I, Julia Kelly, have a problem. I have a To Be Read pile that just doesn't quit. It's the best kind of problem to have that a lot of readers share, but it's a problem nonetheless. I live in a New York studio apartment so even with two large bookshelves (that are double and triple-stacked in places) my home is bursting with books I haven't read. My bedside table isn't so much a table but a repository for the books I think I might read next. Romances, history, classics, mysteries, biographies, I've got it all. I've instituted a rule that if I don't read a book I picked up at a conference within two years, it gets sent to a friend or donated. It's a great rule, but it's not really helping me get through the books that are queued up and waiting to be read. The books I really want to read. So today I'm asking for your help. How do you guys handle an out of control TBR? Reading challenges? Quotas? Leave me a comment with your tried and true methods (or just join me in the book storage struggle).
To Be Read
You can tell a lot about a person by the books on their nightstand.* Here's how To Be Read lists work in my family. First there's the long list (I keep mine on Goodreads). Then there are the books that are physically kept in your bedroom. Those are a little more likely to be read in the next couple of years. When a book makes it to the nightstand, it's like being called up to the big leagues.
Earning a spot on the nightstand means there's a good chance I'm probably going to read that book next. Once I pass the midway point of whatever I'm currently reading, I'm mentally queuing up what comes next. Since I often read in bed, the most natural thing is to finish a completed novel and pick up the next one off of the nightstand stack.
So here's what is in my TBR stack right now:
Crazy Thing Called Love, by Molly O'Keefe
I'm ashamed to say I've never read any of Molly's work despite the glowing recommendations I've gotten. I plan to fix that very soon.
Too Good to Be True, by Kristan Higgins
I got this book at RWA along with her book The Best Man. I loved that one so much this immediately went into the TBR pile.
I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith
There are few books I will gladly reread over and over again. This English novel is perhaps the best coming of age story I've ever read. I try to revisit it every couple of years. If you haven't read it yet, I strongly recommend grabbing it (the movie starring Bill Nighy isn't half bad either).
Phineas Redux, by Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope rivals Elizabeth Gaskell when it comes to my favorite 19th century author. No one else depicts upper class Victorian London in such rich detail. I challenged myself to read all of his Palliser novels in 2013. I'm clearly going to miss that goal as Phineas Redux is the 4th out of 6 in the series, but I hope to wrap up my challenge early next year.
Gotham Writer's Workshop: Writing Fiction
Writing prompts ahead.
The Passion of the Purple Plumeria, by Lauren Willig
My sister Justine turned me on to Lauren Willig a few years ago, and since then I've read everything Willig has put out. This is the most recent entry in the Pink Carnation series - a fun, snappy set of historical romances all centering around a spy ring filled with witty (if sometimes bumbling) Georgian era characters.
Freud's Mistress, Karen Mack & Jennifer Kaufman
My mother and I have a wonderful bi-coastal book exchange going. Every few months I will come home to a USPS box stuffed full of books curated by my own personal librarian. I ship a box back filled with the ones I've read and a few things I picked up here in New York. Mum sent me Freud's Mistress after I read Henry James' Midnight Song by Carol de Chillis Hill which also deals Freud's strange love affair with his sister in law.
The Book in the Renaissance, by Andrew Pettegree
Bookworms find each other. A couple years ago one of my coworkers and I discovered we're both voracious readers. Ever since then we've been recommending and sharing books. Our taste for non-fiction is similar, so when he asketd me if I wanted to read a book about books I jumped at the recommendation.
What is in your to be read pile?
*Or piled up on the floor/window next to their bed.