Summer Reading Bingo Challenge), no children's books, no cookbooks in the bunch. Like Linda, I am also a "polygamous" reader. I currently have 4 books going at the same time. That sounds like it would actually slow down my reading totals instead of reading a single book straight through one at a time, but it doesn't. I've found that having multiple books going makes me read more often because I always have something that I WANT to read. If I'm in the mood for concentrating on nonfiction, I read one of those. But if I'm tired and want/need a lighter read, I have a fiction choice to pick up. Also, I commute 45 minutes each way on the train, so that's time to read. I read during my lunch hour. I record only the TV shows I want to see and I only sit down and watch those and then turn the TV off--I don't plop on the couch, turn on the TV and just watch randomly for any period of time. And I always, always have a book in my bag with me for when I have a spare moment or two. I never realized how many books I read in a year until I started logging them into GR -- I'm actually amazed at how many you can get through just by reading at least a little bit every single day.

I can't imagine not having a list either, but the downside is that I rarely just browse the shelves at the library (so I'm sure there are many more great books that I'm missing....)!

Amy wrote: "My TBR list basically consists of books I've already purchased that are sitting in shelves in my bedroom waiting for me. I keep them logged on GR so I can check when I'm browsing in a store to make..."

Me too! The 1122 books I have on my TBR list, are all at the moment on my Kobo or physically present in my home-library, bedroom, guestroom or living room, waiting to be read. If I'm considering a new book purchase, it's great to be able to check, if I already own it!

I use the list + the challenges, to motivate myself to read books I've been meaning to get to for years :-)

I usually read more than 100 titles a year, but some are novellas. I listen to Audiobooks 1-1½ hour a day while commuting and shopping, and I read for about 1 hour a day during the week, more during weekends and Holidays.

Adore wrote: "just out of curiosity, how do those who read 100+ books per year do so? "

I only started keeping track a few years ago, but I seem to read about 175 books a year, more or less. A lot of that is just because I'm a fast reader- everyone in my immediate family reads very quickly. And generally, if I'm not doing anything else, I've got a book in my hand- on the bus, waiting in a doctor's office, waiting to check out groceries. I think that I read more now that I've got an e-reader- it's so simple to pull it out and read 20 pages, rather than trying to wrestle a hardcover out of my purse. I do binge watch TV series, but other than that, I don't watch a lot of TV. I always fall asleep reading. I'm usually only online in the mornings. My kids are teenagers so they don't need as much hands-on care, and my husband's also a reader so it's pretty rare that anyone thinks I should put my book down.

I do have a huge TBR list, but I don't feel any pressure to work my way through it. Usually if I hear about an interesting book I'll add it to the list, because if I don't do it immediately, I'll probably forget about it. And I tend to get distracted by newer shiny books- I use Calibre to organize my ebook library and TBR list, and I've got a lot of ridiculous tags for books on my list. I think that it started out with the 'read first' tag, then when that got too big I started 'read now', 'highly recommended', 'don't ignore','to read history' etc. Having vaguely useful tags does help, if I'm in the mood to read a specific genre. I finally got around to reading March(great book)a few weeks ago, and I probably wouldn't have remembered it if I hadn't had my 'to read historical fiction' list.

I have a TBR list but mostly I read whatever catches my eye or whatever has arrived for me at the library. I use my TBR list when I'm in a bookstore or if nothing is sparking me in my piles of unread books at home. I actually go through my TBR list once in a while and remove those books that I've ended up reading.

I'm with Mochaspresso - my TBR is for books I read about or hear about on podcasts that I want to remember when I'm book shopping.

I've read 52 books so far this year - the most I've read in a year since I've been keeping track, and I thought that was a lot! With a full time job and three tween / teens, it's hard to sneak in much reading time. I'm also usually exhausted by the time I roll into bed, so though I love the idea of reading in bed, I rarely get very far before the lines get blurry.

I get about 2 hours a day (4 days a week) of audiobook listening on my commute and also like to have a print book and an ebook going. I also have subscriptions to the New Yorker and One Story, and those I carry around in my bag for waiting rooms, unexpected down time, etc., but, I never seem to catch up.

I'm usually off on Fridays and while I always plan to devote big chunks of the day to reading, I usually end up distracted by laundry, housecleaning, errands, and general admin that I don't get to during the rest of the week.

Adore wrote: "just out of curiosity, how do those who read 100+ books per year do so? because that sounds absolutely extraordinary to me! i couldn't read that many unless i were including cookbooks and children'..."
The short answer is turn off the TV . . . and limit internet surfing. I've exceeded 100 books per year for the last 5 years. When TV went from analog to digital, mine stopped working. Rabbit ears got really poor reception, so I gave up. Switched to books for evening entertainment.
Also listen to audio books in the car, while exercising and doing house chores.