My TBR List
I don’t have a TBR pile; I have a TBR list. Part of the reason is monetary in nature – I simply don’t have the finances or inclination to buy books I’ve only heard are good (although I’d make exceptions for Sharon & Tom Curtis and Judy Cuevas). But frankly, I have so much darn fun that I’d be lost without my list now.
My rules are very simple: If I hear good buzz about an author or a book, I’ll put them down under Investigative Properties. (By the way, I started the list during a moment of supreme boredom, which is the only explanation I can give for creating such ridiculous subtitles.) Anyway, if I read the book and hated it I strike the name. If I disliked it but see potential, or know there are better books waiting in the wings, then the author goes under the heading Weeeellllllllll. (I told you they were stupid.) Unless I try book after book to no avail, the author could well languish there forever.
If I liked an author’s book but need further confirmation before they land on my auto-read list, then I put them under Confirmation Needed. (Duh.) If it’s all sweet as and I know the author is a solid read, then they get on my Known Substances lists (sounds illegal), which are divided into three tiers, Tier One being at the top. And finally there are My Stars, the authors I can bank on.
I’ve also got the Yo-yos – authors whose work quality I find incredibly erratic – and the Lost Causes (no need to explain that one). And I’ve also got lists for authors whom I like but no longer publish, and the books I want to acquire, and sundry other lists as well as notations and book titles.
It’s all quite unnecessarily complicated (do not even think the word anal), and it moves around a lot. But that’s the whole point. That’s the fun. I need time to accumulate the buzz and make sure I actually want to read a book. And besides, I like having a list I update and chuck into my bag on book-shopping expeditions. Who remembers the title of the Regency written by Bobette Doe that was DIKed fifteen years ago? Not me. But with my list – which is entitled, of course, A Very Long Reading List – I have it all at my fingertips.
Do you keep a record, either of books to be read or books already read? What does yours look like?
– Jean AAR
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Thanks for all those who mentioned FictFact – I’m definitely checking it out.
I had a tootle with Access, a while back, but I never got it off the ground. I just keep my Book Grades in Excel and the main reading list in Microsoft Word, and I’m happy.
My first list was also the AAR top 100 after a long reading hiatus. But it is now a 30 sheet spreadsheet in Excel. My organization and attentiveness to it varies according to my available reading time. I love my list. It really is a big part of my reading experience. My physical TBR pile is rarely more than half a dozen books, so the anticipation is all virtual.
I have a general “”to read”” sheet where I add books that catch my attention. At the moment it has 132 books listed. I keep it alphabetical by author and add stars or notes if I want to mark it in particular. When I have finished a book I move it to the “”read”” sheet.
The other pages are mostly support for the main list or the process of online research: authors I like/dislike, available at the library, hard to find, theme (scifi, nerd, westerns), book lists that I come across online, ebooks, etc.
And I am totally going to try FictFact!!!
I actually keep 2 lists and I too enjoy editing them. I’m so happy to see that I am not the only person who enjoys doing this. My first list has all the books I’ve read since the day I started it (and any from before that that I could remember). I first started it because I got tired of buying books to then discover that I’d already read them. I read ALOT and with the reprints the publishers do and me just forgetting, it was happening too often. So now I have a list that I carry with me when book shopping to check purchases against. I also rate each book on this list with a 1, 2 or 3 (3 being one I absolutely loved) and I note the month/year that I read it. Finally, I’ll make notations to remind me that a book is part of a series (I like to keep up with that) and I keep a running list of notes about authors that I didn’t enjoy and why. I also keep a second list that is a wish list which is a product of internet research and/or shopping and is exactly what it says. It also includes notes about series, characters, expected publication dates for each book on there and I make the books I’d like to get first in red so they are easy to find when I’m at the store. I just recently started a third list for books I’ve researched and decided against so that I don’t forget.
In 2000 I started keeping track of every book I’d read by month, when i joined goodreads about a year or so ago, I was able to slowly transfer my 10 year reading list by genre and date read, and eventually to divide them into other shelves.
Goodreads also got me compiling a to-read list, which currently stands at 132 books. Since I’m old-fashioned, I also continue to keep the hand-written notebook system I’ve had for a decade, and I keep another notebook where I list the books not chronologically, but by author. Originally, that was also my to-read list, because I added books I wanted to read to the author page and checked them off as I finished them (and added them to my “”read”” notebook).
My library’s website allows a user to keep a book list of up to 25 books. I search for books on my TBR list at goodreads and if the library has a copy, I add it to my library book list. I can easily place a hold on a book from my list with one mouse click.
In FEB. 2004 I started reading again after nineteen years of raising kids and working. My first TBR list was ABR top 100 list. What a great way to get started. I’m on my 710 book. I had a lot of catching up to do.
I too love to read series and they must be in order.
I have listed and numbered all my books read in order. I have a separate list of all the authors I’ve read and all their books. (the books I don’t have are noted) All of the authors works I received from fantastic fiction Website. I will be checking out FictFact. Thanks for the tip.
Another list I have are of my authors and their ABR grades.
I regularly check ABR reviews. I look for new and past DIK. Special Title Listings is a must. As for whats coming up I check out ABR and amazon New releases. Guess what I have another list of new releases by month. Just finished my June shopping and now I can’t wait for July to start.
I have a TBR bookcase with about 200 books. Books wanted that are Out of print has its owe list.
Yeah I’m totally anal But I’m not done. All my books get covered with clear vinyl book covers.(Reddi-Covers) These covers protect the books from creasing And they always look NEW. Great for that beloved book. You can get them at Highsmith.com Library Supplies.
Yes my lists are important to me. When you have over 900 books, Who can remember or keep tract without them.
I’m a list person, too. I keep a personal “”Publication Releases”” for upcoming books, listed by release date. For my auto-buys, or writers whom I feel write the kind of Romances I like & are reviewed well, I add them to my list. (Please authors, keep your upcoming releases updated.) As they release, I buy most; though, when I don’t, I keep them on the list in case one of those books show in UBSs I visit. For my auto-buys, I have gone to their websites & found & printed their backlists. I check this list before buying any backlist.
For my auto-buys I always buy their new books (as long as they continue to write Contemps & don’t move into a genre I don’t read), because I want them to be able to afford to continue to write. I try not to buy online (other than eHQ.com under its “”Upcoming Books”” procedure), as I prefer book stores to remain in business.
My main problem, parting with any book I love for donation. If I am bored with the story, I give it 25 pages &, then, donation.
Patricia
Lots of lists of TBR books in the past in various spreadsheets and databases – Shelfari keeps them for me now!
I keep a list too and hope the library orders the books I want to read. If the books are trade size or hardcover, and the author isn’t super popular, I’ll fill out a library purchase suggestion form which usually works. There are some authors I automatically buy but only in mass market paperback.
Well thanks Gamatst, I too love to read series, show me a trilogy,series or connected book and I’m in heaven, so naturally I had to try Fictfact. I am a computer klutz so I’m having a little trouble, but I just looked at the FAQ’s and saw what I was doing wrong, so I’m going to plunge back in. That website is so much fun!
I usually have a very small TBR pile, because I buy ’em I read ’em. I like ’em they get shelved, I don’t like ’em they get donated. I am an avid re-reader so I would rather re-read a beloved book than take a chance on something I’m not sure of. I get a lot of my buying ideas from this site.
I keep record of what I have on Shelfari, but they are only books I have read that are keepers. I have occasionally bought a book I have already read and rejected as a keeper, but that usually happens when I buy used books.
I keep an Excel spreadsheet of Books To Buy by Release Date so I know when to start looking. I use Amazon A LOT!!!
I have always been a library junkie and I live by my TBR list.
Does anyone have suggestions for a good iPhone app to keep up with the lists? I would love to be able to make my lists portable.
I keep a list of library books I’ve read, to hopefully prevent me from checking out the same book twice! The list is sorted by author’s last name, but I also included a “”rating”” (1-5) and a “”comments”” section.
I also have a TBR list, categorized by how the books were acquired (on loan from a friend, Paperback Swap, etc.), but with the same fields as the library books list.
I read at least 200 books a year; I have to keep a list or I’d keep buying and/or reading many of the same books!
I bought a book database that I use to keep track of books I have, want and got rid of. It has an app so I can export it to my iTouch. I love playing with my database. :)
I don’t have an author list other than sorting my database by author. Is your list written or electronic?
Fictfact sounds like fun; I’ll go take a look at it.
I used to have 5 lists: must buy, must read (library), sounds interesting (booksfree), have read and finally have re-read. The last two were listed by month.
I discontinued the re-read because it was embarracing to see how often I read my favorite books. All the others are kept in a notebook I keep for just this purpose.
Since I discovered booksfree I’ve been much more adventurous with my reading selection. I’ve discovered some authors whom I wouldn’t have looked at twice before. Lucky me.
I too am a big “”list”” person, in all aspects of life, but especially when it comes to books. I have a good sized physical TBR but I was always writing down more to try.
Then I discovered FictFact early this year and I’ve been in heaven! I love to read series, whether it be in romance, mystery, UF or PNR. And I am totally anal when it comes to reading a series in order!
With FictFact (it’s free) you just type in an Authors name and if they have written any type of a series at all they have all the books in the series listed and specify which number in the series each book is. You can also request any series you don’t see to be added, they are pretty quick about getting it added too.
Type in Chase, Kleypas or Balogh and get the Carsington’s, the Hathaways or Simply etc. Type Nora Roberts and see each series she’s ever done laid out in order. BDB or Nalini Singh’s Psy/Chagelings, they’re all there!
You can then “”follow”” a series with one click and the series is added to your profile. After that you will see the lists under My Series, which shows each series you’ve personally chosen to follow. Or the My Next Book list showing you were your at in your reading of the series. If you’ve marked a series your just thinking about it shows you “”not started””.
You can also make your own lists and organize them anyway you want to, and you can share your lists with others or print them.
Each Sunday evening you get an e-mail from FictFact letting you know if any new books are being added to any of the series your following.
Obviously single title’s that aren’t part of a series are not kept track of, yet, but the relatively new site is constantly growing and adding new abilities. So someday I hope they add the ability to follow an “”Author”” and thus get all the same details per author that are already available per series.
Oh yes, I have lists. I used to keep an Excel spreadsheet, but found it was limited with report (aka list) generation, so I designed an Access database.
One quick peek shows more than 2 dozen “”lists”” I’ve created. Some I use frequently (e.g. my buy lists); some I created to answer some question that I apparently felt was important at one point. Either way, I have fun with it.
P.S. I love the subtitles for your lists.
I see now that I will have to start a list of ebooks (not available in print) that I’ll get WHEN I get an e-reader.
I do have my TBRs on Microsoft’s OneNote program, which I am sure can do all kinds of things that I never ask it to, but it does a nice, tidy database. Very useful!
Off to create a new page for e-books…
I don’t have a paper list. . . I am not organized enough to keep up with it. But I tend to put books that I want to read on my wish list at Amazon.
Then every couple of months there is a discussion on the boards about what books people are planning to buy. . . and I will list the books there. .
And I look at the release list so much. . .looking for something new, that I could almost tell you when the authors that I like are having a new book released. .
Off the top of my head I know that Nora and Singh have books this month. . . .Eloisa James, Robin Owens & Loretta Chase have books released toward the end of this month (around the 27th I think). . . Then in August Jayne Castle (end of the month) . . . David Rosenfelt is having a new book released in August . . .then I am in for a dry spell unless I hear good word of mouth about some books. . .Then Nora’s final book in the wedding planners. . . .and hopefully SEP book in January next year. .
Jane Graves, Julie James, Robin Kaye supposedly will have new releases in 2011. . . .
I am a person of lists, so this article especially appealed to me, Jean. I usually get my books from the library, so I also live by lists, rather than piles.
First, there’s a list of authors whom I’ve enjoyed reading in the past, as well as now; and new ones are constantly being added to it as well as some being deleted.
Second, is a list of books I’d like to read that will be coming out within the year (or 8 months or so). And I’ll add older books to it if I’ve heard good things about them here or elsewhere.
Third, only because of the AAR annual book survey, I also keep a list of the books I’ve absolutely loved for the year. It’s a short one, especially this year. But it’s helpful when completing the survey.
That’s it for the reading lists for me. But I feel organized. I pretty much run the more important things in regular life the same way, also, especially if there’s a deadline and several errands are involved. Lists for me are the only way to go and feel I’ve done what I’ve set out to do!