How to limit that to be read stack - Page 2

elemenoP · 02-28-2012, 12:51 PM

Well I limit my book spending by setting price limits on books. Most of the time, I won't pay more than around $5 for a (usually used) pbook, and $2 for an ebook. My magic sweet spot is $3 or $4 for a used book plus free shipping with Amazon Prime. It happens. Just wait around and eventually you can get a lot of books that way (but I wish I could get alerted when a copy shows up used in my magic sweet spot!). Last year I bought one new hardcover (Steve Jobs) and my DH bought me one (1Q84). I rarely buy ebooks either, since I get most of mine from the library. As for the freebies, I just try to be really selective, and not download it unless I really think I'm going to read it. I have naturally become more selective due to fatigue at seeing the same-old same-old in that list of freebies. Even the library books were piling up since I put them in Calibre and delete them after reading. So I vowed not to put any more holds on library books for a while.

eP

CWatkinsNash · 02-28-2012, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

But if you're getting them free and/or cheap (or you're not hurting for money), why on earth would it matter how big the stack gets?

Exactly! While I may comment on how big my library of unread books is getting, I WANT it to be as big as possible, with as many genres as possible. The more options the better! Even being fairly selective, I still end up with a lot of stuff, more every week. More books than I can possibly read? That's not a problem - that's paradise!

Synamon · 02-28-2012, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash

Exactly! While I may comment on how big my library of unread books is getting, I WANT it to be as big as possible, with as many genres as possible. The more options the better! Even being fairly selective, I still end up with a lot of stuff, more every week. More books than I can possibly read? That's not a problem - that's paradise!

Indeed. The keyword here is library.

Do any of you plan to read every book in your public library just because it's there? Of course not, so think of your ebook library the same way (especially if many of the books are free), terrific availability and choice. The pressure you to feel read everything is an illusion, or perhaps a delusion.

Terisa de morgan · 02-28-2012, 04:15 PM

Well, what can I say? The to be read stack (or "The pila", its surname in Spanish

) has been growing since 1999, more or less, when I knew a place called "es.rec.ficcion.misc". At this moment, its size doesn't worry me anymore. TBB, however, or the hungry monster (lovingly known too

) is a worry now. It's time-consuming and keeps me away from "The pila". Anyway, while my cc doesn't cry a lot, I'll whistle and look at other size if somebody asks about TBR's size.

AndrewH · 02-28-2012, 06:40 PM

Like HomeInMyShoes, I budget how much I can spend on ebooks per month. I also put books on my wishlist and let them sit there awhile before purchasing... no impulse buying allowed.

Which really doesn't decrease the size of the TBR pile, but it does slow its growth.

Bookpossum · 02-29-2012, 01:38 AM

I have managed to limit myself by deciding not to buy any books. Any I really want go on my "hint list" for presents. I am trying to work my way through my DTBs waiting to be read pile, and now I have an e-reader, I have added to the heap by getting public domain books on that. I alternate between reading a paper book and an e-book.

I remember realising as a child that there were so many books out there and that people kept on writing new ones. I felt there should be a halt to new books for a year so I could catch up. Ah, the innocence of childhood!

Dopedangel · 02-29-2012, 05:08 AM

I mostly read series last year I made a decision not to add any more series to my Tbr pile. I was almost done just had something like 10 books left in my TBR pile. But then I was meeting someone near a bookstore and they were running a bit late. Half and hour later I had 7 more series about 40 books to my TBR pile. I avg 50-100 books a year so it will take me a year or 2 more to bring down my tbr pile as about 40 are currently running series and have at least 1 release a year.

pdurrant · 02-29-2012, 05:29 AM

I'm attempting to do it by not buying more ebooks. Or at least, not buying ebooks that aren't either on a very good special offer, or by an author I particularly like.

I'm doing OK (down by about 30) this year so far, but last year I pretty much only kept the pile from growing (well, only reduced by about 20, or 5%).

carpetmojo · 02-29-2012, 05:52 AM

Can't be done.

So there.

Asawi · 02-29-2012, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Synamon

Indeed. The keyword here is library.

Do any of you plan to read every book in your public library just because it's there? Of course not, so think of your ebook library the same way (especially if many of the books are free), terrific availability and choice. The pressure you to feel read everything is an illusion, or perhaps a delusion.

Very well put! I will try to look at it this way!
I have actually noticed that I need a large wish list/TBR pile to cater for my various reading moods. What I want to read varies so much from day to day, depending on my general mood, what my workday threw at me, how much time I have and so on.

elemenoP · 02-29-2012, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Synamon

Indeed. The keyword here is library.

Do any of you plan to read every book in your public library just because it's there? Of course not, so think of your ebook library the same way (especially if many of the books are free), terrific availability and choice. The pressure you to feel read everything is an illusion, or perhaps a delusion.

Sometimes I get depressed to think that one day I will die without having read all the books I wanted to read, so I will take these words to heart! An excellent spin which I hadn't thought of myself.

eP

pdurrant · 02-29-2012, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Synamon

Do any of you plan to read every book in your public library just because it's there? Of course not, so think of your ebook library the same way (especially if many of the books are free), terrific availability and choice.

I don't count the numerous freebies I've 'bought' or that are otherwise available (MobileRead Library) in my TBR pile. The vast (95%+) majority of the ebooks on my TBR pile are books I've bought.

I'm just trying to buy as few new books as possible while I read through the two-years worth of reading I've already bought. I've just finished a great little book that I bought about three and a half years ago....

Perhaps I should mention this thread which I started eight months ago.

jbcohen · 03-01-2012, 08:03 AM

You can get a 2 Terabyte external hard drive to hold you electronic books at Shopkiller.com for $89.94 with free shipping. You need to understand just how big 2 terabytes are - 2 terabytes could hold more electronic books then you could possibly read for the rest of your life, if an infant born today picked up an electornic book reader and electronic books and started reading 24x7x365 there is no way that infant would finish all of the books on that dirve in that infant's life time and that includes no sleeping and/or eating.

The reason that I am trying to limit the growth of the to be read stack in not shear volume of books, its that with each additional book that I add to the stack it gets harder to crate a strategy on how to read all of them. Two or three are easy to figure out a reading strategy, fifteen to twenty are a tad harder but 2 terabytes worth, I don't know where to start.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash

Exactly! While I may comment on how big my library of unread books is getting, I WANT it to be as big as possible, with as many genres as possible. The more options the better! Even being fairly selective, I still end up with a lot of stuff, more every week. More books than I can possibly read? That's not a problem - that's paradise!

DiapDealer · 03-01-2012, 09:05 AM

Quote:

The reason that I am trying to limit the growth of the to be read stack in not shear volume of books, its that with each additional book that I add to the stack it gets harder to crate a strategy on how to read all of them. Two or three are easy to figure out a reading strategy, fifteen to twenty are a tad harder but 2 terabytes worth, I don't know where to start.

That's exactly why it makes more sense (to me) to throw "strategy" to the wind and just pick up the next book that catches your fancy. I have an idea about what I want to read next, but it's never carved in stone or even formally "written down" anywhere, so I have no guilt about going out of order. Browsing my calibre library to see what jumps out at me is every bit as enjoyable to me as "browsing the stacks" at the bookstore/library. Hesitating because you don't know where to start is a completely foreign concept to me. No 16 ton weight is going to fall on my head if I get it "wrong." I simply put down the book that's not currently doing it for me and grab the next one.

I liken it to going to meetings at work: I can either talk about the work you want me to be doing, or I can actually do the work that needs done, but doing both is inefficient. Likewise, I can be planning my reading strategy for the next year (creating lists, sifting priorities), or I can be reading. I know which one I prefer.

I'm not trying to be demeaning... I understand not wanting to spend ridiculous amounts of money on new books when you own a scad that you haven't read yet. I get that. I just don't understand angsting over the size of your TBR pile and strategic ways to decrease it. If I "catch up" with my TBR pile, I'm going to be pissed. Because that most likely means that nothing new has caught my eye in a very long time.

I wish you luck with your dilemma, though.

jbcohen · 03-01-2012, 09:39 AM

Well I still need to know which books are a part of a series and if they are I need to know if they are at the start of the series, middle or towards then end of the series. There is nothing like starting to read as series at the end and going backwards through the series expecially when the characters talk about events in the previous book with a wink and a nod as if you understand these things already. I started the dragon lance saga like that some years ago, I started with the War of Souls, which at the time was the termination of the saga then I had to backed up and started at the begining. Let me tell you its a lot easier to start at the begining rather than the ending and understanding what is going on. So on that level some planning is needed such that I start at the bening rather than at the ending. I typically use fantasticfiction.co.uk for that as they have a very simple way of dividing the books authors have written into series.

To some extent the dollars have something to do with the matter. I have a problem paying today's outrageous prices for paper backs expecially when there are several publishers that are quite happy to under cut those very high prices.

02-29-2012, 05:29 AM	#23
pdurrant The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠 Posts: 74,082 Karma: 315558332 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Oasis	I'm attempting to do it by not buying more ebooks. Or at least, not buying ebooks that aren't either on a very good special offer, or by an author I particularly like. I'm doing OK (down by about 30) this year so far, but last year I pretty much only kept the pile from growing (well, only reduced by about 20, or 5%). Last edited by pdurrant; 02-29-2012 at 05:31 AM.

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02-28-2012, 12:51 PM	#16
elemenoP Wizard Posts: 1,717 Karma: 3790058 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: NYC Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Sony 650	Well I limit my book spending by setting price limits on books. Most of the time, I won't pay more than around $5 for a (usually used) pbook, and $2 for an ebook. My magic sweet spot is $3 or $4 for a used book plus free shipping with Amazon Prime. It happens. Just wait around and eventually you can get a lot of books that way (but I wish I could get alerted when a copy shows up used in my magic sweet spot!). Last year I bought one new hardcover (Steve Jobs) and my DH bought me one (1Q84). I rarely buy ebooks either, since I get most of mine from the library. As for the freebies, I just try to be really selective, and not download it unless I really think I'm going to read it. I have naturally become more selective due to fatigue at seeing the same-old same-old in that list of freebies. Even the library books were piling up since I put them in Calibre and delete them after reading. So I vowed not to put any more holds on library books for a while. eP

02-28-2012, 04:15 PM	#19
Terisa de morgan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,643 Karma: 12595249 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Madrid, Spain Device: Kobo Clara/Aura One/Forma,XiaoMI 5, iPad, Huawei MediaPad, YotaPhone 2	Well, what can I say? The to be read stack (or "The pila", its surname in Spanish ) has been growing since 1999, more or less, when I knew a place called "es.rec.ficcion.misc". At this moment, its size doesn't worry me anymore. TBB, however, or the hungry monster (lovingly known too ) is a worry now. It's time-consuming and keeps me away from "The pila". Anyway, while my cc doesn't cry a lot, I'll whistle and look at other size if somebody asks about TBR's size.

02-28-2012, 06:40 PM	#20
AndrewH Fanatic Posts: 553 Karma: 1234566 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver, WA Device: Sony PRS-T1, & Kobo Mini	Like HomeInMyShoes, I budget how much I can spend on ebooks per month. I also put books on my wishlist and let them sit there awhile before purchasing... no impulse buying allowed. Which really doesn't decrease the size of the TBR pile, but it does slow its growth.

02-29-2012, 01:38 AM	#21
Bookpossum Snoozing in the sun Posts: 10,146 Karma: 115423645 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: iPad Mini, Kobo Touch	I have managed to limit myself by deciding not to buy any books. Any I really want go on my "hint list" for presents. I am trying to work my way through my DTBs waiting to be read pile, and now I have an e-reader, I have added to the heap by getting public domain books on that. I alternate between reading a paper book and an e-book. I remember realising as a child that there were so many books out there and that people kept on writing new ones. I felt there should be a halt to new books for a year so I could catch up. Ah, the innocence of childhood!

02-29-2012, 05:08 AM	#22
Dopedangel Wizard Posts: 1,795 Karma: 30548723 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Singapore Device: Boyue	I mostly read series last year I made a decision not to add any more series to my Tbr pile. I was almost done just had something like 10 books left in my TBR pile. But then I was meeting someone near a bookstore and they were running a bit late. Half and hour later I had 7 more series about 40 books to my TBR pile. I avg 50-100 books a year so it will take me a year or 2 more to bring down my tbr pile as about 40 are currently running series and have at least 1 release a year.

02-29-2012, 05:52 AM	#24
carpetmojo Wizard Posts: 3,117 Karma: 9269999 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: UK Device: Sony- T3, PRS650, 350, T1/2/3, Paperwhite, Fire 8.9,Samsung Tab S 10.5	Can't be done. So there.

03-01-2012, 09:39 AM	#30
jbcohen Wizard Posts: 3,032 Karma: 11196738 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Where am I? Device: Kindle Paperwhite Signature edition and a Samsung S24 Ultra	Well I still need to know which books are a part of a series and if they are I need to know if they are at the start of the series, middle or towards then end of the series. There is nothing like starting to read as series at the end and going backwards through the series expecially when the characters talk about events in the previous book with a wink and a nod as if you understand these things already. I started the dragon lance saga like that some years ago, I started with the War of Souls, which at the time was the termination of the saga then I had to backed up and started at the begining. Let me tell you its a lot easier to start at the begining rather than the ending and understanding what is going on. So on that level some planning is needed such that I start at the bening rather than at the ending. I typically use fantasticfiction.co.uk for that as they have a very simple way of dividing the books authors have written into series. To some extent the dollars have something to do with the matter. I have a problem paying today's outrageous prices for paper backs expecially when there are several publishers that are quite happy to under cut those very high prices.