I continued some decluttering this weekend by reviewing my TBR list.
This is distinct from my TBR pile, which is a stack (OK, technically
it's multiple stacks) of books I already own and do want to read,
but--later. Either I'm not in the mood for them right now, or I'm
already reading something else.
The TBR list is a list of books I
want to read, but that I will have to buy or borrow. I have a notation
for each book: available in my library's system, or not? If it's not in
the library system, I'll have to buy it. When I'm ready to get new
library books, or to make a trip to the bookstore, I consult this list.
The
list has more than 250 books on it. At the rate I've been reading,
that's almost three years' worth, and I keep adding to it. And, of
course, there is the TBR pile here at home, and the books I receive as
gifts, and my rereading habit.
So I've started weeding that list.
I'm letting go of books that I added impulsively, those that are not in
my library's system and for which I can't even find a sample online to
tell me whether they're worth buying, and those that I want to want to
read more than I actually want to read them (if you can follow that).
The
books on this list may not have been taking up any physical space, but
they were taking up some mental energy, even if just a small amount. I
continue my quest to free up space, and time, and energy.
IT is amazing to me that I can go from feeling like there's nothing I want to read to the opposite spectrum--feeling like all the books I have listed to read are pressing down on me from the list. That's usually when I go pick up an Agatha Christie.
ReplyDeleteI went back on Goodreads recently just so I would have a good, easy place to keep track of the Want-to-reads. And, yes, that list is getting longer and longer...
I suppose it's actually a good problem to have ... an abundance of books!
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