5 Ways to Organise Your TBR Pile (Which Should Be OVERFLOWING)

It is the ever-present curse of every bookworm, the one that threatens the eradication of our entire species. One day, it's possible that we may actually drown in our overwhelming TBR (To Be Read) Piles, be them virtual or otherwise.

I therefore present these ten different ways of organising your TBR, if only because I am keen to avoid the eradication of the whole bookworm species. I don't use all of them, of course - that would be over-organisation - but they all come highly recommended by various high-profile book lovers. And not all of them will work for everyone, but give it a go.

(Seriously. If all you other bookworms died out, I would be lonely.)

#1 - The Wishlist Technique

Of course, with this, I mean the Amazon Wishlist, king of all Wishlists, which is my personal favourite method of organisation. I mean, it isn't everyone's favourite, because I realise Amazon isn't designed specifically for books and can create a lot of pop-up ads when you visit other websites, but there are a lot of good things going on with the Amazon Wishlist. First of all, it's public, so people can search for your wishlist and buy you the books.

Also, Amazon sample chapters make it really, really easy to decide if you like a book's writing style, and the 'Suggestions for You' section is very good. Score one for the Amazon Wishlist!

#2 - The I'll-Make-An-Old-Fashioned-List Technique

In honour of this technique, and the fact I love lists, I shall make a list.

    

Pros

     - You can carry the list with you absolutely everywhere. If someone mentions a book at school, you're allowed to get out the list and write on it, without having to turn your mobile on and be hauled off to detention.

     - Also . . . you know . . . it's pretty? And nostalgic and stuff?

Cons
     - There are no recommendations. So you're on your own.
     - Other than that, the classic technique is - undeniably - pretty darn cool.

#3 - The Goodreads Technique

I'll be honest, you guys. A load of people absolutely love Goodreads, because you can make lists and write reviews and it gives you recommendations based on what you've read. I know that Cait from Paper Fury in particular adores Goodreads (she's on there pretty much constantly, anyway) but I just don't. Get. Along. With it. Personally. I think it's probably because, as opposed to Amazon, I don't go on there very often, and I forget to update for months and then I'm playing catch-up.

(Just in case you want to follow my basically none-active account on Goodreads, it's here.)

#4 - The Post-It Notes Technique

This particularly rare organisational technique is a variant of the I'll-Make-An-Old-Fashioned-List, and I must admit that I got the idea from Kate @ The Magic Violinist. I've yet to implement it, but it sounds pretty neat - you just carry around a pack of Post-Its (other stickable paper sheets are available) scribble down To-Read titles as you get them, and then stick them in a jar. Next time you can't decide what to buy for yourself, just let the jar decide!

Note: it might be worth making a physical list for this as well, because if you want a particular book, but can't remember the title, or need something from a particular author . . . I wouldn't want to root around in a jar with Post-Its everywhere.

Says the girl who once spent six hours covered - COVERED - in Post-Its while trying to make a quotes post.

#5 - The Physical Book Technique

This one is often thought of as a bookworm's dream. Whenever you see a book you want, you can just buy it and add it to your TBR. The books are there, you can stroke them and pick one out at random and just generally love them. However, if you aren't lucky enough to get free review copies or have a massive book budget, then this can get impossibly expensive, and it also makes it hard for people to buy you books, because you already have them all. Also, it could collapse and crush you.

I am probably the black sheep of the reading community, in that I don't have a To Read Shelf or Pile unless I've been to the library. This is because I basically go to the bookshop the moment I've scraped enough money together for a paperback, and then read it instantly.

This is probably because, although I live in the middle of nowhere, the town next to my school has two Waterstone's. Two. Add a WH Smith's, and it's a wonder I've survived this long. . .

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I call all bookworms to the stand: how do you organise your TBR Pile? And are YOU doing YOUR bit to prevent the eradication of the species (just kidding, I got it).

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Labels: Reading Life