Today’s Writer Wednesday series continues with a discussion of one of the most personal things in a writer’s life. Their To Be Read (TBR) pile.
The TBR is something that’s rarely shared and mentioned even less. Why? Because writers tend to have other writers as friends. So if your CP’s debut novel is on your Nook or Kindle (which it is), you must also have all the books of all of your Golden Heart Sisters and brother. Then there are the books written by relatives, friends from your GIAM loop, and authors from your local writing chapters. Basically, as a writer, you are committed to reading every book published by every writer you’ve ever met. That’s a lot of books!
While all those books sound wonderful, there aren’t enough hours in the day to read them (and review them) all promptly. Since I am an emotional over-reader (yes, it’s a thing!), the order of the books to be read can change depending on my mood. So at any given hour during the day, my pile either makes me extremely happy or overly stressed. My pile is truly a source of dread and joy.
Therefore I keep the reading order a secret and rarely promise to read a book within a certain time. The reading order is never personal–it’s always based on emotion and what kind of book mood, or story trope, I need at that moment.
Since ninety percent of my TBR is on my first-generation Nook, I’m willing to share the teetering pile of books on my nightstand, as well as the bookshelf stocked with only a portion of the YA books my teens have collected. (I have other piles, but I don’t want anyone to think I’m a book hoarder!)
As a librarian, I mentally separate my books between between fiction and non-fiction. The non-fiction pile includes books on paying for college, books on creativity such as The Artist’s Way and Big Magic, my women’s bible and devotional, books on organizing and housekeeping, writing craft books, and a few biographies.
The second separation is within the fiction genre between Young Adult and Adult fiction. I love both genres, but most of the YA books live with the teens where they are shelved by book cover color. (Is there any other way to shelve books?)
After that, the adult fiction books are separated between Literary and Mass Market fiction. Then the Mass Market books are divided by genre: horror, romance, mystery, sci-fi, etc.
Finally, I divide my romance novels into sub-genres: paranormal, romantic suspense, historical, contemporary, etc.
Between hard copy books and e-books, I have over 500 books on my TBR list right now. Which is why I’m not mentioning names or titles. I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings!
But my most important book is my Emily Ley Simplified Planner. (Not technically a book, but it keeps my life in order so I can read more books.) My planner, along with the teenagers’ self-serve hot chocolate bar, helps start my early, early mornings in the best way possible!
So what’s on your TBR pile? I’d love to know!
Thank your for spending the day with us. Below is a link of my Golden Heart sisters who are participating in today’s blog party. Hope to see you next month!
Paranormal writers – Kay Hudson | Contemporary Romance –Tamra Baumann – Priscilla Oliveras | Novels with Romantic Elements – Jean Willett
All photos courtesy of Sharon Wray. Copyright 2016.
Sharon, You are giving me ideas for organizing my books! So far, I’ve always sorted fiction, non-fiction in alphabetical order by author. Then my books grew in number and I separated by fiction genre- romance, mystery, science fiction. My nonfiction is sorted by topic. And I have an entire shelf sections dedicated to the writing craft, christian studies and self-help. Everything a source for building characters and sending me on adventures. I agree with you…I read based on my emotions and what I need at the time. Lovely blog as always!
Thanks so much, Jean. I just wish I had the shelf space to keep everything organized by topic instead of just having a mental inventory. Many of my books are in boxes in my closet waiting to be read. I really need to get a new e-reader and just load them all up on there! Then I’d have more room in my closet for shoes. 🙂
I’m sure I’m close to you on numbers, Sharon, but I’m afraid to count. If I don’t keep my books physically organized on the shelves (or by category on my Kindles) I’ll never find a thing. And sometimes I look at all those books and feel a huge pang of guilt. They need me to read them, and I’m letting them down!
I know how you feel about the guilt. I especially feel guilty when I don’t leave timely reviews because I know how important reviews are. Maybe one day I’ll have unlimited time to read and review–but probably not. 🙂
I mentioned this on my own blog, but being a military kid, we had to donate our excess toys and books every time we moved. (And we moved a lot! 12 times from Kindergarten thru 12th grade for me.) I hated giving away my books more than anything else in the world. Charlotte’s Web and the Little House on the Prairie series were the ones that I managed to keep the longest. So to have all my beloved books on my Kindle to own forever has been a real treat for me. No one can make me give them away, and no one can complain about my stacks of books. And as long as I continue to pay the VISA bill, my hubs will never know how many books I still buy each month! LOL
I really need to get a new e-reader and transfer everything on to that! Before the the fire marshall comes calling. 🙂 I married a military kid and I’ve heard stories about how hard it was to move every year. I’m just glad you figured out a way to keep all of your favorite books!
I’m like you, Sharon. What I read next is dependent on what appeals at the moment. The exception is the book I read for my book club once a month. Those are usually books I’d probably never read on my own, but always books I enjoy. The last time I counted I had over 500 TBR books. Some I’ve had for over 10 years! About 300 are paperbacks, and 200 on my Kindle. And I’m still buying, of course.You’d think I never read, but I’m a prolific reader. Per Goodreads, I read 178 books last year, and that didn’t count the re-reads of favorites. I told my mother the only thing I wanted for Christmas was money to apply to Amazon! So for a while, I”m enjoying Christmas present books.:D
You have even more books than I do! And I’m amazed that you don’t seem to feel any guilt. I read 60 books last year on my goodreads challenge, and I thought that was pretty good. Now I’m skulking back to my writing cave. 🙂