I am floundering. I go from great reading (say 3 books in a row) to being in the midst of 3 different books and finding that while all are fine stylistically, they're subject matter is making me tense. Anything alluding to any kind of authoritarian or dystopian environment is like sandpaper on my brain. Pretty soon I'm going to be left with Westerns and historical romance.
Maybe if we can sink into a Thomas Hardy it'll be a boast? I think another problem I'm having is what you're talking about, too. My reading seems too uneven...I can't seem to read more than 2 good books in a row. Booo!
I, too, feel like my reading is broken and I don't know how to fix it. Reading your post was like a peek into my own thoughts, and it's nice not to feel alone in the overwhelm. I'm reading MUCH less than I used to (is it because I can't put my phone down? is it because I'm not loving what I'm reading? is it because of the pressure and therefore my inability to decide what to read next? I think it's probably all of the above). The requesting too many galleys is real. Because with those requests comes the pressure and guilt to actually read them, whether it's what's calling me in the moment or not. I think the first step is like you said, trying to rid myself of this feeling of obligation. I'm REALLY hoping that starts to fix it. Almost 1/3 into the year and my reading is incredibly unsatisfying.
I hope your reading improves, but yes, isn’t it nice to know you’re not alone! I feel like my reading life is all clogged up with everything you’ve mentioned, and I’m determined to clear it up and find a way to start fresh. Fingers crossed.
I think you've got the nail on the head regarding obligation. Nothing kills passion faster. There's a certain obligation to read your selves if you're a certain type, and it seems we're more common than rare. By creating a TBR we've given ourselves a stick to beat ourselves.
The worst thing that can happen by scrapping a TBR is that we'd be back to faffing around trying to figure out what's next. That was a pain and a waste of valuable reading time back when you either had to go to the bookstore or the library every time you needed a new book. Nowadays we have all the channels for instant gratification once the decision of what next has been made. Maybe TBRs now are solving a problem that doesn't actually exist anymore.
I like the idea. How brutal could you be at cutting off the sources? At dealing with your existing boss?
Now that’s a really interesting statement: Maybe TBRs now are solving a problem that doesn’t actually exist anymore.
I think that’s partly it for me — people have such varied needs for planning or preparing and then determining when doing either works for them, that by me doing the now default of having an extensive TBR list, it took me a long beat to figure out that I don’t think they work for me much at all.
I have really been working on a couple of things the last two years:
Not succumbing to FOMO and DNFing more. With a few slips, I’ve gotten better with both! I still have way too many books on my TBR, in my Libby wishlist, and I’ve also rapidly gotten out of control with NetGalley requests so I’m trying to get a handle on that. Other than trying to read galleys early when I can, I’m still a mood reader, and don’t plan…. Because I also don’t want to be told what to read and when! (Enneagram 8 😉)
I have had to deal with FOMO in my own ways, too...but mine is the opposite, as you probably know by now. But I'm trying not to turn away from books AS MUCH that are hyped or effectively marketed so as to appear hyped. I need to allow myself more space to be a bandwagoneer.
I did clear my Libby wishlist last year, as well — I do have the 'Notify Me' tags but nothing on a list there. But similarly and oddly enough, I'm fine with 'saving' books on Everand, which is essentially the same thing...but somehow I don't look at it that way. Mentally, I think I just see it as a 'put a pin in it' sort of reminder? I don't know...headspaces are weird areas sometimes.
I think this is the natural endpoint when the endless and overwhelming number of book recommendations meets the enthusiastic desire to want to read all the things. I've found it takes a real awareness to balance it and that easygoing spontaneity is elusive if not impossible. But the first part of correcting a problem is identifying the problem and I do find being more mindful of what you want out of your reading life (less overwhelm!) goes aong way. Basically: I feel you!
Right? I'm guessing social media is to blame for a lot of this fervor around TBRs...because did people even do that before social media? Certainly not to this degree. And I do have some overly romantic notion of having no TBR in the future and plucking a book off either my shelf or a library shelf like I'm Belle at the booksellers.
Social media is absolutely at the root of it! I love a glut of book recs as much as the next person, but it's just... a lot and really unavoidable to a certain extent. Discoverability used to be a lot harder pre-social media. On one hand, yay for good recommendations. On the other, I can't read every book that interests me. How to reconcile those two things is the challenge!
I think it's possible to plan your reading while also building in some wiggle room to allow for mood. Maybe it's just me, but my mood tends to exclude certain tropes or genres, maybe in just that moment, maybe for a few days, rather than demand a specific exact thing. I like to ring fence about 60 - 70 % of what I expect to read in a month, building in room for a few FOMO or serendipitous reads. In this batch, the priorities are my arcs for the next month plus the library holds I expect. The library holds are negotiable, the arcs aren't. I year these like the sale rack in my favourite store. If I wouldn't pay full price for them, they aren't a bargain, so if I haven't already craved the title, I won't request it. This is where I need to execute the most caution. After years of purging TBRs periodically and the amount of mental energy that takes, I don't add to my TBR until I have sourced it either in the library system, or on Netgalley and if I can't, it won't go on there until I realise I have tried to source it previously, so second time around probably means it's a considered want.
My TBR used to be like Sarah's retirement list, but I've had 4 years of kind of retirement and last year I found myself at the end of that list. That's a very freeing moment. I couldn't celebrate nobody else knew the achievement involved. But it has freed up my flexibility in back list reading, so I can request library holds with abandon. As long as I'm strict with my arcs, then there's a lot of freedom for trying frontlist.
I plan my month on a legal pad, my TBR is on GR, my tracking is on GR and that's it.
I totally get where you're coming from — and I love that it works for you. But I've tried even a small hint at planning, and it doesn't work for me. I mean, I can do it, but it hasn't been making me happy. I'm a very "in the present moment" kind of person and the weight of books ahead of me is very constraining.
Ideally, I think I need as short a TBR list as possible (or...and this makes me excited...no TBR at all), not filled with anything demanding. I'm seriously considering no longer requesting or accepting any ARCs next year to see how that plays out with my happiness level. The obligation is what kills my reading spirit and it's all self-inflicted there.
I am floundering. I go from great reading (say 3 books in a row) to being in the midst of 3 different books and finding that while all are fine stylistically, they're subject matter is making me tense. Anything alluding to any kind of authoritarian or dystopian environment is like sandpaper on my brain. Pretty soon I'm going to be left with Westerns and historical romance.
Maybe if we can sink into a Thomas Hardy it'll be a boast? I think another problem I'm having is what you're talking about, too. My reading seems too uneven...I can't seem to read more than 2 good books in a row. Booo!
I, too, feel like my reading is broken and I don't know how to fix it. Reading your post was like a peek into my own thoughts, and it's nice not to feel alone in the overwhelm. I'm reading MUCH less than I used to (is it because I can't put my phone down? is it because I'm not loving what I'm reading? is it because of the pressure and therefore my inability to decide what to read next? I think it's probably all of the above). The requesting too many galleys is real. Because with those requests comes the pressure and guilt to actually read them, whether it's what's calling me in the moment or not. I think the first step is like you said, trying to rid myself of this feeling of obligation. I'm REALLY hoping that starts to fix it. Almost 1/3 into the year and my reading is incredibly unsatisfying.
I hope your reading improves, but yes, isn’t it nice to know you’re not alone! I feel like my reading life is all clogged up with everything you’ve mentioned, and I’m determined to clear it up and find a way to start fresh. Fingers crossed.
I think you've got the nail on the head regarding obligation. Nothing kills passion faster. There's a certain obligation to read your selves if you're a certain type, and it seems we're more common than rare. By creating a TBR we've given ourselves a stick to beat ourselves.
The worst thing that can happen by scrapping a TBR is that we'd be back to faffing around trying to figure out what's next. That was a pain and a waste of valuable reading time back when you either had to go to the bookstore or the library every time you needed a new book. Nowadays we have all the channels for instant gratification once the decision of what next has been made. Maybe TBRs now are solving a problem that doesn't actually exist anymore.
I like the idea. How brutal could you be at cutting off the sources? At dealing with your existing boss?
Now that’s a really interesting statement: Maybe TBRs now are solving a problem that doesn’t actually exist anymore.
I think that’s partly it for me — people have such varied needs for planning or preparing and then determining when doing either works for them, that by me doing the now default of having an extensive TBR list, it took me a long beat to figure out that I don’t think they work for me much at all.
I have really been working on a couple of things the last two years:
Not succumbing to FOMO and DNFing more. With a few slips, I’ve gotten better with both! I still have way too many books on my TBR, in my Libby wishlist, and I’ve also rapidly gotten out of control with NetGalley requests so I’m trying to get a handle on that. Other than trying to read galleys early when I can, I’m still a mood reader, and don’t plan…. Because I also don’t want to be told what to read and when! (Enneagram 8 😉)
I have had to deal with FOMO in my own ways, too...but mine is the opposite, as you probably know by now. But I'm trying not to turn away from books AS MUCH that are hyped or effectively marketed so as to appear hyped. I need to allow myself more space to be a bandwagoneer.
I did clear my Libby wishlist last year, as well — I do have the 'Notify Me' tags but nothing on a list there. But similarly and oddly enough, I'm fine with 'saving' books on Everand, which is essentially the same thing...but somehow I don't look at it that way. Mentally, I think I just see it as a 'put a pin in it' sort of reminder? I don't know...headspaces are weird areas sometimes.
I think this is the natural endpoint when the endless and overwhelming number of book recommendations meets the enthusiastic desire to want to read all the things. I've found it takes a real awareness to balance it and that easygoing spontaneity is elusive if not impossible. But the first part of correcting a problem is identifying the problem and I do find being more mindful of what you want out of your reading life (less overwhelm!) goes aong way. Basically: I feel you!
Right? I'm guessing social media is to blame for a lot of this fervor around TBRs...because did people even do that before social media? Certainly not to this degree. And I do have some overly romantic notion of having no TBR in the future and plucking a book off either my shelf or a library shelf like I'm Belle at the booksellers.
Social media is absolutely at the root of it! I love a glut of book recs as much as the next person, but it's just... a lot and really unavoidable to a certain extent. Discoverability used to be a lot harder pre-social media. On one hand, yay for good recommendations. On the other, I can't read every book that interests me. How to reconcile those two things is the challenge!
Yes! It’s like the impact progressed readers faster than many could adjust, me included.
I think it's possible to plan your reading while also building in some wiggle room to allow for mood. Maybe it's just me, but my mood tends to exclude certain tropes or genres, maybe in just that moment, maybe for a few days, rather than demand a specific exact thing. I like to ring fence about 60 - 70 % of what I expect to read in a month, building in room for a few FOMO or serendipitous reads. In this batch, the priorities are my arcs for the next month plus the library holds I expect. The library holds are negotiable, the arcs aren't. I year these like the sale rack in my favourite store. If I wouldn't pay full price for them, they aren't a bargain, so if I haven't already craved the title, I won't request it. This is where I need to execute the most caution. After years of purging TBRs periodically and the amount of mental energy that takes, I don't add to my TBR until I have sourced it either in the library system, or on Netgalley and if I can't, it won't go on there until I realise I have tried to source it previously, so second time around probably means it's a considered want.
My TBR used to be like Sarah's retirement list, but I've had 4 years of kind of retirement and last year I found myself at the end of that list. That's a very freeing moment. I couldn't celebrate nobody else knew the achievement involved. But it has freed up my flexibility in back list reading, so I can request library holds with abandon. As long as I'm strict with my arcs, then there's a lot of freedom for trying frontlist.
I plan my month on a legal pad, my TBR is on GR, my tracking is on GR and that's it.
I hope this helps.
I totally get where you're coming from — and I love that it works for you. But I've tried even a small hint at planning, and it doesn't work for me. I mean, I can do it, but it hasn't been making me happy. I'm a very "in the present moment" kind of person and the weight of books ahead of me is very constraining.
Ideally, I think I need as short a TBR list as possible (or...and this makes me excited...no TBR at all), not filled with anything demanding. I'm seriously considering no longer requesting or accepting any ARCs next year to see how that plays out with my happiness level. The obligation is what kills my reading spirit and it's all self-inflicted there.
Sigh..typos "hit the nail", "books" not boss