The TBR Book Tag!

I was tagged by Naomi at The Writes of Woman to take part in the TBR meme. Given that my whole blog is my TBR it kind of made sense to take part!

 How do you keep track of your TBR pile?

I don’t. I was so proud of myself for actually counting them all on that fateful day in December 2013, that I have made no other effort to catalogue or track what I’m reading. I have a vague intention of listing the books on my TBR when I get to around the 400 mark, but we’ll have to see about that.

Is your TBR pile mostly print or e-books?

I would say about 60% print and 40% e-books. I was buying A LOT of e-books in the run up to my book-buying ban as it was just so…easy. But I’ve been buying books pretty seriously now for over 20 years so there are a lot of print books that I have yet to get around to reading.

How do you determine which books from your TBR to read next?

I don’t really have a system, I usually go by my mood. Sometimes I turn to you guys for a Reading Roulette pick and other times I like to see if I can join in with a reading challenge that’s going on. I enjoy those because they often nudge me to read books I wouldn’t have thought of picking up. Often I have to look up a book on the internet to remind myself of what it’s about and why I may have bought it, which is a little embarrassing!

lucky-jim

What book has been on your TBR the longest?

I had a discussion on Twitter with Naomi about this and came up with Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis, which I bought when I was in second year at University in 1990 (there goes the secret of my age!). However, on reflection, I realised that my Dad bought me a copy of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens when I was 10 and I haven’t read it yet. Yeah, that one is 34 years unread. That’s scary.

un-chant-de-noel-556924

 A book you have recently added to your TBR?

Anyone following the blog will know that I haven’t bought a new book FOR MYSELF for almost two years, although my husband has been very good in buying a few books for me for birthdays and Christmas. The last few books that officially got added to the 746 were The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt; The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton and A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride. That was my last binge before starting the blog and the no-buy challenge.

A book on your TBR that you never plan on reading?

I try not to say that I will never read a book, because obviously at the point when I bought every book on my TBR pile I wanted to read it. The one I think might be the last in my challenge is Infinite Jest. I have tried to read it about 10 times. The furthest I’ve ever got is page 100. And if you’ve seen Infinite Jest you’ll know that’s not too far into that big, big book. It would take a lot to make me pick it up and try it again, although if I’m going to finish what I’ve started, then I’ll have to read it at some point!*

*and best not mention Ulysses……

Infinite_jest_cover

An unpublished book on your TBR?

Nope. None. Obviously.

A book that is on your TBR because of the cover

Probably more than I would care to admit to. A few include Swell by Corwin Ericson; St Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell and the stunning Building Stories by Chris Ware

A book on your TBR that everyone recommends

The Hound of the Baskervilles. It keeps getting recommended to me and I keep threatening to read it. Someday, I promise.

A book on your TBR that everyone has read but you

I sometimes feel that I am the last person on earth (Ok, the blogosphere) to have read anything by Virginia Woolf. I intend to get around to Mrs Dalloway sometime soon. I also wonder if there is anyone else who has yet to read Stoner?

index

A book on your TBR that you are dying to read

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt but I keep putting it off because I think it’s not going to live up to my expectations.

The_goldfinch_by_donna_tart

How many books are on your TBR?

Officially it stands at 654 at the moment, however I’ve read two more books that I haven’t reviewed yet.

So 652.

I’m managing to read about 50 a year, so I guess I’ll be here until about 2028…..

 Tagging:

Niall at The Fluff is Raging

Naomi at Consumed by Ink

Barbara at Book Club Mom

Melanie at Grab the Lapels

Uncategorized

Cathy746books View All →

I am a 40 something book buying addict trying to reduce the backlog one book at a time!

53 Comments Leave a comment

  1. I love this! Thanks for doing it. I’m laughing at A Christmas Carol because, although my dislike of Dickens is well known on Twitter, it’s one of three of his I’ve actually read the entire way through and more than once! It’s also my husband’s favourite book.

    Infinite Jest and Ulysess are my nemesis too but they just sit on the shelf staring at me, I haven’t even bothered to attempt them yet.

    And no, you’re not the only person who hasn’t read Stoner. I’m not sure I ever will.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. I’ve never read Stoner either. (Aggressively refused to pick it up when people started getting bandwagon-y about it. I’m bolshie.) You’re in for a treat with Virginia Woolf, though. Mrs. Dalloway is a classic fave but my favorite of hers is To the Lighthouse. It just…shimmers. But it shimmers like metal–it’s strong. You’ll love it.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. I also have not read Stoner or anything by Virginia Woolf, so now you can feel better. I own several of her books, though, and also Stoner, because I DO plan to read them!
    I have never heard of Swell before, but now I also need to get it for that cover.
    I did this tag in February, but you’re the third person to tag me for it in the last week or so – it makes me want to do it again! I would, if I could come up with different answers, but I think most of them would still be the same.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. I don’t usually read tag posts all the way but this one was great. I don’t really have a TBR list or system either. Like you, I just go by mood. I used to used online sources like goodread but I can’t even remember my password for most of those sites. Anyway, great post. Have a nice day.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. I haven’t read Stoner either. Or Ulysses. I doubt I’ll read either, but one never knows. I finally read A Christmas Carol last December, and I can only encourage your plan to read it around Christmas time. It’s quick and, despite the verbosity, quite heartwarming.

    Like

  6. Adding to the chorus of non-Stoner readers here – though I DO intend to get to it, and possibly sooner rather than later! I am also very impressed that you haven’t bought yourself a book for so long. I am trying to cut back, though for many years, particularly when the economy was bad, I felt obliged to support the publishing industry (‘You don’t have to support it single-handed!’ was my husband’s comment…) But now with no income, I guess I’m obliged to practise restraint! Perhaps I should do this meme as a way of frightening myself with the size of the TBR – I haven’t dared do it for that reason! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Oh you should for real read A Christmas Carol. It’s a lovely little book and really, you have it read it at Christmas so now’s the time.
    I’ve tried to read Mrs Dalloway twice and never got through it! And it’s so tiny!
    The Goldfinch really is a beautiful read. I think it will live up to your expectations.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Building Stories by Chris Ware is FANTASTIC. Highly recommended. It’s actually quite sad, though. So if you’re ever seriously thinking about it, wait until you’re in one of those moods where you want to listen to a sad album or read a sad story. It’ll deepen the experience, I think. But regardless, it’s a genius piece of storytelling.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Haha, 2028 made me giggle.

    I don’t catalogue my TBR or plan what of it I’ll read either, I’m definitely someone who goes off mood as well. Although, I might start just making a list and getting friends to pick for me.

    Liked by 1 person

  10. This is such a great post, Cathy! I have had a love-hate relationship with my TBR pile of lately, basically because I don’t know where to fit more books. There is just no room left in my bedroom and I’m starting to worry, because obviously I’m not giving up on reading.

    As for your list, I think you’ll looooove Mrs. Dalloway, and I wouldn’t worry much about Infinite Jest. You have done more for reading it than many other people do for books in general. So, I’d say it’s OK 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Stoner is amazing, I hope you enjoy it when you get to it! As for Virginia Woolf…I’m on the didn’t like side of the scale, but I think it’s more a reflection of my preferences, I’m not fond of the stream-of-consciousness/postmodern type novels.

    I enjoyed reading your answers! I would love to use one of those TBR jars that I occasionally see on the blogosphere but I’m a mood reader too so that wouldn’t quite work for me xD

    Liked by 1 person

    • Yes Lianne, I’ve toyed with the idea of one of those jars too but I struggle to stay on track when I choose 20 books for my summer challenge so I don’t think it would work for me either! I’ve heard good things about Stoner so I am looking forward to it.

      Like

  12. You simply have to read The Christmas Carol – it’s the perfect time of year and it’s such a lovely short work of fiction! And Hound of the Baskerville. I love Arthur Conan Doyle. Still you have them to look forward to at least (seriously though, bump them up the list, why deny yourself eh)!!
    Lynn 😀 😀

    Like

  13. Ha! I have not read Stoner yet either (although it is on my TBR pile!) I also haven’t read any of Woolf’s fiction (although I have read A Room of One’s Own). I hope to rectify both situations in 2016.

    Maybe this will be the Christmas you embrace A Christmas Carol 🙂

    Like

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