Down the TBR Hole - February 9, 2023

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Readers know. At least readers in the blogosphere seem to know. We know about the TBR pile or TBR list and that it seems to grow at an exponentially greater rate than we can keep up with. TBR is "To Be Read", for those that may not know. Last year, in an effort to finally read some of the books in my TBR that I already own, I joined the TBR 22 in '22 Challenge, and didn't get very far with that. I've joined the TBR 23 in '23 Challenge and so far have completed three books towards that goal. 

That challenge only applies to books already on my shelf or downloaded to my Kindle. What about all the books that I have said at one time or another that I wanted to read but just haven't got to them yet? Jody at the blog I'm Into Books offered a solution to help remind us of these books and hopefully start managing the list. She's started a link-up called Down The TBR Hole. The idea is to start cleaning up our Goodreads TBR lists of all the books that have piled up over time. The link-up will post every Thursday, and here's how Jody explains it:

Most of you probably know this feeling, your Goodreads TBR pile keeps growing and growing and it seems like there is no light at the end of the tunnel. You keep adding, but you add more than you actually read. And then when you're scrolling through your list, you realize that you have no idea what half the books are about and why you added them. 

So here's what we'll do: On the Goodreads to-read shelf, order all your books ascending by date added. Look at the first four (or more) books on the list, read the synopses and decide whether the books should stay or go. Post in the link-up and share using the hashtag #DTTBRH and tagging @Jodyblogs.

My Goodreads shelf is out of control, even though I've used it only sporadically! A quick glance revealed to me that there are a ton of books there, and a lot I don't remember adding so it's unlikely I still want to read them. Many are sitting there showing TBR but I DID read them. There were even some that showed I was in the process of reading but I either left off ages ago, or finished, or never did start but perhaps I opened and scrolled a bit in my Kindle. So obviously this link-up will be a useful weekly exercise, but I don't know if I'll be able to share every week. I'm going to start weekly, and commit to do it a minimum of once a month, but we'll see how it goes. If I can keep it up every week, I will!

Here's what I found on Week One:

Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life by Steve Martin - Martin is one of my favorite comedians, so this book is staying on my list as I really would like to read it someday.

If You Ask Me by Betty White - Ironically, this has been on my TBR for years and years, and it just so happens that I picked it up at the library several days ago. Happened to see it and think, "oh I wanted to read that!" Yeah I have been wanting to read it . . . for over ten years! Anyway, I haven't started yet, but this will be moving to my "in progress" section very soon. It looks so good!

Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling by Ross King - Here's where I start to worry that I won't actually purge anything from the TBR. I have no idea where I came across this title and added it to my list. It does look really interesting, but also since I'd completely forgotten it existed, it's going in the hole.

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson - Bill Bryson writes some hilarious stuff and I probably added this book at some point after reading A Walk In The Woods. Alas, I think this will not stay on the TBR right now, as I know there are other Bryson works that I still want to read that are higher on my priority list.

At only four books per week, this will take forever, but at least I've started! Maybe it will remind me to update Goodreads more often too.

This post will be linked at Down The TBR Hole hosted by Jody at I'm Into Books.

#DTTBRH

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