Sunday, September 1, 2013

My TBR Pile...

I had plans when summer began to tackle the growing stack of books that I own and haven't yet read. In June, that number stood at 29. Through the summer, I actually made some progress--reading 4 and discarding 2 others--which dropped my TBR number to 23. Not bad, huh? But then there was a library book sale, and a trip to Barnes and Noble...and now the pile of unread books sitting in my bedroom is once more above 30! (And I'm itching to order a few new titles from Powells.) Talk about one step forward, ten steps back.

Luckily for me, Alex in Leeds came up with a clever solution that I think I'm going to try: The Book Jar. All you need is an empty jar and some strips of paper. Write the titles of the books from your TBR pile (or any other books that you want to read) on separate strips of paper, fold them up, and put them in your Book Jar. Then, once a week, or once a month, pull a a title out and that's the book you read. I like the serendipity of it. And that it's so easy! I've already found and filled my Book Jar with my 34 titles. And the first book from my TBR pile that I'm going to read? (Drumroll, please...)  Castles in the Air by Judy Corbett.

Happy Reading!

(P.S. A special thanks to Melwyk from The Indextrious Reader; it was her post on the Book Jar that led me to Alex's original post in the first place.) 

6 comments:

  1. This is a great idea! Might be a way to make a bigger dent in my own TBR list. I am afraid to actually count the books...I am impressed that you did so. I am thinking if I pulled a title out of the jar and didn't want to read it, maybe that book doesn't deserve more time on my shelf! Thanks for finding and sharing this idea!

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    1. You make a good point--if you draw out a book you don't want to read, maybe it's a book you don't need to keep. Thanks for stopping by!

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  2. I had seen Alex's post on the book jar before. I think it's such a cool idea. But I don't seem to get to the books on my shelf too often - the siren song of the library is quite tempting! :)

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    1. That is so true! I'm hoping to pull one title from my jar a month; fingers crossed.

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  3. That's a wonderful idea! I'm going to to try it, too.

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