Why I’m Giving Up on My TBR List

Today’s post is going to be short and sweet.

My to-be-read list has been growing by leaps and bounds for ages now. There something about the end of the year that makes me pause and reflect on little things like this to see how they’re working for me.

The problem with TBR lists is that they function a lot like to-do lists. It’s nearly impossible to check everything off of the list. No sooner do I clear away two of them than another book pops up that looks interesting.

I’m the kind of person who wants to check everything off a list once I’ve created it, so it bothers me a little bit to never get to the end of what I’m working on even if it’s purely for fun.

There’s also the issue with my ever-evolving reading preferences, especially when it comes to science fiction and fantasy. Sometimes I want to do nothing other than reread the Harry Potter books and feel like a kid again. I will neither confirm nor deny that this can also involve quoting favourite passages to my spouse when he least expects it.

At other times, I want to read stories set in Palaeolithic times, during the middle ages, or about aliens on other planets. This doesn’t even begin to touch on the weeks or months when I want to read the Young Adult genre or books about history instead.

Yes, I could pick through my TBR list for specific titles that sound appealing right now, and I’ve done that in the past. It still feels like a strange sort of obligation to me to have a list of books that I wanted to read at some point but that I keep skipping over to read something else, though.

I’m not anti-TBR lists for other people. If it makes you feel organized or helps you remember what you wanted to read next, great!

With that being said, I’d much rather go wandering through the new section on my local library’s website and see what catches my eye than dutifully make my way down a list regardless of whether the next book on it actually suits what I’m currently interested in reading about. I’ve actually been doing this for several years now as an additional source of reading material, and it’s introduced me to many different authors that I would have never otherwise discovered.

This is why I’m giving up on my TBR list for 2018. Let’s see what the Toronto Public Library will introduce me to in 2018. They’ve done a fantastic job so far of keeping me well-read, so I expect them to continue with this trend.

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