TBR Shelves

[DrNefario]

My "TBR" is a list of all the books I have which I haven't read, so yes it includes a lot of junk - which wasn't all free - and has over 1100 entries. I keep meaning to extract a kind of a-list of the books I really do want to read, but I always get bogged down by indecision when I get to the marginal cases.

I think hard now before downloading any freebies. I have enough, so unless it's something really interesting, I'll leave it. The PD books aren't going anywhere, so there's no need to download them now.

[speakingtohe]

My TBR list consists of about 700 authors whose books I know I like, possibly half of which I love to the point of almost salivating when starting to read one. And I probably add to the list at least once a month by getting something different from the usual from the library just so I don't stagnate.

Many of the authors I like have written 20+ books so a TBR of around 1000 whether bought or free seems pretty reasonable to me.

I know I will never read all of the books I want to but that doesn't stop me wanting to read them all, so they are on my TBR list. And I chop ruthlessly if a book doesn't live up to expectations.

Basically it doesn't matter if I have 1000 books or 7000 on my list, whether I have bought them or borrowed them from the library or even occasionally read one online etc.

I don't have to have a book in my possession for it to make my TBR list.

And as long as I have access to books I enjoy, I'm happy.

Helen

[Tattncat]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Certainly a valid viewpoint, although I have to confess that I would like to think that at least some of the many FREE books I've uploaded to the MR library have some merit, and are worth reading.

Always, HarryT. I feel very lucky to be able to benefit from your uploads. MR's uploads are alwys worth reading.

BTW, HarryT, thanks for all you do.

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash

I solve this dilemma by not having a TBR.

Sounds good to me.

I have a bunch of books in my Calibre library. I guess that is my TBR list because I hope to get round to reading them all at some point, but when I'm loading up my ereader, I just pick out a handful that I know I want to read, the rest are just picked at random, along with a couple of freebies, so I'm not really sure if I have a TBR list or not?

I do keep my free books separate, but while I only download the occasional freebie nowadays, I think its a shame to just rule them out completely, as you do get some pretty good free books. And if you start reading one that is rubbish, you can easily just delete it and move on.

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by soulfuldog

Sounds good to me.

I have a bunch of books in my Calibre library. I guess that is my TBR list because I hope to get round to reading them all at some point, but when I'm loading up my ereader, I just pick out a handful that I know I want to read, the rest are just picked at random, along with a couple of freebies, so I'm not really sure if I have a TBR list or not?

I had actually intended for that post to be longer but I was hungry and the timer told me my food was ready to eat and everything else became secondary.

I use my well-organized collection in calibre the same way I would use a library. I look around, see what's interesting, grab anything I've been wanting to read and some stuff I might want to read, and load them on my ereader. I will only read some of them before repeating the process. There's never any sense of "I have to read these books" or "I should read these books before those" or anything like that.

(I also do the thing with the Overdrive plugin for books I want from my local library - that's a fairly recent development for me but it's working nicely. Fits in with my book selection process pretty smoothly.)

Anything more structured than that starts to feel like I'm giving myself homework. I don't think of my collection as a TBR because I don't think I ever had the intention to read all of them, I merely wanted the option to do so.

Freebies do get tagged (when I remember to tag them on import as such) but when they get prioritized below others it's usually just incidental - lately I've been reading established series and books by favorite authors, there aren't generally many freebies in those. But near the end of last year I was in the mood to read a bunch of Christmas-themed books and there were a lot of freebies among those.

[bookaho!ic]

some interesting reading on tbrs

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash

I use my well-organized collection in calibre the same way I would use a library. I look around, see what's interesting, grab anything I've been wanting to read and some stuff I might want to read, and load them on my ereader. I will only read some of them before repeating the process. There's never any sense of "I have to read these books" or "I should read these books before those" or anything like that.

(I also do the thing with the Overdrive plugin for books I want from my local library - that's a fairly recent development for me but it's working nicely. Fits in with my book selection process pretty smoothly.)

Anything more structured than that starts to feel like I'm giving myself homework. I don't think of my collection as a TBR because I don't think I ever had the intention to read all of them, I merely wanted the option to do so.

I totally agree. My TBR is just a list of things I haven't read yet, and may want to.

And "the thing with the Overdrive plugin", well, I believe I invented that. Of course I use it!

[DiapDealer]

My "TBR" list is basically a list of books that--for whatever reason--have caught my attention at one time or another. There is no attempt to prioritize that list; nor is there an ounce of guilt when I bypass it completely and start reading something that wasn't on the list. I may cull the list a bit when the mood to do so is upon me.

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

And "the thing with the Overdrive plugin", well, I believe I invented that. Of course I use it!

So you've got a patent on "things I say when I can't think of what I'm trying to say"? Okay, fine, how much do I owe you?

[issybird]

I don't have a formal TBR either. There are the books in Calibre, the books on shelves and in stacks around the house, the wishlists on various sites and apps....

My only aim is to start reading them faster than I accumulate them. It's not going well. At least with the pbooks, the decor a la Collyer was a brake of sorts.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash

So you've got a patent on "things I say when I can't think of what I'm trying to say"? Okay, fine, how much do I owe you?

No, it's just I am feeling very proud of myself for an innovative usage that I then spread the word about. (using the Manage Discovered Books as a library wishlist.)

But if I can get money out of it ... How much are you offering?

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

No, it's just I am feeling very proud of myself for an innovative usage that I then spread the word about. (using the Manage Discovered Books as a library wishlist.)

But if I can get money out of it ... How much are you offering?

Oh, now see, I have retract my offer of payment on the basis of divergent technology. Or something.

[Namekuseijin]

I don't track down books I want to read. But yeah, I'd say there'd be far more classic books in my tbr list than modern best-sellers...

there's a perverse side about public domain books: because you have not spent money on them they remain in your tbr list for ages while you read the books you actually spent money on. After all, you have to justify the money spent was well worth it.

[FizzyWater]

I don't always remember to download my freebie ebooks - it's so easy to click that button when I'm checking in from work. So they don't hit my TBR pile until and unless I actually download them.

[DrNefario]

Originally Posted by Namekuseijin

I don't track down books I want to read. But yeah, I'd say there'd be far more classic books in my tbr list than modern best-sellers...

there's a perverse side about public domain books: because you have not spent money on them they remain in your tbr list for ages while you read the books you actually spent money on. After all, you have to justify the money spent was well worth it.

With classics, I quite often want to have read them more than I want to read them.