It's ridiculous, clearly. I read between 60 & 80 books per year, which would mean if I never add another book to this list (HA!), it will take me approximately 5 years to read all of the books on the list. And upon a quick glance at the first page, I don't even want to read some of these books anymore, and I definitely don't remember why I added them to the list in the first place!
Now, it appears I promised 10 steps to getting your (digital) TBR list under control, so here goes!
TEN STEPS
1. Go ahead and take a quick scroll-stroll through your TBR list. Anything that jumps right the heck out at you as an "easy cull", go ahead and delete it right now. This is just a cursory glance, so don't dive too deep!
And now, we dive deep... These steps can be applied in any order, but really you should think of each of these parameters while you look at each book on your list.
2. Eliminate any books that you can't remember why you added them. For me, this is most of the books I added right after I joined Goodreads in 2012.
3. Remove all books with topics that you are no longer interested in, or in genres that you no longer read. I'm not a fan of "the Classics" at this time, so those are all going bye-bye.
4. Remove all books by authors that you have stopped reading altogether. (Um hello Charles Dickens, what are you doing here?)
5. Remove all books that aren't available at your local library*. This one is very specific to me, as I get all of my books from the library. If you prefer to purchase yours, or get them from another source, please move on to step 6!
6. Think of your reading goals for the upcoming year. My goals are to read more books by women, LGBTQ, First Nations, and POC, and books in translation. Remove any books that don't directly further your goals. (Yes, that means I am removing a lot of cis het white dudes from my list, but I'm sure they're still doing just fine without me...)
7. Remove any books that are not the first book in a series. Yes, you still may want to read the remainder of the books in that series, but they don't need to be on your official TBR list.
8. Remove any books that you started reading, but probably aren't going to finish. There is no shame in DNF when it comes to books!
9. Remove any books by your favourite authors that you are probably going to read without needing the extra prompting. But only do this is you aren't going to forget...I keep at least one book by my fave authors on my TBR at all times because I do forget. I forget all the damn time.
10. Remove any books you put on your list because you want people to think you are cool-smart-hip-educated for reading them. That is, are any books on there because you are trying to impress somebody OR because someone you think is hip-smart-cool recommended the book, but you don't have a personal interest in reading the books? Yes? Gone.
BONUS POINT
I have some books on my TBR that I think I added for Lucas' benefit. And while I may not be into reading them at this time, I would still like to keep them noted for him. I moved them out of my Goodreads list, and added them to his library account's "For Later" shelf.
Apply as often as needed.
HOW DID I DO?
My initial goal with this exercise was to get my Goodreads TBR list down to under 100 books. I started with 414 (still can't believe that number) and as of today, I am at 204 books!
It took a lot of work, and it was very mentally tiring. I found I could sort through about 40-60 books in one shot, eliminating ~30 books from the list. And then I needed a brain break.
I sort of cheated near the end, and moved three books into my "Currently Reading" list just to get them off the TBR. I mean, I am actually currently reading them, but it still felt like cheating.
Overall, I am super pleased with the effort I put in, and the results. My TBR list feels much more focused, manageable, and useful to me now.
THINGS I LEARNED
- It was fun to relive the years I was heavily into books about zombies and the civil war
- I had forgotten about that time I added a bunch of books with the same titles to the list!
- I have officially moved away from reading non-genre, "literary fiction"
- This is the year to read ALL the city planning books
- I noticed some holes I would like to try to fill; for example I really love science-based non-fiction, but I don't have any on my TBR
TO NOTE
There were a few books on my list that are not available at my library, but I kept them on my list because they are in line with some of my goals this year. I will have to decide if - and how - I want to buy them. And a few books on my TBR were actually for Lucas, so while I deleted them from my list, I added them to his library TBR list. Starting him early...
MAD PROPS to those people who love a good, long TBR list. You are welcome here too! In fact, I would love to hear some recommendations for a good book or two....but no more than that!
FURTHER READING
How (and why) I keep my Goodreads to-read shelf at 100 books by Laura Sackton on Book Riot
I have too many books collecting dust by Andi Miller on Book Riot
I don't know how my TBR became a tower and other lies by Jess Carbert on Book Riot
How I keep my TBR small in 8 easy steps by Aimee Miles on Book Riot
Decluttering my digital TBR: a Goodreads TBR purge by Emily Polson on Book Riot
xo
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