When I thought of the idea for this post, I was super excited. A fun, cute, and fresh letter to my TBR, addressing all the problems I have with it and how I can improve upon them. Unfortunately, it had slipped my mind that every single time I go to write anything in letter form, I automatically project the attitude of a young Victorian woman whose lover is lost at sea.
Me, gazing out the window dramatically as I write the letter
Anywho, I hope you guys enjoy my overdramatic ramblings. And perhaps you’ll discover new ways to deal with your own TBR (you will 100% not gain anything from this), and soon you too can write dramatic Victorian letters to address every issue in your life.
My Dear To Be Read (more affectionately known as TBR),
There have been things that have been weighing on my mind for some time now, and it seems that this is as good a time as any to address them. I would like to begin by reminding you how much work I have put into making you grow. I have traveled far and wide, from blog to shining blog, from review to review, just to find more books to help you become big and strong. I have put books that I have been looking forward to for months on you, and books that I was on the fence about and probably wouldnβt end up reading ever.
I guess therein lies my mistake. It seems that that small misstep is what made everything go wrong. I remember the days when we were so good to each other. I would add books to you and take them off right away, there was a system! There was order! But alas, all good things come to an end. After many moons of adding and adding and adding books, you morphed from my once loved and looked forward to TBR, to something large and threatening.
It once brought me joy to look upon you. To see the beautiful list of books that would soon be mine, but now I only experience trepidation. I have dug myself into a hole I cannot get out of, and I just wish things could go back to the way they were. I often ask myself whether or not this is my fault. I know deep down that it is, if I wasnβt so overzealous, so eager to experience all the books out there, we would still be together. Constantly checking up on one another, growing together, laughing together, living together.
But now I must be like Dr. Frankenstein and face the monster I have created. You are my responsibility and I cannot let you do any more harm to myself or others. It pains me to say this, but I may have to begin removing books from you.
It is ironic is it not, that my folly will be your downfall? I that created you and nourished you shall now take you apart piece by piece. I hope that you can find room within your shelves to forgive me. I know that I am doing the unthinkable, but in the end, it will only benefit the both of us.
Begging your forgiveness,
Chana
How do you guys manage your TBR? Has your TBR always been out of control? What advice do you have for me?
My TBR is really a wish list. I don’t even own a lot of the books on it, but I like having a place to note those books that interest me. Therefore, I am ok with my GR TBR. My actual reading TBR is done on a weekly basis, so very manageable. But, my ARC spreadsheet can be a little intimidating. Fun letter. I enjoyed reading it.
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I’m so bad with researching upcoming books, so ARC wise, my TBR is pretty manageable (I’ve also banned myself from requesting more things on Netgalley for the time being, so that may play a part as well). But with my general TBR I just plan on reading sooo many books and then when people ask me if I’ve gotten to the yet I’m like lol I wish π
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Ahh, this was amazing! I love how you said “project the attitude of a young Victorian woman whose lover is lost at sea,” that made me laugh out loud, because same.πMy TBR is also a monster that I created…sadly, I think I’ve done irreversible damage to it and will just have to live with the consequences.
Also, have you ever watched Crash Course World History with John Green? In every episode, he does an open letter to some historical figure or event, and they’re always so funny. (I think yours is better, though.)
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Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed it π
Yesss, I love John Green’s crash course history videos! They got me through all my high school history classes. Whether that was to procrastinate studying or to help me study I can’t say π
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That GIF xD oh, my TBR is definitely out of control, but I think that just comes with being a book blogger. At least we won’t run out of books xD
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Lol, definitely π A super huge TBR definitely has its pros.
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Awww this is such a fun letter!! I felt the same way toward mine so I did a TBR cleanse… First I sorted my to-read shelf into genres. Then I went through genre by genre and ditched anything I wasn’t interested in any more or series that stalled out or whose ratings are so low I’d be afraid to read the book! It was such a weight off my mind. Good luck! β€οΈ
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Thank you! β₯οΈ
Ohh, that’s such a good idea! And waaaay more organized than I was originally thinking of going about it π
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aha i love this post
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Thank you! I’m glad you liked it! ππ
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π π I loved this so, so much, so relatable π I feel like my TBR has been getting more and more out of control as the years as a book blogger went by.Too many books to add and… well, like you perfectly said it, before I added books to my TBR in a reasonable way and now it’s just… well. I can’t seem to stop π
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π Exactly! My TBR used to be so manageable, but now I just keep on adding books anytime I see something slightly interesting. I used to be so shocked when people would say the number of books they have on their TBR’s that they don’t think they’ll get to for a while, but now I understand π
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This cracked me up, Chana ππ Because YEP I too have created a monster! I try to not even look at mine these days, because I assume that nothing good would come of that! Every so often I get ambitious and pare it down but… meh is it even worth it? It’ll just be ridiculous again in a few days!
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ππ So true! I also find that I’m a hoarder and I don’t want to let go of any of the books on my TBR. I’m still convincing myself that I can read them all π
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Haha! I love this dramatic Victorian letter. I’m sure all of our TBRs feel betrayed, but what can we do?
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ππ Exactly! It’s just the way things are, it’s impossible to try to change them π
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