December 29, 2005
2006 and the Towering TBR Pile
Written by Kimberly Logan in Jaunty PostI have never been the sort of person who makes serious resolutions with the coming of a new year. Mostly because I am well aware of what a weak individual I am and can just about guarantee that I’d wind up breaking every one of them within the first few weeks of January. (I told myself I’d start a diet and lose 20 pounds in 2005. I’m still waiting for that miracle.) But if I did bother to make any resolutions for 2006, at the top of my list would be finally seeing the bottom of my TBR pile. It seems like I’ve had a growing stack of books next to my bed for years, and with all of the books and bookstore gift cards I received for Christmas, it is starting to bear more than a passing resemblance to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I’ve had nightmares about it toppling over on me while I’m sleeping and smothering me.
One of the most difficult things for me to deal with since becoming a published author (Along with learning to actually meet deadlines and overcoming a rather awkward shyness) has been the sad fact that I just don’t have the time to read like I used to. When I think of all the wonderful books languishing at the bottom of this seemingly endless stack, it makes me long for the good old days when I could read five to six books in a week. Now, I’m lucky if I get through that amount in a month.
And last night, as I started to settle in for my standard hour of reading time before going to bed, I had trouble picking which book I wanted to start on. Waiting for me are Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Unleash the Night, Tina St. John’s Heart of the Dove, Shari Anton’s Midnight Magic, and Suzanne Macpherson’s Switched, Bothered, and Bewildered. Sigh. How is an avid reader supposed to choose? With that sort of indecisive hemming and hawing, I should still have a TBR pile taller than I am at this time next year.
Oh, well. If I’m lucky, 2006 will be the year that I finally manage to pick up the last book in the stack. (Just in time to start a new one, of course. Wink-wink!) And for those of you who make resolutions, the best of luck to you!
Happy New Year!
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Manuelita Says:
I like this New Year’s Resolution - see the bottom of my TBR pile, or at least reduce it to 10 or less books, by the end of 2006. It’s definitely much more fun than losing weight.
I think I currently have about 70 books in my TBR pile, including A KISS BEFORE DAWN. You and the other Jaunty Quill and Avon authors make this a very difficult goal, though, because of all the great books you all keep writing and I keep buying. LOL!
Happy New Year!
Jaunty Quills Says:
Kim,
I think it’s a great resolution. (I made it myself last year)
What I strive to do is read one book a week. But I only read books that hook me from the very beginning and keep me reading. Otherwise it goes out of my TBR pile and into a sack for a friend of mine who is an avid reader.
The resolution has been one of my best….and has given me so much pleasure.
Cindy Kirk
April Redmon Says:
Ack! My TBR is an ever-evolving tower. Kind of like the Winchester House in California, a never-ending construction project. I build it full of historicals, then I go in a completely different direction with Chick Lit, then I go to women’s fiction, then someone tells me about a great story completely out of my normal interests, and I acquire that book too. Thus, until I die, I will never have an end to my TBR pile!
Kimberly Logan Says:
And here I am, already contemplating adding to it again. After all, I still have to get all of the new Avon releases for January. Including Margo’s, of course!