Do You Have Too Many Books to Read?
And the answer is, of course!! Lol! Granted, I know my TBR pile number isn't as high as other readers. I think mine's just past 300? Somewhere in that mix between 300-400! But it still feels like wayyy too many at times. Especially since I probably buy maybe around 100 books a year? But then I read a little over 100 too! I just completed my Goodreads challenge of 100 books, but in that number there were some novellas and short stories and comic books...so they were shorter to read!
But I find it hard to read them all and get caught up! I always felt like I could read fairly quick, getting like 2-3 books--if I was lucky--done in a week. Which is still pretty good, but then I hear about people reading twice as much as I do in a year and I'm like whoa!!! I'm not sure if some of these readers skim some lines when things get boring or what! Maybe not, I'm just one of those readers who generally reads every word and line! I only start skimming when I'm close to DNFing.
What's bad is that I truly want to read all these books. I don't buy them heedlessly anymore. There are a few whimsy buys but not many. My TBR pile started to get out of hand in 2010 for a multitude of reasons.
- Borders was closing. My heart was breaking everyday until they finally closed their doors forever and still continues to remain broken. Even though my heart broke I still snagged deals while I could. I picked a series or two in full because sales! Plus I still had my membership discount on top of that.
- Romantic Times Booklovers' Convention. I attended my first ever RT and learned of FREE books! Plus I did buy a few at the Saturday signing because when it comes to books, I am definitely an impulse buyer!
- Blogging. I feel like 2010 was when I noticed an increase of bloggers. More so than I did in the previous year and with blogging came more recommendations and then wow, things just got out of hand!!
If you told my younger self in 2008 that there would be a time where I would ALWAYS have something new to read, I would laugh in your face! Because in this time I was re-reading books I enjoyed because I just never had enough NEW books. I remember I would keep my "TBR pile"--which was like maybe 3-4 books if I was lucky--on my bookshelf, because eventually they'd be moved there anyway!
Now I have a TRUNK at the foot of my bed FILLED with books to read! I have 4/5 shelves on a bookcase FILLED with books to read! Which really need to be moved asap so I can start shelving my read books better, but yeah...it's crazy overwhelming now!
So do you have too many books to read? Can you remember when/how it all happened?
Yep and I'm not making any excuses :) Loved reading this!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteYes, I have way too many books to read! But is that a bad thing???
ReplyDeleteI've always been an avid reader and I've always had a lot of books, but my collection of books didn't become out of control until the past 8-9 years! I've honestly lost track as to how many books are in my collection as I have a lot of physical books, ebooks, and Audible audiobooks.
I think my collection of books started to take off rapidly around 2008 due to a few factors as follows:
1. My hubby gave me a Kindle as a gift and I started downloading a lot of free ebooks to my Kindle from Amazon!
2. I became a member of Bookcrossing and began exchanging books with other readers around the world. Also, other avid readers on Bookcrossing started sending me books from my wishlist on Bookcrossing!
3. We had an awesome FOL Used Bookstore located in the previous city we lived. This FOL Used Bookstore was well stocked. At the time all hardbacks were $2 each, audiobooks on cd or cassette were $1 each, paperback books were $1 each, and children's books were sold at a dollar an inch! Plus, once a month the FOL Used Bookstore had a book sale where select books were 50% off their already low prices! I miss that FOL Used Bookstore very much as I went there frequently!
4. Plus, I still purchase many book titles that I'd heard about from other readers from various booksellers. I am also attend a lot of author signings, so buy many books to have signed by the author.
5. I've won 140 free books through Goodreads Giveaways in the past 3 years. Plus, received more free books from authors themselves, NetGalley, and Inkitt Exclusive Reads, etc.
Substitute an Amazon addiction for your Borders closing and my reasons mirror yours. I am one of those 3-4 books a week readers and I still can't keep up. An additional reason for TBR mountain getting out of control is also review books. NetGalley and Edelweiss are like catnip to me. I have to check often despite having many, many unread books.
ReplyDeleteMy TBR is totally out of hand. I've had to accept that books that are on my TBR or even ones that I feature on my blog in posts like WoW I might never get to read because I don't have the time. I really miss Borders and since it's closing, I mostly go to my local indie or just order from Amazon.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
~Brittany @ Brittany's Book Rambles
My TBR is this fictional thing that has taken on a life of its own. Aside from the physical books that mock me each morning when I wake up, there are over 2000 ebooks on my Kindle (I told you! I have issues!). I have been very inspired to read some older books though, and slowly, I will get to the gems of the bunch.
ReplyDeleteYES! Always too many books to read. (But is there really such a thing as "too many"? Nah!)
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
I have so many books on my TBR shelf and even more on my wishlist. I have purged my shelves multiple times and sometimes I've pulled books off in order to donate/sell/giveaway and then picked through to out some back on my shelves again not willing to give them up yet. LOL Vicious cycle.
ReplyDeleteBut I don't really think there is such a thing as too many. 😉
I have so many books on my TBR shelf and even more on my wishlist. I have purged my shelves multiple times and sometimes I've pulled books off in order to donate/sell/giveaway and then picked through to out some back on my shelves again not willing to give them up yet. LOL Vicious cycle.
ReplyDeleteBut I don't really think there is such a thing as too many. 😉
I saw the title of this blog and wondered if the entire post would just be, "Yes."
ReplyDeleteI blame it mostly on Goodreads--until I joined in 2009, I just went to the library and picked out books that looked good. I might have a small mental list of books I'd heard of recently, but nothing as official as that to-read shelf. For a long time I'd add books I came across on Goodreads itself, but when I started blogging in 2015 AND became a reading teacher a few months later, it was pretty much like opening a firehose in terms of getting ideas for books I wanted to read. I will never, ever catch up, and I think that's okay. Sort of. Oh all right, I really wish I could have some sort of parallel life in which all I do is read all the books.