Tuesday 3 February 2015

The creaking TBR list

All through January I kept getting prompts from reading websites suggesting I set a reading target for 2015. Are you kidding? I put myself under enough pressure as it is, conscious of all the wonderful reading matter around me waiting for attention - family history magazines, novels, non-fiction books (novel writing research), gardening magazines, interesting blog posts...

But book bloggers and other avid readers seem happy to give themselves targets.

Jo Barton, on her book blog, Jaffareadstoo, has set herself several challenges, with the intention, I imagine, of ensuring she encounters a wide variety of reading matter.

There is The Eclectic book challenge (e.g. an autobiography, a debut novel, a romantic comedy), a Round The World Challenge (books set in different countries) and a Just For Fun Challenge (books from her own bookshelf).

But I particularly liked the concept of her 50 Books Challenge, a list which includes; a book set in the future, a book from childhood, a book that was originally written in a different language or a book based on a true story. Why not pop across to her website (later - when you've read the rest of this post!) and get some ideas.
Books galore at the Cullompton Book Festival last year.

Lots of Goodreads readers set themselves targets. There's even a group called Novel Books & Reading Challenges which describes itself as a "one stop, multi genre all-you-can-read book club."

It occurred to me that to be so prolific these readers must have some sort of clever strategy (unlike me!) which keeps them focused.

I wondered if they worked religiously through a list without deviation, whether they alternate fiction and non-fiction, crime and romance, literary and genre. Do they read one book at a time? Or have several on the go at once?  Do they read specific reading matter at particular times of the day?

How do they fit reading around 'life'? Does cleaning the loo 'earn' an hour's indulgent read? Is lunchtime sacrosanct reading time? When they curl up with a book do they take the phone off the hook and pin a DO NOT DISTURB sign on the front door?

If I do have a target for 2015, it must be to make more effective use of my reading time as I'm starting to feel inadequate!

So - how do you organise your reading? Go with the flow? Or follow a plan?

Have you set yourself a target for 2015? Do you have any reading challenges? Do you belong to a book club, either online or in person?

Have you any helpful suggestions of strategies in tackling your TBR list which have worked for you?

If so, I'd love to hear them.





8 comments:

  1. Thank you for giving Jaffareadstoo such a lovely write up. The orange one and I are most grateful x

    http://jaffareadstoo.blogspot.co.uk/

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    1. My pleasure. Thanks for the inspiring ideas. :-)

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  2. Ahh the constant dilemma of the TBR list Wendy. I am amazed at the number of books bloggers get through but I don't tend to set myself a target. I have planned out the next couple of months but as I'm still reading one from my January list I can feel it already slipping! My kindle is crammed and I'm constantly getting seduced into getting another book that has attracted me...absolutely no will power at all! So in 2015 there is a vague plan but it is a flexible one :-)

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    1. Ah, Georgia, thanks for that! You sound just like me. Now I don't feel quite so bad. Kindles are great for downloading the samples so you don't forget what you've seen which has caught your eye, but as you say, it's so easy for things to get out of control. Good luck with your list - and enjoy! Thanks for adding your comment. Appreciate it. ;-)

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  3. I've signed up for the Goodreads 2015 challenge, giving myself a target of 12 books. I did the same for 2014 and was amazed - and dismayed - to only manage 6 books. But then I realized that I'd only counted the full-length novels that I save for my bedtime reading. I didn't include all the non-fiction, short stories, magazines, newspapers and e-books that I read during the day. This year I must remember to include some biographies and short story collections in my total.

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    1. Oh, well done for setting yourself the challenge, Linda! You're a braver soul than I am! I did once make a pledge (pre-Goodreads days) to log what I read, along with my thoughts on the book so I could look back at the end of the year. All good intentions but I think it petered out eventually because I kept forgetting to fill it in! I wish you well with your 12!

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  4. I'm very impressed by these challenges, Wendy. They seem to encourage people to read more widely. I must admit my own reading tends to be pretty narrow. In fiction I read sagas, historicals, some thrillers, some contemporary novels, American cosy crime and English period crime; and in no-fiction I read masses of social history. Do cookery books count?! Hats off to Jo Barton!

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    1. Your list seems nicely varied, Susanna. Anyway, I think it's difficult to go too far 'off piste' with so much out there and so little time, or it could feel like being back at school with a syllabus! And I'm sure cookery books count! ;-)

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