Monday, April 20, 2015

Musing Mondays - Taking Control Of My TBR Pile

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! This is when we speak about bookish rants or issues, among other things.

For this week's topic, I will be talking about my TBR pile, which is out of control! The books on my TBR I am referring to are just the ones I own, but have not read. I don't even want to think about the number of books on my TBR that I don't even own yet. That list is in the 300's.

I counted the number of eBooks on my Kindle and the number of ARCs I have to read. It appears that the months of April, May, and June were very popular in terms of publication dates because of all of my ARCs tended to fall within those months. I have tried to cut myself some slack, but for the most part I like to have the ARCs read prior to publication. And there are some books on my Kindle that I have wanted to read for years.

I decided to count these books and put the number of books on my handy little spreadsheet so I could keep a record of it.. There were 113 ebooks on my Kindle and yes, this number included eARCs. I am sure this number doesn’t seem very high. But I started thinking about all the money I spend on books every month. I don’t think this number has been under 100 in a very long time. I read two and then buy five more. Drastic steps had to be taken – I decided to put a temporary hold on the purchase of any new books or requesting ARCs. For the past few weeks, I have no new books to speak of and that feels weird. I actually have a monthly budget for books. For the past month, I have not used any of that money AT ALL. Crazy, right? I have steadily seen the number of books drop. I have been able to read books that I have been meaning to read for a while. At this time, the number of books on my Kindle has dropped from 113 to 91. Woo-hoo!

The downside is that I haven’t been able to read any new releases. Last week, I was so close to buying new books just because. Buying books is a hard habit to break, especially with all of the new books being released right now. I decided I will not buy any new books until at least July. That should allow me to make a sizeable dent in my TBR. Now as far as requesting ARCs, I have managed to stay away from even browsing on NetGalley. I don’t know how long I can hold out on that one though. Those are free so it is incredibly tempting!
How out of control is your TBR Pile?


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28 comments :

  1. Grace @ RebelMommyBookBlogApril 20, 2015 at 11:29 AM

    Wow that is a big TBR pile!!! I am glad you are getting through some. My actual pile on my kindle isn't that large (maybe 20?) since I started borrowing more from the library. Even whats on there though gives me anxiety that I want to get through them

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    1. CynthiaApril 20, 2015 at 10:05 PM

      Grace, oh yes to all the anxiety. That's why I needed to do something. I felt like the books on my Kindle were never going to be read!

      Delete
  2. JC JonesApril 20, 2015 at 4:23 PM

    I enjoyed your post but part was very hard to read as it went over into the design at the edges.

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    1. CynthiaApril 20, 2015 at 10:06 PM

      Oh I am so sorry about that JC. I am not sure what you mean though. I am looking at the page and it seems to be okay. Do you mean it is going into m background?

      Delete
  3. JC JonesApril 20, 2015 at 4:24 PM

    Ignore previous comment. When I posted it the blog loaded right with everything where it belonged.

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    1. CynthiaApril 20, 2015 at 10:07 PM

      Bahaha, Okay, I replied before I saw this one. haha. I am glad that it is okay though!

      Delete
  4. The Literary LionessApril 20, 2015 at 4:40 PM

    My TBR pile is also out of control. I have a category on my Kindle for all my TBR books and it is very large. I also have stacks of books around the house that need to be read, but I keep going to used book sales and getting more books :) I need to stop buying books and start reading the ones I have!

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    1. CynthiaApril 20, 2015 at 10:08 PM

      You are so right! I haven't even let myself think of the physical ones I own, but haven't read yet. One set of unread books at a time. :)

      Delete
  5. KwizgiverApril 20, 2015 at 4:58 PM

    My TBR is huge--probably 300 or so books on my Nook. Yikes! I should do a book moratorium like you! :-)

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    1. CynthiaApril 20, 2015 at 10:08 PM

      Ahhh Kwizgiver, that is big! I don't feel so bad now. :)

      Delete
  6. Laurel-Rain SnowApril 20, 2015 at 5:44 PM

    It is definitely hard not to browse for new books...lately, I have been requesting books on NetGalley that I would otherwise have purchased. That is my rationale for allowing myself this obsession. But then again, I now have a lot of books to read and review quickly.

    Here are my BLUE MONDAYS MUSINGS

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    1. CynthiaApril 20, 2015 at 10:09 PM

      You are so right Laurel. I really need to do that with NetGalley myself. I find myself just requesting anything, even books I normally would not have read at all.

      Delete
  7. Shooting Stars MagApril 20, 2015 at 6:24 PM

    I don't know if my comment went through or not? I guess I'll just write something real quick. Good luck with all of your books - that's great you're winding down your e-books a bit. I don't have a ton of ARCs to get through, but enough for me. I have a lot of books I've gotten through the years that I want to read more!

    -Lauren

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    1. CynthiaApril 20, 2015 at 10:10 PM

      Thanks for stopping by Lauren! The problem is there are so many great books. You are right: I just want to read more!

      Delete
  8. Piecraft BucharestApril 20, 2015 at 7:05 PM

    Hehe, I don't actually buy them. I put them on my to-read list, and only buy books as I read them. I finish one, I buy another (from my to-read list) and so forth. Every book on my kindle, except the one I'm reading now, is read :) Great post!

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    1. CynthiaApril 20, 2015 at 10:11 PM

      Ramona, you are so good! I wish I could have that kind of willpower. Ha.

      Delete
  9. Breana M.April 20, 2015 at 9:06 PM

    My TBR pile is actually in control. I'm really picky about which books I buy, which thankfully has limited the amount of books I've yet to read.

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    1. CynthiaApril 20, 2015 at 10:11 PM

      Good for you Breana! Hopefully I can limit the number books I buy and request. :)

      Delete
  10. CaytApril 21, 2015 at 2:02 AM

    My TBR pile isn't too bad, when it comes to eBooks anyway. I do have a ton of physical books on my shelves that I need to read. I tend to get them for free or on sale and never pick them up again. And my Kindle does have a decent chunk of books to read, mostly from humble bundles. I don't buy books all that often. I usually buy humble bundles whenever they come out, I buy the sequels to something I love immediately afterwards, and I did buy a bunch of books for my birthday last month.I try to keep Netgalley and other ARCs to a doable level though.

    Vicarious Caytastrophe

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    1. CynthiaApril 21, 2015 at 10:39 AM

      Cayt, I am glad yours isn't too bad. I just buy all these books and then feel the need to buy even more. I think I am afraid the day will come when I will have absolutely nothing on my Kindle to read. But I am pretty sure I don't have to worry about that. :)

      Delete
  11. Joy April 21, 2015 at 4:10 AM

    This is a common problem among us. I don't think there is any way to overcome it, unfortunately. Sigh.

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    1. CynthiaApril 21, 2015 at 10:39 AM

      Very true Joy. I think every book lover (and especially the bloggers!) can relate to this issue.

      Delete
  12. Cleopatra Loves BooksApril 21, 2015 at 8:40 AM

    My TBR is also huge although I have reduced the number of ARCs I've requested this year and curbed my spending to a level where I'm standing still - the problem is I really want to read the books I have but I can't resist new ones too.

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    1. CynthiaApril 21, 2015 at 10:40 AM

      Cleo, there are SO MANY new releases that I want to read!! That is my problem. In the last couple of months, I have slowed down on my NetGalley requests. I need to actually read the ARCs I have. Ha

      Delete
  13. AnonymousApril 24, 2015 at 12:52 AM

    I have a TBR problem too haha. You should start putting holds on new releases at the library! If you do it like a month beforehand, you'll be the first in line! That's how I manage to keep up with other bloggers when I'm veering away from buying books and requesting too many ARCs.

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  14. Trish @ Between My LinesApril 24, 2015 at 9:24 PM

    I always seem to hover at just over the 100 mark (with about 20 to 25 of them being arcs). And only because I have regular books bans! Otherwise I would lose control altogether. Well done on your resolve so far :)

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