Maintenance Monday

[calico_reaction]

Toppling the TBR PileI've noticed that I'm not the only book blogger who is bound and determined to strangle their book-buying habits and work on their TBR pile instead. In the past, working on the pile was difficult for me, because I based my reading habits on moods, which meant I let a LOT of certain genres pile up without a second glance. Now

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[shanra]

I don't suppose "Make sure I don't make my pile bigger!" is an answer? ^-~

I've mentioned I'm on a ban (of sorts) before, but beyond that I don't really have any method. Course books come first, but after that it's a "Whatever tickles my fancy" situation. I bought the books because I want to read them, so I'm not particularly concerned about any specific order. (Although I may have to bump up "The Magicians and Mrs Quent" just to have it read before you for a change. ^-~)

If I really can't choose, which happens sometimes when none of the titles sound appealing, I close my eyes and make a wish whatever I grab is more appealing than the title. Or I make a list. ^-~ (I should probably do some more of that.)

I make the list by going to LT and taking note of how many pages of unread books I have in my library. I throw that number into a random number generator and then make it pick one of the 20 books on there. Voila. My current read. I may repeat the process (in part) a few times so I have a small list of books 'to be read soonish whilst no other books appeal', but nothing terribly solid.

I should go make such a small list actually. I've been having one of those choosing funks.

[shanra]

For listy fun and curiosity purposes, using Random.org has turned my TBR pile from this into this:

The Harp of the Grey Rose by Charles de Lint
Mythology of the Celtic People by Charles Squire
Arthur and George by Julian Barnes
Song Yet Sung by James McBride
Arthur and the Sovereignty of Britain by Caitlin Matthews
Blood and Iron by Elizabeth Bear
Hasse Simonsdochter by Thea Beckman
Wildwood Dancing by Juliette Marillier
Warrior by Marie Brennan
Wise Child by Monica Furlong

Now I have my severely reduced TBR-pile, it doesn't really matter whether I read the results in the order I got them in. When I get stuck, I now have a list of options that's smaller and more manageable than the full pile. ^-^

I'll vary them with other books I've no doubt, but those are now the ones to pick from when I get indecisive. ^-~

This method can also help me pick out books that would otherwise languish on the pile for 'not being fantasy' or for 'being non-fiction'. ^-~