5 ways I WON’T be reducing my TBR pile

A couple days ago I wrote about my shamefully long TBR list. As I said there, books are pack animals and breed like beautiful, shiny-covered rabbits. I have a lot of them.

Since then, I’ve been thinking:

How specifically (besides reading what I own, obviously) can I effectively reduce my TBR pile?

I did lots of searching and reading tip posts on other people’s blogs. There were plenty of helpful ideas, but there were also a lot of “yeah right…” tips. Without further ado, here are…

The 5 reducing-your-TBR suggestions I WON’T be following:

 

1. One blog suggested going through your TBR so vigilantly that you reduce it down to 10 books. 10 FREAKING BOOKS. 

Upon reading that, this was my reaction:

I mean, good for you, random book blogger. If you have the willpower to have 10 books on your TBR, I’m guessing your house is meticulously organized and you don’t have to rewash loads of laundry because you forgot about them and left them in the washer for days.

I won’t be reducing my TBR down to 10 books. Because that’s crazy talk.

 

2. Many bloggers suggested reading multiple books at once. Many people do this effortlessly.

I, for one, cannot.

When I read a book, my brain falls headfirst (or brain first?) into the story. It’s really hard for me to switch between multiple books at once and still feel invested in each of the stories.

I also have a hard time remembering which characters belong in which book. I’ll think, “Wait, where’s Martha? She hasn’t been mentioned in awhile. Oh, wait. That’s the other book…”

So that’s a no go.

 

3. If I had a dollar for every time I’ve had different audio books suggested to me, I could probably buy a whole new Thor-height TBR. My brother listened to the entire Harry Potter series through audio book. We’d have the mildly relaxing sound of a British man’s voice echoing down our halls from 8:00-10:00 PM every night.

But alas, audio books don’t work for me. I’m not an auditory learner??

When I listen to audio books, my mind wanders. I can’t focus on what’s being said for more than a couple minutes before I’m daydreaming about something completely different. It probably stems from growing up in a loud house with a bunch of loud kids. I can tune out noise very, very easily.

So when I listen to an audio book, I’ll remember about 15 minutes in that I’m listening to an audio book.

I’ll have to rewind and find the place that I last remember. That gets annoying after doing it again and again (or doing it once?) so audio books are out.

 

4. A lot of people read their same favorite books over and over again. They are Rereading Queens (and Kings, probably). So a lot of bloggers suggested: Don’t reread!

I personally don’t reread often because I feel really guilty?? Ugh, I hate Reading Guilt.

But anyway, the point is: If I want to reread a book, gosh darn it, I’m going to. 

 

5. Another common tip is simply: STOP BUYING BOOKS. Like I talked about in my aforementioned post, I have a problem with buying books. Meaning: if I see one on sale or I feel like need it at that moment as much as I sometimes need chocolate… I buy it.

I buy it, even though I have shelves of books at home that cry a little bit every time I shove a new one in next to them because they know it’ll take that much longer to get to them. (Sorry, guys.)

I’m half-going to follow this tip… (Which I will talk about another time.)

 

I’ll expand on the ways I will ACTUALLY reduce my TBR in another post. Trust me, my strategies will be very reasonable. And probably a little lazy.

Which reducing-your-TBR tips are not reasonable for you? How have you effectively reduced your TBR? 

 

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This post is also posted to the 2017 Book Blog Discussion Challenge, hosted by Feed Your Fiction Addiction and It Starts at Midnight!