I Have 50 Books to Read, So Obviously I Have Nothing to Read
I lied in the title.
I don't have 50 unread books.
I have about 150.
One hundred and fifty books sitting there waiting to be read.
Books I chose.
Books I wanted.
Books I spent actual money on.
And somehow I can still stand in front of my bookshelf and think:
"I have nothing to read."
Please tell me I'm not the only one.
Having too many books is apparently a problem
You'd think having 150 unread books would make choosing my next read easy.
Look at all the options!
Fantasy.
Sci-fi.
Different authors.
Different worlds.
Different levels of commitment.
Surely I can just grab one and start reading?
No.
Because now I have too many choices.
Do I want something easy?
Something epic?
A series?
A standalone?
Should I finally read that book that's been sitting there forever?
Maybe I should read the one everyone keeps talking about.
Actually, I'm not really in the mood for that.
What about this one?
Hmm.
Maybe later.
Twenty minutes later, I'm still staring at the shelf like it's going to make the decision for me.
Meanwhile, my precious reading time is disappearing.
Brilliant.
The TBR was supposed to be exciting
That's the funny part.
Every one of those unread books ended up on my shelf because at some point I thought:
"Ooooh. I want to read that."
That's what a TBR is supposed to be.
A giant collection of adventures waiting for you.
Instead, somewhere around book number... honestly, who knows... it started becoming another decision I had to make.
And when you've spent the entire day making decisions, sometimes you just don't want another one.
What are we having for dinner?
What does the toddler need?
What needs doing at work?
What needs doing for the business?
What have I forgotten?
Where are the keys?
Why is that sticky?
Then finally...
Everyone leave me alone.
I'm going to read.
I walk over to my bookshelf.
And my bookshelf asks:
"Great. Which one?"
Oh, for God's sake.
So I stopped trying to make the perfect choice
This was actually one of the reasons I started creating what eventually became Tales in Ink.
I didn't need somewhere else to write down all the books I wanted to read.
Clearly I was already very good at collecting those.
I needed help choosing one.
But I didn't want some serious system telling me what I should read next.
Reading is my escape.
I wanted choosing the book to become part of the fun.
So I turned it into a game.
The A–Z trick
This is one of the simplest ways I started doing it.
I have an A–Z title challenge.
The idea is to read a book beginning with every letter of the alphabet.
So when I'm stuck choosing my next book, I can look at the challenge instead of staring hopelessly at 150 books.
Maybe I'm missing M.
That's it.
My question is no longer:
"Which of my 150 unread books should I read?"
It's:
"What have I got beginning with M?"
Now I might only have three options.
Much easier.
Pick one.
Get into bed.
Start reading.
The challenge made the first decision for me.
Or make your TBR play Bingo
This is probably my favourite.
Reading Bingo.
You create little challenges that give you a completely different reason to choose a book.
Things like:
- Find a book around 300 pages.
- Choose a book with a one-word title.
- Find a cover with purple on it.
- Read a book by a female author.
- Choose something with a map inside.
Then instead of asking:
"What do I feel like reading?"
You're rummaging through your TBR looking for a book with a bloody map.
And weirdly...
that's fun.
You start noticing books you'd forgotten about.
Maybe you pick something that's been sitting there for two years.
Maybe the challenge gives you the tiny shove you needed to finally start that book.
It takes choosing your next read from a decision and turns it into a game.
Which is exactly what I wanted.
You can steal this idea right now
You don't need Tales in Ink to try this.
Seriously.
Next time you're staring at your bookshelf unable to choose, give yourself one random rule.
Find a book under 350 pages.
Or:
Pick the oldest unread book on your shelf.
Choose a cover with an animal on it.
Pick a book whose title starts with the same letter as your name.
Choose an author you've never read before.
Find a book with fewer than four words in the title.
Whatever.
The rule doesn't really matter.
The point is to take 150 possibilities and turn them into five.
Or three.
Or maybe just one.
And sometimes that's all your tired brain needs.
This became a big part of Tales in Ink
When I eventually created Tales in Ink, I wanted this feeling built into it.
Yes, I wanted somewhere beautiful to record my reading.
I wanted to remember the books I'd loved.
Track my TBR.
Look back at my reading year.
All the bookish things I enjoy.
But I also wanted the journal to help before I'd even opened the next book.
Because that's where I kept getting stuck.
I wanted challenges.
Games.
Bingo.
Little reasons to go back to the books I already owned and think:
"Okay. What are we reading next?"
Not because I need to smash through 150 unread books as quickly as humanly possible.
I'm probably going to buy more anyway.
Let's not pretend otherwise.
I just don't want to waste the little reading time I have staring at them.
Your TBR isn't a to-do list
This is something I have to remind myself of.
Those 150 books aren't jobs waiting to be completed.
I don't owe my bookshelf anything.
I'm allowed to buy another book.
I'm allowed to change my mind.
I'm allowed to DNF one.
I'm allowed to ignore a book for three years and suddenly decide tonight is the night.
My TBR exists because I love books.
That's it.
So I want choosing from it to feel exciting again.
Not overwhelming.
And if that means I need a Bingo square to tell me:
"Go find something purple."
Fine.
I'm going to find something purple.
At least I'll actually be reading.
Your turn
Let's make this one fun.
How many unread books are currently sitting on your TBR?
No judgement here.
I've got about 150.
So if you've got 12, you're basically showing off.
And if you've got 300?
Welcome.
You're among friends.