Discussion Post: Tackling That TBR Pile

This is my first discussion post! Yay! Also meaning please bear with me because I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing…..

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Being a bookworm or part of the book blogging community you all probably have dreadfully huge TBR (To-Be-Read) piles. A lot of the time our TBR piles can be a source of overwhelming stress due to their sheer size I mean they’re like a black, never-ending abyss of books.

The pressure to finish and read all of these books can be tough sometimes I know I get stressed with my TBR. It definitely feels like you’ll never get half the books you put onto your TBR read, doesn’t it? Plus there are always new books coming out and you’re constantly finding new books to add as well, it’s just a continuous cycle.

I know that my biggest point of stress concerning my TBR is when I’ve bought the books and have yet to touch them let alone read them. I mean I spent money on those things and they’re just sitting there! It’s like I went and put $20 piles on a shelf and left it there untouched! Then when new books come out I tell myself I can’t buy any because I still have all of these other books I did buy that need to be read before spending more money.

Also for those of you who have them, ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies) on your TBR can add some stress. Normally with ARCs you have a deadline (the release date) to read and review them and this can either hurt or help you. Having a deadline will help you read more and knock some of those books of your TBR but as I’m sure you all know sometimes a deadline makes you feel rushed and panicky.

So just how do we deal with those TBR piles and the stress they sometimes cause?

Firstly I think we should all take a deep breath and relax because you’re always going to have a large pile of books to be read, it’s just how we bookworms are. There isn’t ever going to be any getting ahead but you can get your TBR under control, there is hope!

One thing you can do to tackle your TBR is to pick out a couple books that have been sitting on your shelf and read them (obviously, haha). Leave your newest purchases alone for a while and read some books that have been there waiting a while, they’re probably lonely!

Another way to tackle that TBR (something I do personally) is pick out 3-4 books that you’ve purchased and read them before buying anymore new books. I find this to be pretty helpful (even though I cheat sometimes) but it allows me to finish books I’ve already bought and make room to buy new books! Because we all love getting new books right?

Concerning those of you who have ARCs I think the best advice to handle those is to remember not to over-request. Only request what you really want and only what you have time for because you may get swamped with too many ARCs and have to speed through them leaving you with zero time to enjoy your own books. Also give yourself plenty of time to read the ARCs before their release date, I’ve procrastinated a few times and had to rush through the book to finish!

How do you deal with your TBR pile?

Do you ever get stressed out because of your TBR? Why?

Are any of my tips above something you do to handle it as well?

Do you try balancing your book buying and TBR reading?

***Please join this discussion in the comments below! I’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions!***