How to Conquer Your TBR Pile

Thursday, June 22, 2017

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a bookworm in possession of many books, must be in want of more books.”


No matter how hard I try, book buying bans do not work from me. Instead, if I put myself on a ban, I will buy more books than if I were not on the ban. #nocontrol However, I will never stop trying to conquer my TBR pile. And, though it’s no secret, there are certain steps you can take to conquer your never-ending TBR.

Surprisingly, I am slowly defeating the pile. I couldn’t believe that I only read 30 books last year so I made 2017 the year that I attempt to read all the books I own. AND IT’S WORKING! Here’s the steps I’m following to attack my TBR pile and win:

Step 1: Make a Goal

In the beginning of the year, I knew I wanted to read more books than last year. I decided the best way to do that is to make a goal but not just the general: conquer my TBR goal. It needs to be a specific goal. I promised to read 100 pages a day. And even though, there are some days that I just don’t have time to reach 100 pages or to read at all. However, I try to make reading a priority over that show I’ve been meaning to watch or that restaurant I’ve been wanting to try.

STEP 2: Organize TBR Shelf into Sections

I have loads of books on my to-read pile. Too many to fit on one shelf. However, the best way that I have found to beat my pile is to organize the many TBR shelves into sections. Put the books you want to read right away—the ones you’re most excited for—in a shelf you will most likely see all the time. Organize the rest of the books by way of how much you want to read them too. I just moved all my books around the other day. I tend to want to read more fantasy and contemporary during the summer so I’m highlighting them on my shelves for the season.

STEP 3: Read Books

This step speaks for itself. And, it just so happens, it is the most important step of them all. Nothing will get done if you don’t follow this step. Read those books in your pile.

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STEP 4: Refrain from Buying/Receiving Books

If the previous step was the most important, this step is the most impossible step. It is so difficult to refrain from getting all those books on my want-list. There are so many amazing books that keep releasing! However, in order to conquer that TBR, buy/receive less than what you’ve read this year.

STEP 5: Repeat Steps When Necessary

It’s called a never-ending TBR because it’s, well, never-ending. It won’t go away but the TBR can be conquered. It can be defeated. You, as the reader, can be in control. Turn that ceiling-high pile into a pile that spans your foot size. Repeat the steps above and start getting your TBR in control today. (Oh my, did I just sound like one of those bad infomercials?)

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How many books do you have in your TBR pile? How do you conquer your TBR?

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3 comments

  1. These are great tips. I definitely agree with making a goal, whether it's just for yourself or maybe even joining a reading challenge. I'm doing a couple reading challenges this year, and it's causing me to focus on my TBR, because I love making a check mark next to those books I've pledged to read.

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  2. I definitely found organising my TBR shelf has helped me a lot. I have been powering through and making some awesome progress. I still buy books often and add to the shelf, but I am reading at a faster rate than I am buying now which is definitely a new experience.

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  3. The only way I'd be able to effectively tackle my TBR is to keep repeating step 4 buwhahaa but that's really not an option because not buying books would make me unhappy, truly.

    And it's not that I don't read enough but I buy more each month than I read each month. On top of that, I re-read a lot as well, so yeah.. tackling my tbr isn't going well for me, buwhaha.

    I've recently added a Tackle my TBR page to the blog on which I wrote down every unread book on my shelves at the moment and maybe seeing this lists helps me to keep myself in check before buying more books, lol. We'll see.. I'm 100% sure I'll never finish my tbr but I hope to at least minimize it back to 100 unread books instead of the 200+ it is now, lol.

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